Tin Hearts may have been released on Steam in May 2023 but who can deny that Tin Soldiers aren’t festive? We look at this puzzle title from developer Rogue Sun and publisher Wired Productions. The game centres around a genius inventor, Albert J. Butterworth, who must guide his soldiers home in a series of Lemmings-like puzzles.
The story unfolds as you progress through the various levels that take place across a Victorian home. It tells a heartbreaking narrative of loss and emotion through the lives of a family as they try to get the soldiers home. Tin Hearts boasts four different acts containing over 50 puzzles and multiple ways to win each scenario.
When you first start playing Tin Hearts you cannot help but notice just how charming the presentation is. From the delightful melodies that hum along in the background to the colourful rooms filled with detailed toys, it’s obvious a lot of love has been poured into this puzzler. Care has been taken to take you on a magical journey that blends a lovely family story with intuitive puzzle gameplay.
The entire game feels like a fairytale that plays out at a slow pace and you can’t help but smile as the soldiers march along following the tracks laid out. You will make mistakes, you might even feel bad if a soldier topples from the tabletop and smashes on the ground. Luckily you can restart each level and there are many occasions that you don’t need to release the soldiers until a few puzzle blocks are laid.
After the prologue, which lets you play about with the basic mechanics, you start to unlock time travel abilities that allow you to start, stop and rewind the soldier’s movements. This mechanic becomes a necessity in solving the puzzles and at times you will need to experiment a little before rewinding the action. The balance between puzzle solving, working out the time elements and moving around the environment is perfect.
Everything about Tin Hearts just works. The first-person perspective, which allows you to move around the entire level, pick up puzzle blocks and turn them before placing them into position, means you have complete freedom to explore and see what part of the level you want to play with next. Watching your soldiers bounce from a drum onto another platform or swing from a rope is wonderful and you feel in total control at all times.
Tin Hearts looks incredible at times, the detail on the soldiers and their surroundings is beautiful and feels solid. As you progress through the acts and get to the other areas of the house, the variety breathes new life into the entire game. You go from a stuffy attic to open green gardens and the sense of wonder refills. It’s not just the surroundings that develop, but the difficulty in puzzles as well.
The later game becomes a real head-scratcher but not impossible. You will just need to use everything you’ve learned and keep an eye on those constantly moving soldiers. Anyone who enjoys puzzle games will see the quality in Tin Hearts immediately. This is the perfect game to play as a family or one to take your time over and simply enjoy the journey and story.
