Broken Lens Review: Putting Together the Past
Games don’t have to be complicated to be fun. In fact, most of the time I find myself HOPING that games won’t be too complicated. Sometimes, the perfect game is something that is easy to pick up and play at any time of the day when you’ve got a few moments to spare. Broken Lens from Developer Team RUN is a cozy puzzle game where players must find the differences in each level in order to progress. It’s a simple concept and one that its team has truly perfected.
In Broken Lens, you play as a small, adorable robot that has a slight issue with his vision. One of his eye lenses sees things a little different from the other. It’s up to you to find ten differences in each level so that your little robot friend can see what’s properly going on around him. There is also one piece of paper to find in each level which gives players a small glimpse into the lore of the game and how things work in this unique universe.
Piece by Piece
In order to find the ten differences in each level, players use their mouse to move the level around. The mouse controls both the left and right lens at the same time which can be hard to adjust to at first, but once you get the hang of things it’s really easy to balance and look between both lenses. Each level is pretty small so you won’t even have to move around much to be able to see everything that’s on the screen. Additionally, there aren’t hundreds of items to look at like in games such as Where’s Waldo? so your brain probably won’t go into overload trying to clock what two things could be different between the two lenses.
What’s awesome about Broken Lens is that there are a variety of biomes to uncover the more you play and with such a fun and colorful art style, the game is really amazing to look at. Each element of this game is hand drawn by artist EncreMecanique and the care that has gone into the game is easy to see. Broken Lens features fun birds, frogs, alien creatures, mushroom people and tons more awesome little buddies to discover the more you play.
Can You Give Me A Hint?
For those that think they may get frustrated trying to find every difference on each level, Broken Lens does feature a hint system that players can use. The hint will highlight a certain area of each level where there is a difference still left to find. The catch is that you can only use a hint every couple of minutes. More than once I found myself waiting around for a hint because I only had one difference left to find and had no idea where it was so it can be a bit frustrating. But, the upside is there’s no limit to the amount of hints you can use so if you’re really stuck, you’ll always have that option.
Overall, Broken Lens is exactly what the doctor ordered for players looking for a fun, chill game. Unlike games like Where’s Waldo? where there’s hundreds upon hundreds of items to look at, this title just gives you just a handful to sort through to find your differences. Bring in a cute little robot, some fun otherworlds creatures and this is an adventure well worth diving into.
Breakdown
Game: Broken Lens
Developer: Team RUN
Publisher: Team RUN, Flying Oak Games
Availability: PC
Reviewed on: PC
Pros:
+ Lots of levels among a handful of cute, creative biomes
+ Fun art style
+ Lore to uncover and piece together yourself
Cons:
- Waiting for a hint to refresh when you’re really stuck can be frustrating
Final Thoughts
Broken Lens is a fantastic cozy game. It’s easy to learn, fun to play, super cute, and has tons of content. You could easily breeze through level after level in a short period or come back to it when you want something to scratch that puzzle itch in your brain at the end of a hard day. Team RUN have created something really special here and I can’t wait to obsess over it and get 100% progress.
Reviewed by Becca Smith