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There are times where one wants to play something without the pressure of grinding or farming, instead feeling like trying something more relaxed and maybe have a partner join in on the action too. Well, say hello to Dreii! A puzzle game with emphasis on co-op.

I’m the piñata up there. Player avatars have different shapes and colors.

In Dreii, you solve puzzles with geometrical figures with your equally geometrical –and kind of charming, must admit- avatar, which is chosen randomly when you boot the game. You grab blocks, circles, and triangles and drag or lift them across the screen, your goal being covering a light located in certain part of the screen for a determined time. Most puzzles will finish once you cover the light, letting you go to the next one. However, others require you to reach the light one or two more times, adding more geometrical figures and making it more challenging. There are also other conditions like wind, water and even defying gravity, which adds variety to the challenges.

I blurred my co-op buddy’s ID. People may join you at any moment.

And it’s times like that where a partner comes handy. There are challenges where timing is crucial and having a partner makes it easier. Some stages, for example, have wind blowing every few seconds or minutes, tumbling down your tower of block; with a partner, you can organize the figures before the wind takes down all your work. The point in Dreii is to play with someone while both of you try to guess what the other tries to do to solve puzzles.

Unfortunately, not everything is of positive nature. As Dreii’s focus on multiplayer is a double-edged sword, because while entertaining to play with friends and guests. Some puzzles make it pretty much mandatory to have a partner (at least when you get stuck in a stage). This fake difficulty can be discouraging for those looking for some for a real challenge.

He’s totally judging me.

Another particularly annoying aspect is the puzzle menu. It is designed in such a way that, when you advance to another puzzle or level represented by dots, it connects your way through the puzzles with these dots. Normally, this wouldn’t be an issue, but this spider web-like system goes back and forth a lot when moving or selecting a challenge. It’s likely an attempt to give it some dynamism, but it only manages to make it look like they’re connected with jelly and make it bothersome to navigate through the map.

Pros:
+ Physics are on point.
+ Pretty straightforward gameplay.
+ Chill fun in co-op.

Cons:
– Some puzzles make co-op mandatory.
– Puzzle menu interface is unnecessarily wobbly and annoying to navigate.
– Puzzles are not very challenging, likely to favor co-op interaction.

Gameplay: 2.5/5
Graphics: 2.5/5
Sound and music: 2.5/5
Controls: 3/5
Replay value: 2/5

tgg grade 2.5 out of 5

Verdict: 2.5/5
“Dreii ” is a little game with some endearing/adorable quirks. However, you may lose interest after a while since the puzzles don’t pose a real challenge (even with someone to co-op with). Sure, “Dreii ” is not a bad game, but it´s not very engaging either.

Title: Dreii
Developer: Etter Studio
Format: PSVita/PS4
Genre: Puzzle
Resolution: Standard/Average
Release date: 2016-03-09
Difficulty: 2.5
Spent time: 5 hours
Average grade internationally: 75:00% Gamerankings.com
PEGI age rating: 3+
Price: 11.99€ via Steam