Developer: Miracle Tea
Genre: Puzzle
A part of the Itch.io Racial Justice bundle - 4/1,741
A part of the Itch.io Racial Justice bundle - 4/1,741
Matching games don't get any simpler than Miracle Tea's Ruya - a calm, meditative puzzle adventure exploring the deep recesses of the mind while lost in the depths of solitude. The simplicity isn't a detriment, mind you, it works well for the tone conveyed and for the core mechanics being deployed here. This game is hypnotic, it draws you in with lush backgrounds, somber musical arrangements, and soft sound effects to create a very relaxing, ASMR-like environment. Ruya is a pattern-matching game generous with the moves it gives you each level and patient with your errors. Each stop through your deep meditation adventure will have you drawing unique patterns using a board populated by what I can only assume are the apparitions of the children you've left behind.
Oh yeah, did I mention that this game has a setting of sorts? It's interesting and incredibly sad on deeper inspection, but it exists mostly for the beautiful, colorful dream worlds you explore to have existence. Drawing the needed lines through isochromatic grids clear the board and satisfy quotas needed to complete the level and the further into the game you go the more obstacles are thrown at you to hinder your progress, though rarely does it raise the stakes. Most important of all, you place the pieces on the board. Lacking in a certain color or needing to make a specific shape and can't? Just toss a few tiles onto the board and you're good to go! Of course, to balance this out the pieces you can throw are randomly generated. Also, every now and then a flower will be placed on the head of a tile which will slowly die for each move unclaimed. Three must be collected for this game's equivalent of a three-star system, so be sure to be mindful of your board composition, your amount of moves, and the level quotas so that you don't miss your shot in claiming them.
Interestingly, and somewhat contradictory, this feels like a depressing game. Or better yet, a genuinely moving journey. The story of abandoning your loved ones to find yourself in mourning is a hell of a downer premise. And as you clear specific levels small, intrusive memories enter the character's head (akin to the ones that transition floors in Binding of Isaac) that reflect on warm, happy memories. Seeing the player character reminiscing with thoughts of family and the little things that brought them joy while completely alone in harsh environments is moving and very effective. It makes you want to go deeper and see if the journey's end liberates you from this misery. And get out of this stat quick, once the game introduces frozen tiles a few worlds in you're given a pretty gnarly visual of the character's children who apparate level to level with you encased in ice, eyes as empty as a void, and miserable.
It gets you thinking a bit about the presentation and the story. It makes you wonder what is going on with her children outside of the meditative state. Are they by her side? Are they home alone, cold and confused? You'll notice that each tile the character holds is held in a tight embrace. She misses them, doesn't she? I won't lie, as much as I find these little emotional flourishes to be neat it takes me out of the relaxing atmosphere a bit. Ruya is a relaxing, simple puzzle game that works well for anyone needing to wind down. It's pretty to look at and stimulating enough to be challenging while working as a great companion to other tasks you may be doing if your attention isn't all there. While I do find the dissonance between tone and presentation a bit unnerving that doesn't diminish this as a puzzle game worth your time. I still have a few worlds left to get through myself and I'm excited to see where it takes me next.
Oh yeah, did I mention that this game has a setting of sorts? It's interesting and incredibly sad on deeper inspection, but it exists mostly for the beautiful, colorful dream worlds you explore to have existence. Drawing the needed lines through isochromatic grids clear the board and satisfy quotas needed to complete the level and the further into the game you go the more obstacles are thrown at you to hinder your progress, though rarely does it raise the stakes. Most important of all, you place the pieces on the board. Lacking in a certain color or needing to make a specific shape and can't? Just toss a few tiles onto the board and you're good to go! Of course, to balance this out the pieces you can throw are randomly generated. Also, every now and then a flower will be placed on the head of a tile which will slowly die for each move unclaimed. Three must be collected for this game's equivalent of a three-star system, so be sure to be mindful of your board composition, your amount of moves, and the level quotas so that you don't miss your shot in claiming them.
Interestingly, and somewhat contradictory, this feels like a depressing game. Or better yet, a genuinely moving journey. The story of abandoning your loved ones to find yourself in mourning is a hell of a downer premise. And as you clear specific levels small, intrusive memories enter the character's head (akin to the ones that transition floors in Binding of Isaac) that reflect on warm, happy memories. Seeing the player character reminiscing with thoughts of family and the little things that brought them joy while completely alone in harsh environments is moving and very effective. It makes you want to go deeper and see if the journey's end liberates you from this misery. And get out of this stat quick, once the game introduces frozen tiles a few worlds in you're given a pretty gnarly visual of the character's children who apparate level to level with you encased in ice, eyes as empty as a void, and miserable.
It gets you thinking a bit about the presentation and the story. It makes you wonder what is going on with her children outside of the meditative state. Are they by her side? Are they home alone, cold and confused? You'll notice that each tile the character holds is held in a tight embrace. She misses them, doesn't she? I won't lie, as much as I find these little emotional flourishes to be neat it takes me out of the relaxing atmosphere a bit. Ruya is a relaxing, simple puzzle game that works well for anyone needing to wind down. It's pretty to look at and stimulating enough to be challenging while working as a great companion to other tasks you may be doing if your attention isn't all there. While I do find the dissonance between tone and presentation a bit unnerving that doesn't diminish this as a puzzle game worth your time. I still have a few worlds left to get through myself and I'm excited to see where it takes me next.
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