Glass Masquerade 2 : Illusions
Nintendo Switch

Developed By : Onyx Lute
Published By : Digerati
Category : Puzzle
Release Date : Feb 13, 2020

A year ago, almost down to the exact date, the original Glass Masquerade released on the Switch. It featured a series of stained-glass themed puzzles and was a very simple game right out of the gate. There were no gimmicks in the mechanics, just your very straightforward put-together-a-puzzle game. So it’s only natural that for it’s sequel, Glass Masquerade 2 : Illusions things were kept just as simple.

Last time, we toured the world. We pieced together various clock inspired puzzles featuring themes and visuals from all over the entire world. This time we won’t be touring the world, but instead we’ll dive into the riddling depths of the mind as you’re trapped in a dream you’ll need to free yourself from.

A total of 31 puzzles separate you from that freedom, and how you piece them together is exactly how you did it the last time. Each puzzle consists of at least a few dozen pieces, some having upwards of 60 pieces. To start, there will be eight anchor pieces, and you’ll know which ones they are since they will have small circles on one of their edges. These circles correspond to a position in the puzzle building space, and once they’re in place you’ll be on your own for the rest. To place all the other pieces its a matter of getting the right piece into the right position.

All pieces start off on the outer rims around the puzzle area, and they stay there as silhouettes until you pick one up. Once you do, you’ll be able to see the piece’s size and colors, and depending on which difficulty you play on you’ll see how the piece is oriented in the puzzle too. The lower difficulty will spin the piece automatically, but on the harder one you’ll need to rotate it yourself. Rinse and repeat at least a few dozen times and you’ll have your masterpiece!

Completing each puzzle will yield you one of two rewards. The first of these rewards are keys, which only serve to unlock the next puzzles. How many keys is a matter of how many forking paths there are from the puzzle you’ve completed. But it will always be at least one, unless the puzzle you’ve done is at the end of a line. If this is the case, your reward will be fragments. These fragments are the pieces that make up the grand finale puzzle, and there are 88 in total, but to be able to complete this puzzle you’ll obviously need to complete all the others.

While Glass Masquerades 2 does a great job of keeping just about everything from the same from the first game, there was one thing they changed that I found a little upsetting. In the first game the puzzles took on various shapes, inspired by countless styles of clock faces. In the sequel, they’re all simple circles. In fact, they’re all the same simple circle.

In the end, this is a very basic puzzle game that you really can’t squeeze much more out of. This is definitely intended for the much more relaxed and casual gamer, but it requires no commitment for time as you play. Feel free to rest the console between the puzzles or even in the middle of one if you’re playing on the go. My only real complaint about this one was the sameness in the shape of all the puzzles, but they are incredibly beautiful works of art once you finish them. The ambient soundtrack is calm and relaxing, making for the perfect mix while you put these pieces together.

If you’re looking for a more intense game, this won’t be one for you. But trust me, this one is worth picking up even if this type of game isn’t totally your thing. My wife isn’t a big gamer, nor is she a fan of puzzles, but even she enjoyed spending some time playing this, or watching and assisting. So I urge you to consider adding Glass Masquerade 2 to your Switch digital library today.