Skip to content

Review: ELOH – solve relaxing puzzles to the beat

A chilled out approach to puzzle gaming

Price: $3/£3
Version: 1.0.2
Size: 220.2 MB
Seller: Broken Rules
Platform: iPhone / iPad

Get ELOH

Update! The musical nature of ELOH was unique on its release, but does it still hold up? Very much so.

So what’s new? It’s always great when you return to a game after your first play to find it’s even bigger than before. That’s exactly what’s happened with ELOH: the developers added 14 new levels since the version we reviewed. They’re similar, and very much a more of the same vibe, but then that’s exactly what you want from such well-designed, well-paced and relaxing game play. Other than that, the game has been given a native resolution on the iPad Pro, which looks absolutely phenomenal on the screen.

Revised rating: Same as it ever was. ★★★★½

—–

Our original review, written in June 2019, is presented in its entirety below.

From the makers of the near-therapeutic adventure game Old Man’s Journey comes the equally chilled out ELOH.

This time, developers Broken Rules take a similar approach, both in its mentality and visual approach, utilizing a beautiful aesthetic with well-designed objects and characters. This time around, however, the emphasis is less on the narrative and more on providing the player with a straight-forward, easily accessible puzzle-game.

The quality of the art direction hits you from the start

However, another thing the two titles have in common is the music. In Old Man’s Journey, the music adds to the emotion, in ELOH it adds to the game play. The aim of the game is to position various blocks so that when you fire the small round objects on their bouncing paths, they produce the correct beat on their way to the goal.

The game is visually satisfying, and aurally satisfying too

The game refers to these blocks as ‘spirits’. Each one has its own personality, but more importantly its own beat. From glockenspiel-style pings to steady drumbeats, the music produced is instantly relaxing and incredibly satisfying when you hit the right beat.

The learning curve is relatively steady over the 85 levels and it really is a pleasure to play. The first 25 levels are relatively simple as it introduces levels with multiple spirits with different behaviours, but there’s plenty of challenge ready for you in later levels.

New ‘spirits’ are added as you progress

We found that the best way to play was with headphones, because once you’re really in tune you can sit back and enjoy the beat before jumping into the next level – adding a whole new layer to the experience.

In fact, the whole thing is a joy. Even when you’re struggling to know where to place the spirits to produce the final beat, you’re consistently buoyed by the music that’s already been produced. In many ways, the harder you find a level, the more relaxing and enjoyable it can be.

It can get a little confusing at times, but the music makes it a comforting route to the solution

And just like all great puzzle games, ELOH really is a pick up and play affair. There’s nothing to remember, no overly-complicated gestures or tactics to recall – fire up the app and jump straight back in, the music instantly taking you back right where you left off.

If you’re frequently faced with the anxiety of solving puzzles, or in life in general, a few reviews have noted on the App Store that the whole experience is incredibly soothing. We have to concur.

Across the 85 levels you’re rarely frustrated, the subtle changes to mechanics and sound are impressively dealt with

In ELOH, the developers have knocked it out of the park once again. Beautiful, easy to grasp, hard to master, but overall, a whole lot of fun.