Quality Time-Killer: Subtle Energy

After a rough week, some people walk down a new age path to relaxation. They’ll practice yoga to the sounds of a soothing eastern-instrumental soundtrack. 

They’ll meditate near a large fountain, taking in the sounds of nature. The idea is to remove one’s self from stressful activity. In that spirit, Two Meter Rabbit Studio has released Subtle Energy.

Subtle Energy is a puzzle game centered on relaxation, from its soundtrack all the way to its colorful visuals. Subtle Energy tasks players with filling empty chakras with colored particles. The colored energies aren’t lined up with their chakras, so the player must place a set number of eyeball statuettes in order to direct the particles towards the chakras. The level ends when the flowing colored energy fills the matching chakras in a visually-pleasing display.

This game won’t overwhelm anyone with its difficulty level, as it’s more about the aesthetics than about stumping people. There’s nothing stressful about this game, unless you place the eyeballs in the wrong place and an overflowed chakra explodes like a firecracker. Additional elements, like teleporters and color-changing walls, add enough to the later levels to keep the game feeling fresh and aren’t difficult enough to chase players away. That’s partly because the game always offers a brief tutorial on the function of the new elements upon introduction, which is a welcome feature. The only level that felt nail-biting was the 14th level that tossed eight eyeballs my way and had me place them around numerous color walls, but the rest of the game was as gentle as a summer breeze.

The visuals are beautiful to watch and the game is designed with the graphics at the forefront. Subtle Energy doesn’t require particularly high specs, but will helpfully prompt players when the visuals are starting to overwhelm their CPU. The game’s settings menu will allow for the visual specs to be toned down. But honestly, for a game like this, what’s the fun in that?

Subtle Energy is a nice diversion from the stresses the average day. It’ll take the average player about an hour to complete the game’s 20 levels, so the distraction is brief, but the game is easy to play and easy to enjoy. Those looking to soak in the ambiance can play through Subtle Energy for free in their web browser.

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