Criterion: A Puzzle About Elegant Solutions
Criterion is a space optimisation puzzle that asks a deceptively simple question: given limited tiles and moving color fluxes, how elegantly can you solve a system? Each level presents a grid of sources and sinks, and your job is to connect matching colors while managing flux strength and spatial constraints. The twist is not that solutions are impossible - the dev promises "I swear there is a solution" - but that your score depends on how efficiently you build it.
Small Grid, Big Decisions
As new colors unlock the networks grow denser and interactions deepen. Fluxes can be combined, routed, and split, but every block in the finite grid is precious. That means routing is never simply about connectivity. You must think about where to place pipes or processors so flows do not interfere, and so you avoid blocking future moves. Every extra turn or redundant tile can hurt your final evaluation.
This design sits between logic puzzles and factory optimisation, rewarding players who favour compact, clever layouts over brute-force sprawling builds.
Processors, Precision and Score
Processors let you tune flux strength up or down to hit exact targets. Numerical balancing matters: a color stream that is too strong or too weak won’t satisfy its sink. The game forces you to treat capacity like a scarce resource. Tight spatial constraints, clear numerical goals, and tile-level decisions make optimisation essential rather than optional.
The satisfaction Criterion aims for is very specific - that engineer’s moment when everything clicks and the whole system hums in perfect balance.
54 Levels, A Subtle Story and Accessibility
At launch Criterion includes 54 main story levels that gradually introduce new mechanics and denser systems. Along the way you’ll uncover the purpose behind the networks you build, turning abstract puzzles into something with a little narrative weight.
Notable features called out by the developer:
- 54 main story levels at launch
- Responsive soundtrack by Hi5 Music that intensifies as systems grow
- Retro-futuristic minimalist aesthetic
- Night mode and colorblind accessibility
- Exact numerical balancing and clean system design
Criterion looks aimed at players who enjoy solving constrained spatial puzzles and designing tidy, elegant solutions rather than brute-forcing answers. If you like thinking in terms of capacity, routing, and minimal moves, this one sounds right up your alley.
