‘Hocus’ puzzle game confounds with brilliantly impossible geometry [Game of the Week]

When it comes to puzzle games on mobile, some of the best options are mind-bending perspective puzzles.

While the likes of Monument Valley come to mind, one that’s really stood out to me is Hocus.

The impossibility of Hocus’ levels make up for the lack of a Monument Valley-like story element.

The goal is simple: get a red cube into a tiny red hole. But the journey is where the challenge lies. Navigating the impossible shapes and incongruous paths of more than 100 levels requires serious thought.

Controls are simple as well — swipe in the direction you want to go. A small circle at the top of the screen indicates which ways are available to move.

On top of this, the minimal visuals of the game are striking. The red cube and red goal stand out against the stark background and dull greys of the path.

One of the biggest strengths Hocus has is its built-in level editor. The editor makes it easy to make your own mind-bending puzzles and share them with friends. The hardest part of level-building is making sure its possible to solve.

The editor itself is simple to use, and before long you’ll find yourself building expansive puzzles.

Once you’ve finished a creation, you can turn it into a ‘card’ with a picture of the level and a QR code. The card saves to your photo library to easily share with others.

There’s a Facebook group as well where you can share and play creations with other users.

Overall, Hocus is an excellently designed puzzler. The game features tough but well-designed levels full of mind-bending geometry. When your master the levels, you can make your own challenging levels as well.

The app is available for $0.99 on the App Store, $1.09 on Steam, or for free on Android, with no ads. Instead, Android users can but an expansion pack with 70 new levels for $0.99.