Games have the ability to make gamers feel a vast array of emotions. Some make them feel sad, while others make them feel angry. However, the vast majority make them feel like juggernauts, invincible powerhouses blowing holes in every Nazi or zombie they come across. It’s too bad more games don’t focus on releasing the player’s inner pacifist, and encourage peace and soothing vibes, much like AuroraBound. Can it be just as engaging indulging in the relaxing activity of placing coloured pieces around a board as it is blowing up the head of a Third Reich monster?
AuroraBound tasks the player with fitting multi-coloured tiles together in an effort to complete a beautiful tapestry. It is, essentially, a series of puzzles. No, not the “Should I open that portal and jump through the other one?” kind of puzzles. No, this is more of the “Start with the edges and work your way to the waterlilies” kind of puzzles. These can be plenty engaging, and AuroraBound does enough to make it feel like it’s not just another puzzle you bought at a thrift store for 75 cents.
There are three types of pieces available. There are stagnant ones the player can’t move, stagnant ones that can turn in place, and then ones that have to be placed on the board. The ones that are turned can’t be moved around the board, and the stagnant pieces that have no markings can’t be moved at all. The game never evolves beyond these simple piece types, instead changing how the board is laid out.
One board could be a square grid shape, and have a few pieces already laid down that the player has to rotate to fit in the pieces they can move into the board, completing the pattern. The next tapestry could be an “S” comprised of entirely rotating pieces. This manages to work for a short while, but after the first few hours, becomes incredibly tedious. Because of its pursuit to be relaxing, none of the boards are particularly difficult, and with a hint system that generously gives the answers, it’s hard to get stuck too long. Due to how little the game does as it continues on, world after world, it’s equally hard to stay sucked in.
The artwork is lovely, and the game succeeds as being both approachable and soothing. It just never evolves, and after the first three or four worlds, you’ll have seen everything it has to offer. Even on the rare occasion it picks up the difficulty, it never feels like an accomplishment when the final piece slides into place. It just feels like you did the same thing you did an hour before. It’s great for short bursts of gameplay, though, and depending on how long it takes the player to traverse, they may not find the tedium as heavy or noticeable.
