Linkito [Review]
Puzzle game Linkito is a more accessible spin on The Signal State.
Linkito. Credit: Kimeria Games / Playdigious Originals
Like The Signal State, Kimeria Games and Playdigious Originals’ Linkito is a logic puzzle game in which players connect various components to route power, information, or signals. I enjoyed my time with The Signal State, but I often found myself stuck and looking up puzzle solutions. Despite some challenging levels, I never fell into this situation with Linkito.
In Linkito, you find yourself selected to be an engineer at Albatross Technologies, the science arm of a retrofuturist, oppressive, totalitarian surveillance state in the tradition of 1984. The game’s story develops as you climb the ranks through Albatross’ various departments and uncover the truth.
Linkito. Credit: Kimeria Games / Playdigious Originals
The game’s 80+ puzzles are broken up into groups based on the department you’re working for. You’ll start by routing power and graduate to operating robots, decoding messages, defusing bombs, and more, with puzzles gradually increasing in complexity. At first, you only have to deal with components already placed on the stage for you, but soon, you will have to add components from your inventory to find solutions.
I appreciated that the game’s puzzles rarely feel abstract and that it does a great job of gradually guiding you to mastery of its various components. Sometimes, Linkito provided a sample layout of elements within a level disconnected from the puzzle itself to demonstrate how something should work. After minimal experimentation, I never felt at a loss for how something worked.
Linkito. Credit: Kimeria Games / Playdigious Originals
I particularly enjoyed the levels built around guiding little robots to goals. By routing power to switches that make the robots move or turn, as well as to gates and lifts within the level, you can send the bots to the targets and solve the puzzle. All the robots always respond together to the signals you send, so it gets challenging when you need to get the bots to buttons or targets in different places.
Visually, the game features bold, colorful, graphics slightly reminiscent of 1950s illustration. Everything is flat, rendered from a single orthographic projection angle on a wall, but all parts still cast shadows against the background to give things a sense of depth. The art style makes all component functions easy to read and understand, except for connections. All the wiring you place is the same color and can sometimes be hidden by components or even other wiring.
Linkito. Credit: Kimeria Games / Playdigious Originals
The game includes a level editor that lets you build puzzles or even entire campaigns you can share with other players. After you finish the main game, the fun won’t end because you can keep playing fresh puzzles from the community. Amazingly, you can also integrate Linkito to Arduino and OSC protocols to use your own custom controllers or gadgets to drive the game.
Linkito. Credit: Kimeria Games / Playdigious Originals
If you enjoy logic puzzle games or are interested in electronics, I highly recommend Linkito. I was entirely absorbed by the game, and it’s well worth the asking price of $14.99.
Linkito is available now on Steam.
Overall Score: 8/10
Played on: Steam Deck
