Tin Hearts

Welcome to the amazing show that is Tin Hearts! Join this amazing garrison of tin soldiers as they traverse a magical toy filled world. Enjoy a stunning narrative puzzle experience that stretches the bounds of what we’ve seen in games before and tries to be something truly unique. Embark on a trail of puzzles and unravel the story set in an alternate history Victorian England, but beware as there are most definitely some dangers to watch out for along the way. If you are looking for a game made by a veteran team of game developers, who tried to make something truly different, then you are in for a treat here. Let’s dig into it.

Gameplay

The gameplay of Tin Hearts is that of a third-person puzzle game, but there’s more to it than that. You are able to take control of a small regiment of tin soldiers and tell them where to go, but you can also take control of any random one and take care of tasks that require a more dexterous hand. This is a very practical style of puzzle game, where you will have to make use of cannons, trampoline drums, and balloon inflating machines in order to get your soldiers to their destination.

It may not be the most out of the box puzzle game, but its freedom around searching for clues and solving puzzles is to be commended for its unique approach.

Alongside the standard puzzle aspects, you also have the miraculous ability to alter time. Pause, rewinds and try something again knowing the outcome. There’s something incredibly interesting in knowing exactly how everything is going to go through repeated attempts. It’s got that Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son thing going on. There is a very distinct charm to the gameplay where its easy to get the hang of but still requires a bit of cerebral thinking to get your head around some of the puzzles that are presented to you.

Visuals

Made by some of the previous developers of the Fable game, you can see their signature art style at play here. The game has beautiful character and world design here with stunning use of space and colors. Everything has a really vibrant and playful feel, while still managing to grasp onto that spook factor that the game develops a bit later on. The enemies are excellently designed and the people are not creepily well designed and don’t fall in to uncanny valley as some games seem to be pushing for these days.

Story

The story to this game follows a few generations of a family, and even stretches into other dimensions. This is a simple but powerful tale about love and compromise, with some of the story being sure to hit you right in the feels. If you want a powerful narrative that comments on some of the more intense parts of the human condition while remaining fun, you will be pleased when you play this game.

Pros

• Excellent delivered in a pleasant style
• Awesome narrative that pulls at the heartstrings
• Great puzzles for solving

Cons

• Narrative sometimes feels disconnected from the puzzles but is overall done well