I've never been a big fan of the winter and the cold weather normally induces the outbreak of a giant frown across my forehead.
The freezy season seems to have had the same effect on the colored faces featured in Snow Lines too. Luckily though, you can turn their frowns upside down simply by joining them up in lines with other faces of the same color, to make them smile. I say 'simply' but in actual fact this game turns out to be a lot trickier than it sounds.
You can connect matching colored faces together in lines that run horizontally, vertically or diagonally, so there are plenty of options. Unfortunately for you, what starts off as a grid with just a few faces on quickly becomes a frenzy of freezing frowns as more and more of the little critters pop up in squares at random across the game board. What's more, you can only move a face if it isn't blocked by other faces, which quickly becomes the case, especially in the later levels.
Although it represents a serious challenge of your vision and dexterity, I'm happy to say that Snow Lines is great fun to play. There are several different game modes (Arcade Game, Progress Game, Timed, etc.) and loads of levels to get through.
The colorful graphics are cute and lively and the sound is simply excellent. Normally I become annoyed with the repetitive ditties that loop in the background of these kind of puzzle games, but the dreamy tunes in Snow Lines made me want to keep the sound turned on. The SFX too are pretty funny, and the cries of joy that leap out of the creatures when you join them up make you all warm and fuzzy inside.
The only thing I felt Snow Lines lacked is a little more variety. It would've been nice to have some different power-ups to collect or more diversity in terms of the game backgrounds.
Nevertheless, if you want cheering up on a glum day, Snow Lines provides a great remedy.
