Overview: The goal of LYNE is to connect nodes of the same shape (color) with a single path. Every path must start and end at the specially marked nodes of said shape (color).
20141104:
This puzzle game utilizes a simple game concept, but is both fun and relaxing to play.
While some levels are challenging, most levels require - and are best done with - trial and error.
One detail I noticed is the different nodes make different musical sounds. Overall, I found the sounds supplement the soothing atmosphere.
In any case, I played for a solid two hours, only stopping because I wanted to keep the video recording to under two hours as well as making sure I got to bed in time for work the next day.
I should note that I actually wanted to play Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, but apparently I hadn't downloaded it yet. As such, I started playing Lyne as Need for Speed downloaded in the background. However, since Lyne was so fun, I continued playing it well after Need for Speed had finished downloading.
I completed sets A, B, C, and a daily set.
[20141203 Edit]
20141107:
I complete sets D, E, F, and G.
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| Eventually there are "neutral" nodes which can be shared. |
20141110:
I completed set H.
20220919 Snapshot:
Steam Game Time: 5.7 hours (total game time)
Last played: 20141110
20220919:
I booted up the game on my Steam Deck and unfortunately there was no previous save file. I completed set A for the fun of it.
Steam Game Time: 5.8 hours (total game time)
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| The red path has been drawn up to the bottom left node. To complete the puzzle, connect that node to the one above it, and then to the one above that. |
20220920:
From what I understand, the developer implemented Cloud Saves and some (maybe all) players lost their progress. However, the developer pinned a post in the Steam Discussions a fix which restores progress based on the player's Steam Achievements: restore progress by spelling "LYNEENYL" - clicking the letters in the game title at the title screen. I did this on my PC, and I completed set I.
The new progress syncs correctly to the Steam Deck.
Steam Game Time: 6.3 hours (total game time) / 0.5 hours (session game time)
20220921:
I completed set J.
Strategy. Sometimes, especially with common nodes that require 3 and 4 usages is to determine the lower and upper bound for each color. Fundamentally, for every usage required, there are two edges (one in and one out) of the same color. But the surrounding nodes limit the possibilities. For example, let's say a common node requires 2 usages, but its positioned where it borders two red node, two green nodes, and a common node. Since it requires 2 usages, that means it will take up 4 edges. Consequently, it must be the case that one of the pairs of in-out is for red and the other pair is for green. There are a variety of other ways to use this fundamental principal, and eliminating possibilities using it is helpful.
Steam Game Time: 7.3 hours (total game time) / 1.0 hours (session game time)
20220922:
I completed set K. This set felt relatively simple in that there weren't any puzzles that really stumped me.* Perhaps I'm making much more use of the strategy I identified on 20220921.
Steam Game Time: 7.6 hours (total game time) / 0.3 hours (session game time)
*Also evident by the amount of time spent to complete the set.
20220924:
I completed sets L and M. Set L brought back 3 colors. I think some levels which feature many common (gray) nodes are annoyingly hard.
Steam Game Time: 8.3 hours (total game time) / 0.7 hours (session game time)
20220926:
I completed set O, which uses a single color, and focused on a high number of common nodes. There was 1 really tricky puzzle.
Steam Game Time: 8.4 hours (total game time) / 0.1 hours (session game time)
20220927:
I completed set P.
20221003:
I completed set Q and a daily set which for Monday is simple (3x3 very straightforward)
Steam Game Time: 9.6 hours (total game time)
20221005:
I completed set R.
Steam Game Time: 10.2 hours (total game time) / 0.6 hours (session game time)
20221019:
I completed set S.
Steam Game Time: 10.5 hours (total game time) / 0.3 hours (session game time)
20221214 Snapshot:
I've been playing this game every so often since the 20221019, and I'm still working on set T. Today I got some puzzles and stopped playing at level 14. The puzzles in set T are difficult. There is something about the neutral three sockets which poses great difficulty.
Steam Game Time: 11.1 hours (total game time)
20230108:
After testing Steam Link from my Steam Deck to my phone with Hades, I switched to LYNE. I played around with the control options, and I switched to touch. This was perfect. I could play LYNE exactly as on the Steam Deck with touch controls. And this was a puzzle game that doesn't care about lag. The main drawback is that the size of the screen on my phone is smaller than that of the Steam Deck. I could try using my tablet instead; I imagine that would be such a great experience.
Note that for a moment I thought, why should I ever have a Steam Deck if I could use Steam Link (app), but then I quickly remembered the poor experience I just had with Hades via Steam Link without a controller. That's really where the Steam Deck shines: it doesn't require Steam Link (so there's no lag involved), it offers a very flexible control scheme, and no dependency on another device (I didn't mention it earlier, but I did encounter a couple instances where the stream disconnected). I'd cry if I were playing Hades and the stream disconnected - though it's possible the game in that case would auto-pause.
With that being said, LYNE on the PC with a mouse is still a great setup.
Steam Game Time: 11.2 hours (total game time) / 0.1 hours (session game time)
20231107:
I played a few levels across the three days (Sunday, Monday, and today) and today I completed set T. I then continued on and completed set U.
Gameplay Log:
U 08 was giving me a little trouble. What got me closer to the solution was simplifying the problem and focusing on the two topmost three-holes nodes. I first ran the left red endpoint SE, E, NE, and ignored the lower red nodes completely. Then I ran the left blue endpoint through the topmost three-holes in a simple manner. This helped me see and iterate on the deficiencies. Finally, I ended up playing around with the blue line going into the topmost two-hole nodes. This contrasted with my early strategies to have green dip down into the topmost three-hole nodes which I believe blocks off two many paths required by the three-hole nodes.
Steam Game Time: 14.1 hours (cumulative game time) / 2.9 hours (session game time)
20231218:
Gameplay Log:
Some idle time.
Completed set V. This set was fairly easy with a lot of puzzles revolving around four-hole nodes and or multiple three-hole nodes.
Steam Game Time: 14.9 hours (cumulative game time) / 0.8 hours (session game time) / 49 minutes (last two weeks)
LYNE (PC) (2014)
Relevant Links:
LYNE Website
LYNE (Steam Store Page)
LYNE (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
Date/Time
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
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22:00
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