No amount of nose-twitching can fix this

Beglitched makes a pretty good, if confusing, first impression. I liked its fish-out-of-water introduction, which explains some, but not all, of the in-game mechanics; figuring out how the game really works is part of the puzzle.

In a sense, it apes the Miyamoto magic of Super Mario Bros. -- it teaches you how to play by making you ask questions and try things, rather than telling you what you should be doing. I used observation and deduction to determine what the maze symbols meant, and what the puzzle matches were doing. And that sense of discovery helped reinforce those lessons in my head.

Unfortunately, underneath its charming design, engaging puzzles, and cyber-cute aesthetic, Beglitched has a real mean streak; a few stages in, the game becomes utterly unforgiving. When you run out of health, or fail a mission, the maze that you're in resets completely. Health-restoring items are rare, and some missions (like the one I'm in now, for example) can be failed instantly with very little warning.

This stings not only because of the randomized peril of level layouts and enemy movements, but because it consequently encourages you to avoid puzzle battles, and to sneak around them instead. In other words, the "fun" part of the game is too risky.

Which would be bad enough, even if I hadn't just run out of patience trying and retrying this Catnet level. Get to the end, some dumb cat takes my health away, have to start all over -- no, thanks.

Better than: Pony Island
Not as good as: Human Resource Machine
Sorry, Glitch Witch: you're gonna have to solve your own mystery.

Progress: Gave up in Catnet