ZHED from Ground Control Studios is a minimalist, fun, and chill puzzle game on Nintendo Switch. Learn more in our ZHED review!
In ZHED from Portugal-based indie Ground Control Studios, you are tasked with solving each of the 100 levels the game has to offer. To do this, you must select and click on each square so that you can move it in one of four directions, as you aim to reach the goal square. Since there are no timers, you can take your time as you search for the right solution for each stage. Since squares that overlap will interact with each other, you will get to experiment in search of the best chain reaction to bring you closer to your goal.
The controls are simple and easy to understand. You’ll be moving each piece up, down, left, and right with the left analog stick or the D-Pad as you move each piece up to the number limit displayed on it. If you’ve made a mistake, you can undo a move with the B button. And if you’re ever feeling stuck, there’s the option of getting a hint by pressing the Y button. You can also use the Nintendo Switch’s touchscreen to play when in Portable or Tabletop Mode, or if you’re playing on a Nintendo Switch Lite. You will get to practice all of this as needed during the first handful of stages in ZHED, and you’ll quickly get the hang of things.
As expected, the further you progress in the game, the higher the difficulty of the puzzles you will face. It’s a good difficulty curve since you’ll learn new ways of looking at subsequent puzzles from how you managed to solve the previous ones. For every puzzle that you solve without using any hints, you will add an extra counter to your hints total. This means that at one point, you could find yourself with enough hints to completely solve a puzzle that might be giving you trouble. Or perhaps you’d like to save your hints so that you can use one every now and then to nudge you in the right direction by showing you the first move of a tricky puzzle or two.
ZHED is a fun minimalist puzzle with a simple premise – get from Point A to Point B – that allows you to play at your own pace as you learn to spot the right set of moves that will allow you to complete each stage. It’s an easy one to recommend since it’s only $3.25, which at 100 levels, makes this one a steal on Nintendo Switch.
Disclaimer
This ZHED review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by Ground Control Studios.
