Ever since having kids, I’ve been quite open to all sorts of games, not just the typical adult action game and first person shooters. Once in a while, I like to dip into puzzle games and share those experiences with my oldest son who is becoming quite the gamer himself. Since he’s only 9, I like for him to play educational games from time to time to exercise his brain and get him thinking outside of the box for solutions. Physics based puzzle games are especially good for creatively finding solutions. On of the more recent games him and I have been checking out is that of Poly Bridge, developed by Dry Cactus. Poly Bridge is a bridge building simulator that just hit STEAM Early Access a couple days ago, but we’ve been checking it out for a few weeks now.

For starters, since our time with Poly Bridge is based on what is essentially a beta, we know that not all features might be implemented and that there are probably quite a few bugs that haven’t been squashed yet. With that said, even as a beta, Poly Bridge feels very polished and fleshed out with some very challenging puzzles and some of the best graphics I’ve seen in a bridge building sim. This however won’t be a full review though as we’ll reserve that for when the full retail version of the game comes out.

Poly Bridge for the most part, is a solid bridge-building sim that will be very familiar to those who have played these types of games before. What makes this a bit unique though is the use of different types of building materials you can use to make your bridges. You always start off building a road that connects point A to point B but then must add additional supports to maintain the weight of it all along with any vehicles that will be trying to cross it. Support pieces can consist of wood poles, steel beams, suspension cables, and even hydraulics to support draw bridges. Depending on the level, you can have only a limited number of supplies to complete your bridge.

What takes Poly Bridge to the next level and what sets it apart from others is the beautiful art style the game employs. The game looks a bit average at first when you’re building the bridges, but as soon as you press play to test out your bridge, the camera pulls back and angles itself to reveal a beautiful world in which your bridge exists. The art has a very geometric look to it and uses different shades of solid colors to give depth to the environment. There’s an almost calming effect to the way the art looks which is in stark contrast to the destruction that can occur when your bridge design is a total failure. Whether intentional or not, it has a humorous effect and makes failing miserably just as fun as doing it right.

With that said, there really is no “right” way of building a bridge. All you need is a little imagination and a basic knowledge of what each building material does and how they will affect your bridge. Note that you can’t get too crazy with your bridges as there are cost caps on each level. Just try to stay under the cap and you’ll be good.

Poly Bridge also has an editor mode where you can create your own levels. I haven’t had a chance to mess with it yet so I’m not going to comment on its features. It’s a nice addition to the game though that adds replay value to the game.

As time goes on with more updates, I’ll be adding more thoughts about the game and hopefully get a full review up when the game is finally ready for a full retail release. In the mean time, the Early Access version of the game is actually quite good already and well worth the early purchase if you are a bridge building sim fan.

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Review code provided to us by the publisher/developer.

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