TRIOS - Lofi Beats / Numbers To Chill To Review - I hate math, but I like this game

Synopsis:
TRIOS is a relaxing, minimalist maths puzzle game. Take your time, chill out with some numbers. Deceptively simple, surprisingly challenging.

Music by: liquify, kola, k-solis, ottom, nooma, stefando-mastronardi, michael-drake, dwnld
Publisher: Samurai Punk
Reviewed on: Nintendo Switch
Also available for: PC

Developer: Samurai Punk
Prototype Team: Elise Marchouba, Ellie Whitefort, Winston Tang
Programming/Art: Geordie Hall
Audio: Mitchell Pasmans

I suck at maths, and it was the subject I enjoyed the least in school. Surprisingly, I enjoyed writing a lot more and here we are. So when a maths game promises to be something you can chill to, with lo-fi beats included — I can’t help but wonder: is it, though?

Doing maths problems for fun isn’t something I’m going to want to do in the middle of the day, so I’ve been putting around fifteen to thirty minutes into TRIOS at night when in bed. To my surprise, I have been finding it a great way to wind down and get my mind at ease right before sleep. It’s thanks to a combination of non-threatening or aggressive gameplay and visually and audibly pleasing elements.

‘Journey’ mode has you completing puzzles across five different planets - image captured by the author — *‘Journey’ mode has you completing puzzles across five different planets – image captured by the author*

TRIOS has two modes, with the first serving as a pseudo campaign as you work through five planets with varying maths puzzles as the difficulty slowly creeps up. An endless mode is, as it sounds, an infinite onslaught of puzzles to keep you going, and the difficulty kicks up the longer you keep playing.

The math problems in TRIOS can be tricky, but the gameplay is accessible, so even someone like me can get my head around the solutions. You’ll see your target number at the top of the screen and several bubbles with either numbers or modifiers. By selecting them, you have to reach the desired number. It’s a lot less complicated than it sounds, as the modifier doesn’t have to be selected in the correct order, and there’s no punishment for making mistakes. Given TRIOS is meant to be a relaxing game, there’s also no timer.

The simple design means all the numbers and modifers never feel overbearing - image captured by the author. — *The simple design means all the numbers and modifers never feel overbearing – image captured by the author.*

Gameplay starts simple in the tutorial stage as you learn selecting 3 + 2 in any order will give you desired result of 5. As you progress, you’ll have to perform multiple equations in a row, and for me, this meant some degree of trial and error. It doesn’t matter if you combine 10 + 5 into a bubble for 15, as you can select it to pop it and get the other three bubbles back. You can also get one hint per level, which, when I’m stumped, has been more than enough to kick start me into finding the full solution.

Playing on the Nintendo Switch, I found it easier to use the touch screen to select the bubbles, but it was comfier to hold the console and use the analogue and face buttons to control the game. I’d presume using a mouse on PC to swiftly select bubbles and combine or pop them. But again, there’s no time here, so there’s no reason to feel rushed to play the game faster.

Play

The lo-fi beats do the job of keeping a relaxed zen-vibe. I’ve been playing with headphones on, and it helps engulf you in the math experience and zone out. Although I think some of the songs I’d heard elsewhere.

I’m content to keep TRIOS installed on my Switch and keep it as a mindfulness app of sorts. It’s more suited on the handheld than PC, but if you’re more interested in the maths side than the relaxing side, maybe you’re happy to sit on your computer and solve puzzles into the night.