Apple Arcade review #44: Enchanted

I’m a bit unclear about what this game is actually called. The app name is “Enchanted”, but in the App Store and on the title screen it says “The Enchanted World”. Which, to be honest, is the better name.

Enchanted is an odd but attractive, and rather charming, 3D sliding puzzle game. You guide your little wizard/sorceress along a path in an enchanted world where you can also tap on flowers, trees and bunnies to enchant them. That tapping doesn’t actually do anything beyond triggering cute animations, like flowers popping up on the trees, but it brings me joy, and that’s definitely not nothing.

The sliding mechanic isn’t too complicated but the puzzles can still be quite challenging. The game appears to target very young players with its fairytale stylings and the magical (sorry, “enchanted”) world, so I’m not entirely sure who the intended audience is. I also found the touch controls to be a bit fiddly at times; the enchantress often refuses to walk to where I’m tapping or respond to my actions. It’s clearly an interface designed for a phone or tablet, however, and everything is well thought through. No virtual joysticks or buttons to be found, thankfully.

This is a personable and pretty game with a perfectly decent core mechanic. Sliding puzzles can be fun, and the implementation here is top notch.

Link: https://apps.apple.com/no/app/the-enchanted-world/id1459917958