Satellina Review

Do your hands get sweaty when you’re nervous or stressed? If the answer to that question is yes, then Satellina might not be the game for you. It’s a tricky - but not frustratingly so - puzzle game that’s reliant upon your ability to react quickly and plan ahead similarly fast.

Throughout each level there’s a very simple objective: you have to swipe your cursor over the green dots. Hit the yellow dots or the red dots and it’s game over. The idea here is that once you’ve collected the first set of green dots, the yellow dots change green, and the red ones turn yellow, and so forth. It’s a simple premise but it actually proves to be quite tricky at times.

Each level consists of a number of waves of circles, all moving rapidly and requiring you to quickly negotiate your way around the colors you don’t require. Early stages ease you in with typical circular motions being quite easy to anticipate, but it soon becomes a fast paced race for survival. Some stages require you to take a moment to analyze the situation but you’re encouraged to move quickly too, with a timer keeping an eye on your progress at all times. Soon enough, it becomes quite an instinctive process.

It’s fun, too. At times you’ll be a bit infuriated by your slow reactions and sometimes your finger will find itself in the way, but you’ll come back for more. Even the soundtrack is vibrant enough that you’ll find yourself steadily encouraged to keep trying. When you do master the easier route, it’s possible to pursue trickier paths too, further adding to the challenge.

Satellina isn’t the ideal game to play while commuting, requiring more concentration than most, but it is good for dipping into. Pick up the pace and it’s a fairly speedy game, but even when taking your time you can still glean some benefits here. It’s a satisfying mixture of twitch gaming and tactical thinking.