Water sort puzzle games like Water Sort Puzzle and Sort It 3D have become quite popular recently. These physics-based puzzle games involve guiding water or balls through obstacles to sort them into the correct chutes or bins. As players progress through the levels, a common question arises – do the levels repeat or are they all unique?
The Basics of Water Sort Puzzles
In a typical water sort puzzle game, each level features pipes, ramps, buttons, gates, and other obstacles that the player must arrange to guide a certain number of water drops or balls from the input into the correct chutes or bins. The goal is to properly sort the water or balls based on color, shape, or other attributes. Players may rotate or move the pipes and ramps, open or close gates, and press buttons to affect the flow of the water or balls until they are correctly sorted.
As players advance through the levels, new obstacles and mechanics are introduced to provide additional challenge. Some common elements include:
- Buttons – activating a button may open a gate elsewhere on the board
- Portals – teleport the water/balls to another location
- Flippers – changes the direction of water/balls
- Locks – requires certain colors/shapes to be sorted before opening
- Timers – adds a time limit to complete the level
Solving each puzzle requires analyzing the level layout, understanding the new mechanics, and experimenting to find the correct solution.
Do the Puzzles Repeat or Are They Unique?
The number of levels in water sort puzzle games ranges from 100 to over 1000. With so many puzzles, a natural question is whether the levels are hand-crafted unique challenges or if some repetition occurs. The answer depends on the specific game.
Water Sort Puzzle
Water Sort Puzzle by AppHolding currently has over 1000 levels. User reviews indicate that while some puzzles share similar layouts and mechanics, each level presents a new challenge to solve. There is enough variety in objectives, obstacles, and level design to keep the puzzles feeling fresh rather than repetitive.
Sort It 3D
Sort It 3D by SayGames has over 600 levels. According to user reviews, there is considerable repetition in this game. Many levels are nearly identical in layout but simply use different colors or add/remove one obstacle. Experienced players report being able to recognize the basic template of certain puzzles once they have solved similar ones previously.
So in Sort It 3D, a degree of level repetition does exist, especially in the later portion of the game. However, there are still new puzzles and objectives introduced over the course of the 600 levels to provide variety.
Other Water Sort Games
For other popular water sort games like Splashy Pipe 2 and Sort! on the App Store and Google Play Store, the degree of repetition seems to fall somewhere between Water Sort Puzzle and Sort It 3D based on user reviews.
While some templates and layouts are reused, the objectives often change, and new obstacles provide a fresh take. The levels are not completely unique but not overtly repetitive either. This balance likely helps developers maximize content while minimizing development time for new puzzles.
Why Some Repetition Occurs
There are a few reasons why water sort puzzle games may repeat level layouts and mechanics:
- New obstacles or objectives can refresh an existing layout – By keeping the core structure the same but changing the goals, certain templates can be reused without feeling repetitive.
- Repetition allows ramping up difficulty – A familiar layout with new obstacles or tighter requirements increases challenge without introducing entirely new puzzle elements.
- Constraints of development timeline and resources – Creating hundreds of unique hand-crafted levels requires significant time and effort from artists and designers. Some repetition allows for larger game content with fewer resources.
So for water sort game developers, some repetition can be a pragmatic choice to balance development practicalities with providing enough variety and challenge across hundreds of levels.
Player Response to Repetition
Gamers themselves have mixed opinions on repetition in water sort puzzle games:
- Some players don’t mind repetition and enjoy revisiting similar layouts with new twists as a way to measure their improving skills.
- Other gamers strongly dislike repetition and want each level to provide a totally unique experience.
- Many players are okay with some repetition but lose interest if it becomes too excessive.
Here are some representative quotes from reviews:
“I don’t really mind seeing the same layout again with some new obstacles – it helps me gauge how much better I’ve gotten at the game.”
“I absolutely hate slogging through what feels like the exact same levels over and over. The developers are just being lazy reusing content so much.”
“A little bit of level repetition doesn’t bother me, but this game takes it too far. Out of 100 floors so far I’d say at least 30 feel almost identical to previous ones.”
So player opinion on reused level elements seems divided. Water sort game developers have to strike a balance between uniqueness and repetition that retains gamers’ interest while also being feasible to develop.
Conclusion
In summary:
- Water sort puzzle games involve guiding water drops or balls through obstacles to sort them correctly.
- Some repetition of level layouts and mechanics does occur, especially in games with hundreds of levels.
- The degree of repetition varies – some games have mostly unique puzzles while others reuse templates more aggressively.
- Some repetition can help introduce new obstacles gradually and reduce development demands.
- Players have mixed opinions on reused level elements – some don’t mind while others find it very frustrating.
- Developers have to balance uniqueness and repetition to maximize content while retaining player interest.
While water sort games aim to provide new and engaging experiences for each level, some repetition does occur for practical and gameplay reasons. Overall, gamers seem to accept some reused templates but lose interest if repetition becomes too obvious or excessive. The levels are usually not completely unique but not overtly duplicate either, striking a balance that allows large games with hundreds of puzzles.
