Hex Town

Hex Town is a puzzle game from solo developer Addison, whose first independent project this is. Its main puzzle levels, known as Hexpeditions, each present a checklist of required and bonus tasks. Every tile has a type and a tier, and placing three tiles of the same type in the correct pattern merges them into a single tile one tier higher. Each tile type has its own merge pattern, and merges can be chained to reach higher tiers. A pickaxe tool returns a placed tile to the hand, and levels can be restarted at any point. The developer states that every puzzle level has at least one solution that completes all required and bonus tasks, that there is no time pressure or game over screen, and that most levels take around five to fifteen minutes, with the hardest taking ten to twenty.

Completing a level’s required tasks awards a loot chest containing items such as tiles, animals and environment options for the Homestead, where rewards are spent to build and upgrade a town. Chests can also contain cosmetics for the player’s hand cursor and trophies for a Trophy Room. Rewards come in five rarity levels, from Normal to Hexceptional, and each level can be finished with a bronze, silver or gold star, with silver and gold adding an extra reward and gold being required for certain achievements. A separate Hidden Object Mode gives players a list of animals to find and photograph; a hint button plays the animal’s sound and shows a circle indicating its location, after which the player opens a camera, adjusts focus and takes a picture. Both modes have five tiers, with larger environments and more animals appearing as the hidden object tiers progress.

All modes support co-operative multiplayer for up to four players working on shared tasks. In puzzle mode the level’s deck of tiles is distributed among all players, each of whom can hold five, while the rules and tile count stay the same regardless of player count. In Hidden Object Mode any player can take a photo to complete a task. Additional features include a step-by-step tutorial, a Hand Studio for customising the cursor with colours, skin tones, nail polish and jewellery, environment customisation covering weather, grass, paths, lighting, wind and fog, a soundtrack that loops randomly, and an interactive world in which the cursor can drag, throw, push, pull, splash and pat objects. Controller support was a stated development priority, with button remapping available in the settings, and the game also supports keyboard and mouse and Steam Deck.