Infinity Loop ®:Stress relief +4

This game is extremely calming, helps me after an exercise, task, or just generally when I have to calm down. So in that regard...it does what it is supposed to. But...the ads make me anxious because in the middle of relaxing...I get an ad that says “omg I can’t solve this puzzle” or “I can’t get to pink” and it drives...me...INSANE. I don’t mind turning on airplane mode or disabling my wifi but it is still annoying nonetheless. So that’s why I’m rating it 4 stars instead of 5.

Infinity Loop is part Tetris, part Sudoku. The pieces you’re rotating only come in a handful of varieties, and much of learning the game comes in the form of learning how the different pieces interact, like Tetris. But like Sudoku, once you’ve gotten through the first two dozen (excellently designed to teach you the basics) levels, the game becomes about spotting and following the logical threads. You start at the corners and set about cleaning things up according to how each piece *must* go until you’ve closed the loops.

The result is a somewhat fast and loose Zen experience. Ads are somewhat intrusive on the free experience, but the ad removal is fairly cheap and the game is honestly worth a couple bucks. When it clicks, its goal is to put you in a flow state, and it achieves this goal remarkably well through a novel marriage of reasonably familiar flow state patterns for puzzle enthusiasts. I am impressed by the game’s simplicity and sheer dedication to function. Highly recommend if it’s caught your eye.

and this game was my go-to for warding off anxiety attacks, and really helped to calm me down in the wake of attacks. I can’t remember if there were ads before, but if there were they were unobtrusive and occasional. Now ads pop up suddenly, and often will startle me by blaring music even when my phone is on mute. Waiting for an ad to allow me to click through, especially video ads, ramp me up all over again. I actually got startled back into an attack the first time this happened. Ads are important for game revenue but surely you could screen them for glitches like the volume override, and maybe choose ads that are quieter with less visual stimulus. I would pay the ad removal fee except that I can’t. I’m a student and I don’t have money to spare for in-app purchases. Please, I love this game and I miss the times when I could play it without fear. Now, even attempting to play it can cause me anxiety, never sure what ads will pop up when I click to the next level.

Gameplay itself is fabulous, intuitive, minimalist, and beautiful. Very peaceful. Makes the ads all the more jarring.