Labyrinthine

Dyo is a take on the two-player-puzzle genre that I haven't seen before: with one minotaur on the left half of the screen, and the other on the right, you can lock the viewports and walk into the other half. So, for example:

• A platform is too high to jump to. Nuts.
• But you can jump on the other character, and leapfrog up to it!
• Except now the other character is stranded below. Until...
• You lock the screen, and the lower character can walk over to where the higher character is.

It's a neat, mind-bending trick, and the game shows off additional twists and mechanics in each level -- like staggered platforms which require adjusting the screen-locks as you climb, or a pushable block which acts as both an obstacle and a platform.

The problem is... Dyo is terrible at teaching you how to play. There are no hints toward how its mechanics work (the pushable block can float!?), and there's no guidance on how you should approach a puzzle. A good puzzle-game design - really, a good design for any game - is gradually introducing new mechanics on top of old ones, so the player can learn incrementally; but every level in Dyo feels totally different, a whole new set of challenges that previous levels haven't prepared you for.

The result is that figuring out each level involves a lot of staring, and a lot of trial-and-error testing if your character can make a certain-length leap or fit through a certain-size gap. Learning the unique ins and outs of a level is tedious, and boring.

I'm impressed by Dyo's cleverness (and I love the Sands of Time-style rewind/undo feature), but actually playing the game isn't very fun.

Better than: Kalimba
Not as good as: Dyadic
What the fuck: is the point of this guide? "Press Ctrl + F2 to instantly win a level." Brilliant solution, genius. (Asshole.)

Progress: Got to the crossroads, and a few puzzles after that.