Some games offer you abstract titles that don’t fully explain the breadth of tasks you have to complete to get to the end. Please make sure that the road does not suffer from this problem. As you play through 160 bite-sized puzzles, each one simply asks you to do exactly what the title of this game says: fix the road, the path, the sidewalk or the river so that vehicles and animals can reach their destination. But despite the simple premise and laid-back demeanor, developer Arielek offers no shortage of witty twists on the core concept, which leaves me guessing what challenges he would face next.
Each puzzle features a small, charmingly rendered plot with at least one broken path. In the lower left corner, you have determined certain movements that you need to perform to solve the puzzle. While I initially found this train dictation in some order to be limiting and contrary to the rather casual experience I was hoping for, it eventually pushed me into some incredibly rewarding moments as I probably solved the puzzle exactly as the developer intended. In addition, it provides breadcrumbs for the solution; on several occasions I wondered why a certain move was required in a level, only to discover that I was overlooking an important aspect of the puzzle.
What starts as a puzzle game in which you simply connect the provided tiles where they logically fit quickly turns into one in which you have to exploit, rearrange, swap, copy and rotate entire blocks of terrain to get the characters from point A to point B. For others, I stared at them for a few minutes while trying different solutions. When I came to numbered puzzles in the 80s, 90s and hundreds, this element of trial and error came into play more and more, as the developer threw more and more complex puzzles my way.
Fortunately, Please Fix the path gives players an undo button that goes back to the last action they took, as the action takes place turn by turn. This is especially useful for experiments. Occasionally, when I got stuck, I enjoyed using the hint button, which gives step-by-step suggestions, but not complete solutions; if I get stuck on a certain step, I can get a hint from the developers about the correct first step to take. It’s useful without the game playing itself, even if it’s making early moves on your behalf.
It’s a bit frustrating when the tracks are played in sequential order, regardless of the correct moves you’ve already made. It doesn’t matter if I did the first three moves correctly; the track mechanic will undo all my moves and show me the first move I already did for the first track. Fortunately, the vast majority of the time I relied solely on my own puzzle-solving skills. Some of the puzzles after in the game left me looking confused as to what my first move should be, which can be frustrating but ultimately satisfying once I’ve cracked the code.
The levels are not only balanced, but also fast. For every stage that took longer than normal, there was often a simpler puzzle around the corner to rebuild my confidence. These constant ups and downs kept me on my toes without finishing the momentum I had built up as I overcame the many challenges on offer. Solving each puzzle will provide additional satisfaction thanks to the funny animations that accompany each solution; from the charming art style to the soothing soundscapes and the wonderfully animated transitions between puzzles, the minimalist design conventions of Please Fix The Road engage the senses in a wonderful way.
Although the trick eventually disappears and the complexity sometimes surpasses the simple concept when you get to the puzzles in the three-digit range, Please Fix the Road shows that creativity and intelligent puzzle design are more important than a robust toolset or a wide freedom for the player. It offers an optimized and curated puzzle solving experience that will keep you hooked from the first puzzle and bring you satisfaction in every round through constantly evolving mechanics.
