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Kami 2 – More relaxing paper-based puzzling

The sequel to the popular origami puzzler brings more of the same – is it worth downloading?

Price: Free
Version: 1.0.2
Size: 135 MB
Platform: iPhone & iPad
Developer: State of Play Games

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Kami is Japanese for paper: specifically, the colorful origami paper which is so easily folded into beautiful geometric patterns. It’s these patterns around which the game is built, as you’re tasked with recoloring intricate paper designs.

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Tap to “paint” the sections a new color

Each level presents a full-screen paper canvas made up of dozens of interlocking triangles, and your goal is to turn the entire canvas a single color in as few steps as possible. It controls almost like a painting app – choose a color at the bottom and tap a section of paper to fill it with new color. After each tap your chosen color dramatically spreads outwards, unfolding itself one triangle at a time. It’s uniquely satisfying.

Though the game starts simply enough, this is much harder than it sounds and later levels will require some serious deep thinking. Generally your aim is to “join up” swathes of color so larger patches can be altered with a single tap, and to pass each level with a perfect score you’ll need to find the most efficient way to do this.

Kami2

The paper satisfyingly folds away to reveal a new color

Kami 2 is more or less the same game as Kami 1, but this time using a grid of triangles rather than squares, which adds a level of complexity to the designs. Arguably there aren’t enough new ideas to justify the full sequel, but there is certainly plenty of new content to play with: over 100 levels in the main “Journey” mode alone. You get a lot of stuff for free here.

Beyond the main game there’s a rotating selection of Daily Challenges so you’ll never run out of content, and there’s even a robust level builder to design your own, which can be shared online to the Player Creations section. It’s fun to get artistic on these isometric grids, and completing the main game will unlock new color palettes for use in this mode.

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Painting and then playing your own designs is a fun challenge

By the same team who many the gorgeous hand-crafted Lumino City and the stylish painting-pinball hybrid INKS, it’s no surprise that Kami 2 is a good looking game. The geometric designs look great and the subtle papery textures that cover everything give it a minimal, tactile kind of feel. There’s no background music but gentle Japanese harps play when you complete each level, and there are satisfying folding sound effects as the paper flips between colors. It’s nice.

If you get stuck you can use up to three hints per level, and this is where the devs are hoping to make some money – you buy the hints with in-app purchases. There are no ads to be seen though, and the only other real cost comes if you want to unlock premium textures for the level builder. It’s a pretty fair system on the whole, though it’s annoying that you can’t progress through all the levels without scoring a “perfect” on all the preceding ones. With hints costing real money, this kind of grinds the game to a halt if you get stuck and don’t want to pay. A secondary way to earn hints would be nice.

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User generated content gives a reason to keep coming back to the app

If you played the original Kami and liked it, this is a no-brainer: more of the same, completely free. If you haven’t played the first one then you should dive straight into Kami 2 instead. It polishes the ideas of the first while adding extra modes and reducing the price, and like the best mobile puzzlers its both relaxing and taxing. What’s not to like?