Find A Way Jose’ Review – Waldo’s Got Nothing On Jose

‘Find A Way Jose’ Review – Waldo’s Got Nothing On Jose
Find A Way Jose is Artlab Interactive ’s latest sliding block puzzle.

’s latest sliding block puzzle. The game challenges players to guide the caricatured protagonist, Jose, from beginning to end of one challenging puzzle after another. While some have categorized the title as a board game, it’s hard to see why, as it lacks multiplayer or any other typical board game characteristics. What it does have is a grin-inducing mexican desert motif, which changes its tune slightly between each of the games’ larger sections. You’ll trek through the deserts, drift through space, and find tides of increasing frustration as you progress through the game in pursuit of rum and stars; what else could you want?

On a design level, the game is pretty standard. While it is pretty cool when Jose decides to give the player a little wink now and then, the game looks and feels about as polished as a game on iOS should be, nothing more or less.

While there are plenty of sliding block puzzle games out there, Find A Way Jose is worthy of note. While the game may not win any innovation awards in the near future, Jose avoids the clipping and other small issues that typically plague the simple sliding block puzzeler. Though not outstanding, Jose meets or even exceeds the standard for this sort of game, it’s clear the developer took great care in crafting it. Where the game makes greater strides is in the difficulty department, this is a hard game.

Jose scores players on a five star scale, as opposed to the standard three, and always seems leave the player with room for improvement after completing a given stage. The five star rating is calculated based upon two factors. The first is the amount of moves it takes the player to guide Jose to the finish line. These moves are calculated in terms of the number of squares Jose crosses while you drag him about in search of the correct path. It’s a bit like playing golf, even the slightest mis-movement could be the difference between a four and five star finish, it’s a great way to keep players on their toes.

The second factor in determining ratings per level is the amount of time it takes the player to complete each stage. These times vary greatly, depending on how difficult the developer has deemed each stage, and allotted time to claim the highest ratings can be anywhere from three seconds to twenty or more, but this is where the difficulty definition becomes a bit blurry. At three seconds for the easier stages, it’s nearly impossible to move fast enough through the puzzle to make it to the goal within the time limit. Even if you know the solution by heart, there are times when you may find yourself physically incapable of clearing a level within the time provided, which is frustrating to the point of cruelty in some cases. Despite that, I commend Artlab for sticking by this model instead of babysitting some players as some developers have fallen into doing.

Regardless of the scoring factors, Jose should present more than a formidable challenge to any player. All 80 of its levels present theirown challenge, in that the method of thinking required to work through each is different enough to keep the player guessing between each puzzle. Pursuing all 300 stars should keep you coming back time and time again, at least I did, as each difficult yet digestible puzzle can be handled no matter the setting, which is key in any mobile experience.

Find A Way Jose is a fun, yet simple game. By taking the sliding block genre and draping it in a pancho, Artlab Interactive has given character to an otherwise plain experience. The game is well polished and quite challenging, even though it can be plain irritating at times and is worthy of a second look for those looking for an entertaining pick up and play experience, look no further. Find a Way Jose is currently available on the App Storefor free, however the full game is only unlockable via a two dollar in-app purchase.

For more information on the game, check out Artlab Interactive’s official website.

[review pros=”Challenging and full of character” cons=”At times nonsensical time constraints” score=80]