The Voxel Agents

Factsheet

Developer:
The Voxel Agents
Based in Victoria, Australia

Release date:
31st January, 2013

Platforms:
iOS - App Store
Android - Google Play
Android - Amazon Appstore
Windows Phone 8

Regular Price:

App Store	Free
Google Play	Free
Amazon	Free

Description

Puzzle Retreat is a unique block sliding puzzle game that takes inspiration from Sudoku and Sokoban to create a fresh challenge for puzzle lovers. With just two rules governing play, Puzzle Retreat is incredibly easy to learn but compellingly deep. Players slide blocks to fill holes in a grid. They must fill all the holes and use all the blocks. The challenge is in determining a correct sequence to slide the blocks. The challenge really ramps up with the addition of special blocks including Fire Blocks, Stop Blocks and Bonsai Trees as well as Arrow Blocks, which alter the direction of sliding blocks.

History

Nearly two years in development, Puzzle Retreat went through numerous iterations and over forty art styles as the team strove to create a new puzzle game mechanic that was both instantly comprehensible to players of any ability but also infinitely deep. Their process involved stopping people on the street for impromptu play tests and eventually resulted in the mechanics and presentation of Puzzle Retreat.

Features

Fresh Gameplay – Taking elements from Sudoku and Sokoban, Puzzle Retreat is a fresh challenge that will have you losing track of time and forgetting about the outside world.
Simple Rules – 1. Slide the ice blocks to fill all the holes in the grid. 2. Use all the blocks.
Deep Challenge – The challenge comes from working out the order to slide the blocks and really ramps up with the addition of special blocks, including Fire Blocks, Stop Blocks, Bonsai Trees as well as Arrow Blocks, which alter the direction of sliding blocks.
No Bottlenecks – Stuck on a puzzle? No problem, just move on to the next and come back to solve it later.
Discussion Tab - Players can discuss tips and hints for each puzzle with other puzzle lovers directly in-game.
Lots of Puzzles – Includes 384 puzzles to solve with 9 premium puzzle packs available via In-App Purchase.
Highly accessible game - No time pressure, skip any puzzle, large bold visuals, simple controls, no fail states and colour blind friendly.
iCloud Support – Sync your progress across all your devices.
New from the creators of the award-winning Train Conductor series.
1.2 Million downloads in the first month.

Videos

iOS (iPhone / iPad) Trailer YouTube

Google Play (Android) Trailer YouTube

Images

download all screenshots & photos as .zip (23MB)

Logo & Icon

download logo files as .zip (6MB)

Awards & Recognition

"Accessibility Award - CGCAP 2013" Winner of the first Accessibility Award at the 2013 Australian Game Developer Awards.
"Indie Prize Top 10 Award - Casual Connect Singapore 2013 " Winner of the Indie Prize Top 10 Award at 2013 Casual Connect Singapore.
"Excellent in Design - GCAP 2013" Finalist of the Design Category at the 2013 Australian Game Developer Awards.
"Visual Art Award - Freeplay 2013" Finalist of the Visual Art Category at the 2013 Freeplay Festival
"Design Award - Freeplay 2013" Finalist of the Design Category at the 2013 Freeplay Festival

Selected Articles

"It's beautifully designed. It's just you and the puzzle."
- Tracey Lien, Polygon
"A new type of puzzle game that is refreshingly zen [...] with all the characteristics of a seriously addictive title: easy-to-learn gameplay; no pressure; bite-sized levels; and cerebral problem solving. There is not a single flaw."
- Michelle Starr, CNET.com
"Puzzle Retreat is a brilliant zen-like puzzler."
- Andrew Nesvadba, AppSpy
"With every puzzle I completed I felt compelled to see what was around the next corner and...not once have I been disappointed."
- Mark Isaacson, The Indie Game Magazine

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Additional Links

Development Blog Posts
Behind the scenes of making Puzzle Retreat. http:.

IGDA Game Access SIG
The Voxel Agents win industry award for recognising the importance of inclusion in game development. http:.

Puzzle Retreat Facebook Fan Page
Regular updates in the world of Puzzle Retreat http:.

About The Voxel Agents

Boilerplate
The Voxel Agents create delightful games that unravel in surprising ways. Headquartered in Melbourne, the studio was founded in 2009 by Simon Joslin, Matthew Clark and Tom Killen to create games that kindle curiosity with a passion for highly focused gameplay. The studio and its games have been awarded many prestigious design, art and audio awards, including the coveted "Apple Design Award", and "Game of the Year". The Voxel Agents first established their success with the release of Train Conductor and followed with Train Conductor 2 USA, Train Conductor World and Puzzle Retreat, with over 17 million global players enjoying Voxel Agent games. The team released the highly anticipated title The Gardens Between across all console, desktop platforms in 2018, and iOS in 2019.

More information
More information on The Voxel Agents, our logo & relevant media are available here.