Rayz

Summary

An Android world without puzzle, jump&run or strategy games in unimaginable. Today’s featured game Rayz takes on a relatively simple gameplay and combines it with challenging levels and various degrees of difficulty. Team that with nice graphics and tie the whole thing up into one fun little package. But is Rayz really all that fun? All shall be revealed in today’s review.

Test devices:

Samsung Galaxy Nexus
Android version: 4.0.4
Root: Yes
Modifications: Yes / AOKP ROM Build 37 / Popcorn Kernel 10.2 Nightly

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
Android version: 4.0.4
Root: Yes
Modifications: Yes / AOKP ROM Build 36

App details:
Runs as of: Android 2.0.1
Apps2SD: Couldn’t be detected on either test device
Size: Ca. 17.4 MB
Optimised for Ice Cream Sandwich: Yes
Optimised for tablet: No, but runs seamlessly

As mentioned in the intro, the Rayz gameplay is nice and simple. In each level you will find at least one machine that send out laser beams. The rays have to then be redirected to a sort of receiver machine using mirrors. There are 48 levels to get through, and the first few are not absurdly challenging. However, the further you get, the more complicated the levels become. For instance, you will have to connect blue beams exclusively to blue receivers. And when the beams aren’t the colour you want them to be, they have to first be directed through a machine that will change their colour. Some parts of machinery will split the beams up so that there are three rather than one.

Also, beams have to cross a certain number of fields, meaning that in many instances you will have to build complex mirrors structures in order to prolong the beam’s trajectory. As always, I tested this game dutifully, and let me tell you that there were many situations in which I rearranged the mirror structures three, four, five times in order to get them right.
So, if you like this type of puzzle game and have a lot of patience and spatial imagination, Rayz is just the ticket for you.

Bottom line:

Rayz is a good puzzle game with a simple, straight forward gameplay. There are no time limits or stressful situations, plenty of time to think and rethink, and yet the game is actually quite challenging.

Rayz runs on Unity Engine, but this is hardly noticeable, seeing as the playing field is always seen from above. You have to zoom in order to appreciate how nicely done and smooth the graphic quality really is.

Controls are equally good and very easy to get the hang of.

Rayz performed very well on both devices we used to test the app for you. It froze once and had to close, but this was an isolated incident.

Rayz is free and can be downloaded from Google Play. Ads are shown within the menu but not during a round.