Helmi: Match Three

Match three creatures and they clear. Match four and you leave something behind: a current that sweeps a whole line, or a burst that clears everything around it. Match five and the sea gives you a pearl, which claims every creature of whatever kind you touch it to. A thousand levels descend from sunlit water into the trench, through five zones that each read like a different sea. New creatures join the deal on the way down — eight by the end — and below the midnight zone the board stops being a square. Each level is a dealt board with its own goal — reach a score, gather a creature, forge a mark — and each was proved winnable by a bot before it shipped. A level that beats you is hard, not unfair. None of them can be skipped, and none of them needs anything from the pouch. Swap two specials into each other and something happens that the game never explains. There are six of them. Finding one is the best thing in here. • A thousand levels through five waters, tuned so the difficulty climbs rather than jumps • Eight sea creatures, the last two waiting in deep water, and boards that stop being square • A free tide in three waters, once you are ten levels down — each keeps its own best • A pouch of perks, earned as you descend: more moves, a pearl sweep, a fresh board • Progress follows you between iPhone and iPad through your own iCloud • Twelve languages • No account, no advertising, nothing collected Helmi honours Reduce Motion, meets AA contrast throughout, and never asks you to tell two creatures apart by colour alone — every one has its own shape.