Mind Over Magnet was a very fun, very cute casual puzzler. The game was relatively short – I beat it in a little over an hour, little over 2 on replay to get developer commentary – but the puzzles were really charming and had some pretty clever ideas.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm a bit of a hardcore puzzle player. Besides a couple of levels, the puzzles in this game were relatively easy and I could solve them either on first try or after a couple attempts. Still, I can see the great appeal for gamers who don't want to lose their marbles – or magnets – over a casual, "chill afternoon" type of puzzle.

The art direction and level decorations were really quite polished. The game looked pretty, mechanics and connections were clearly communicated, and every world was uniquely vibrant. Everything had animations, visual feedback, or tiny screws you could kick around for fun. The soundtrack was also really quite good. Not too attention-grabbing, but still chill that you could enjoy it on loop without it feeling annoying or repetitive. Sound effects were also really nice and polished and gave the overall experience a level of "completeness".

The only nitpicks I have with this game, and they're minor, is that the puzzle progression felt a bit disconnected at times. You'd get a couple puzzles that were very simple and easy in the middle of more challenging and involved ones, and sometimes you'd get a single more difficult puzzle sandwiched between tougher ones. It wasn't necessarily frustrating, but it was a bit jarring. The other nitpick is how, sometimes, the physics of the game would create slight inconveniences. Sometimes, throwing a magnet would make it bump on a surface and veer off course from its dotted trajectory, or sometimes they'd get smashed for being just a pixel or two too close to a box that'd then destroy them. Luckily, each level is relatively short, and the game provides an easy reset option in case that happens (or if you get stuck, which can happen in quite a few levels).

Overall, this is a really well made game, especially for someone's first (if you ignore his picross ventures of the past). Admittedly, Mark has had quite a lot of help from his work at GMTK (which gave him access to playtesters, advice from experienced devs, and just help from artists and coders in general). But that in no way takes away from the fact that this game was really quite polished, very fun to play, enjoyable to look at and listen to, and had a really neat developer commentary. Definitely recommend!

Mind Over Magnet was a very fun, very cute casual puzzler. The game was relatively short – I beat it in a little over an hour, little over 2 on replay to get developer commentary – but the puzzles were really charming and had some pretty clever ideas. I'll be the first to admit that I'm a bit of a hardcore puzzle player. Besides a couple of levels, the puzzles in this game were relatively easy and I could solve them either on first try or after a couple attempts. Still, I can see the great appeal for gamers who don't want to lose their marbles – or magnets – over a casual, "chill afternoon" type of puzzle. The art direction and level decorations were really quite polished. The game looked pretty, mechanics and connections were clearly communicated, and every world was uniquely vibrant. Everything had animations, visual feedback, or tiny screws you could kick around for fun. The soundtrack was also really quite good. Not too attention-grabbing, but still chill that you could enjoy it on loop without it feeling annoying or repetitive. Sound effects were also really nice and polished and gave the overall experience a level of "completeness". The only nitpicks I have with this game, and they're minor, is that the puzzle progression felt a bit disconnected at times. You'd get a couple puzzles that were very simple and easy in the middle of more challenging and involved ones, and sometimes you'd get a single more difficult puzzle sandwiched between tougher ones. It wasn't necessarily frustrating, but it was a bit jarring. The other nitpick is how, sometimes, the physics of the game would create slight inconveniences. Sometimes, throwing a magnet would make it bump on a surface and veer off course from its dotted trajectory, or sometimes they'd get smashed for being just a pixel or two too close to a box that'd then destroy them. Luckily, each level is relatively short, and the game provides an easy reset option in case that happens (or if you get stuck, which can happen in quite a few levels). Overall, this is a really well made game, [i]especially[/i] for someone's first (if you ignore his picross ventures of the past). Admittedly, Mark has had quite a lot of help from his work at GMTK (which gave him access to playtesters, advice from experienced devs, and just help from artists and coders in general). But that in no way takes away from the fact that this game was really quite polished, very fun to play, enjoyable to look at and listen to, and had a really neat developer commentary. Definitely recommend!