Color Zen Kids review

Destroy the animal kingdom with your trusty stylus!

Review written by
Matt Clewley

July 26th, 2014

Once again I have encountered a puzzle game that has emerged from the depths of the eShop. I can't complain, I have across some great gaming gems during my time writing for Wii's World and I have given honest scores. Indie developers are becoming a wonderful force now that more and more of them are getting the attention they deserve. I have come across a game called Color Zen Kids, a puzzle game based on, as you might be able to tell, Color Zen.

Color Zen Kids is a puzzle game that is designed for the younger audience to have a crack at. You have varying shapes of different colors, and you have to hit shapes of the same color into each other. The aim of the game is to get the last few shapes to match the color of the border around the screen. When that is done, you progress to the next level and do the same again.

The gameplay is kept simple, as this is intended to be a children's game after all, but it is still quite addictive. I found completing most of the levels easy, but I think a child would have a lot more fun with this game. It can require some brainpower at first when you're trying to figure out how to play.

There are a few moments where you really need to keep your eyes peeled on the screen. The shapes, once touched, spend their time floating around, so you need to make sure they don't accidentally hit a shape with the same color at the wrong time or else it could cost you. Then you will need to restart the level.

The shapes were mostly animals, either on their own or with other shapes included to add to the scenery. Even though the levels were simple, it was quite addictive, kind of like chilli heatwave Doritos. The look and the feel of it is great and all, but I cleared through all six levels with ease, whilst Color Zen seems to have a lot more on offer. The game could do with more of a challenge curve as it's one of those games that you learn from the more you play it.

The graphics are abstract and cheery, which is highly appealing to children of a young age. Well, I presume so, light blue was my favorite color for most of my life before I fell in love with the best color ever... blue. It's a pretty looking game, the effects of the shapes touching is nice if a little bit laggy at times. There isn't much graphically to this game, but I admire its cleanliness.

The shapes are all lined up to look like animals and it looks adorable, it makes the game attractive to those who like vibrant colors. The music adds a relaxing atmosphere, which also makes it enjoyable to play. Its electronic soundtrack gives off a beautiful ambient sound.

Without any lives or statistics to keep your eye on you can nicely sail your way through without hitting any icebergs. There's no stress, no pressure and no swearing when playing this. However, I do think the difficulty could have gone prominently higher as the levels goes by. I understand that this game is all about nicely going through levels, but there should be a challenge when it comes to level progression.

The price on this game could have been cheaper, comparing the Kids and the original Color Zen will prove that. Color Zen has over 450 levels to complete, whilst Kids seems lackluster, it took me over half an hour to complete and I feel there should have been a lot more on offer. Aside from that, it's a game worth playing, and depending on how much your child plays games then you should buy it to start off, but I still think the price is silly considering the content of the game.

In conclusion: Color Zen is a relaxing gaming journey that consists of ripping apart pretty animal pictures with your stylus and then making a plain colored picture as an ending result.