I was never the most perseverant gamer; it's only in the past couple years that I've started making an effort to push through roadblocks in video games, and even then I'm far from perfect. (Moonlight Butterfly...we will meet again one day.) So in a weird way, I'm glad I didn't play this back in 2008, because it's got some fiendish difficulty spikes that absolutely would've had 11-year-old Luke trading it in for $2 of GameStop store credit on the spot. But 26-year-old Luke got to experience a charming, well-designed, remarkably varied little gem! Even if the fourth-to-last level had me wondering what I could buy with two bucks these days.

I could write an essay, a long one, on the genius of this game's concept and the intricacy of its execution, but it's Friday afternoon, and I like think I have better things to do. (I like to lie to myself, in other words.) For now, suffice it to say that the Hard puzzles are among the best I've played in any game, and that while a few Round 2 QOL enhancements would've been welcome here (especially the bomb and reworked "completed line" indicator), the lack of a hint system improves this one to such a startling degree that I'm tempted to do a full "hintless" replay of the sequel. Oh, and I guess I do wish the really incredible stuff was unlocked from the start, but the easier puzzles have a zen charm of their own. HAL should have made 10 of these.