Game Info
GAME NAME: Tri-Strip
DEVELOPER(S): Sc0tt Games
PUBLISHER(S): Form Up Studios LLC
PLATFORM(S): Nintendo Wii U
GENRE(S): Puzzle
RELEASE DATE(S): February 5th, 2015
Many developers will try to hook you in with a piece of nostalgia, whether it be the gameplay or the art style, perhaps even the graphical look. The first thing you will automatically notice with Sc0tt Games and Form Up Studios’ puzzle title Tri-Strip is the green tint throwback to the Game Boy days which was host to arguably the greatest puzzle game of all time, Tetris. While the gameplay of Tri-Strip holds it’s own, there are too many unfortunate decisions, either purposely or in bug form that plague this title.
Tri-Strip is a vintage title that plays like the puzzle games of old with a twist. You place a row of three right angled triangles down on a board and try to either complete a square with them or make them into a diamond for more points. You also get more points if you create multiple boxes in one drop. The zL or zR buttons will allow you to rotate the row of triangles to be able to better place them. That is basically all there is to this title.
Tri-Strip comes with four different modes for you to play the same simple game in. In the first mode called Free Play, you can place blocks down and score points until either the timer runs out or you run out of moves. You can set the timer to be either 30, 60, 90 or 120 seconds. The second mode is challenge mode and it is much like the first mode but with one main difference, the boards you are placing the triangles on comes in all different shapes and sizes. Nonetheless you are still doing the same exact thing as free play, just going for that high score.
The third and fourth modes of Tri-strip are hardcore and super hardcore. These were my preferred methods of playing bar none. In hardcore mode if you don’t complete a square or diamond within 10 seconds, you lose a bar of blocks on the bottom. Every following 10 seconds and you lose another bar until you run out of moves or room on the screen. Super hardcore is more of the same but instead of 10 seconds you must make a shape within 5 seconds, which is quite rough.
My biggest complaint and really the main reason I was disappointed in the title is that once you shut the game down all of your high scores are wiped. No online leaderboards and no local leaderboard saving in a game where your only purpose is to try to obtain a high score. Do you see the dilemma in the product?
The graphic style of Tri-Strip highly resembles that of the GameBoy’s past. The one difference is you can change the shade to different colors such as pink or blue. You can also choose between three different background images to change it up a little. The soundtrack is a bright spot to the game and has a nice chiptune 80s/90s sound.
The Recommendation
It’s hard for me to recommend Tri-Strip as is. With no save option for your high scores, it almost seems pointless to even play the game. So many indie titles have online leaderboards and local leaderboards that this over sight seems a little ridiculous. If leaderboards don’t matter to you then you will find a refreshing little puzzle game on the eShop with a nice throwback GameBoy look and sound.
