TurnOn is a puzzle game about light, and it knows exactly what it wants to be. The 2016 release from developer Big Viking Games puts players in control of a glowing orb that can switch between three colors of light. The goal is simple: find the path out of each room by matching the color of the orb to the color of the door. Simple mechanics carry a surprising amount of depth, and the game’s best moments come from the tension between its clarity and its difficulty.
Trailer, via Brainy Studio.
The Core Mechanic
The core loop is a match-three style of thinking. Players move the orb through a grid, switching its color to red, green or blue. Certain tiles change the color of the orb when stepped on, while others block progress until the right color is used. The trick is that the solution is rarely obvious at a glance. Rooms often require circling back, using a tile twice, or timing a sequence of moves across multiple colors.
The puzzles are built on logic, not guesswork. Once a player understands the rules of a particular room, the solution tends to click into place. That satisfaction is the game’s strongest asset.
Difficulty and Design
The difficulty ramps quickly. Early rooms ease players into the basics, but within a few hours the puzzles start demanding careful planning and multiple attempts. Some rooms require precise timing, where the orb must be switched at the exact moment it passes over a colored tile. Others hide solutions behind a wall of seemingly identical tiles, forcing players to backtrack and test every possibility.
The game’s pacing suffers in these stretches. When a solution clicks, the feeling is great. When it doesn’t, the frustration can be real.
Presentation and Controls
The visual design is clean and minimal. Rooms are mostly white space with colored tiles, doors and obstacles. The music is gentle and unobtrusive, staying out of the way of the puzzle itself. There is no story beyond the puzzles themselves, which some players will appreciate and others will miss entirely.
The controls are straightforward. Moving the orb and switching colors is done with the arrow keys or WASD, with the space bar handling the orb’s movement. It is a simple interface that rarely gets in the way of solving.
Replay Value and Additional Packs
TurnOn offers a main set of rooms and several additional packs available for purchase. Completing a room opens new ones, and the game tracks time and attempts for each attempt. For players who enjoy methodical problem-solving, the replay value is high. Returning to a difficult room after learning the solution often reveals a faster path that wasn’t immediately obvious.
For players who want variety, the game leans heavily on the same basic shape. The core mechanic does not change significantly across the full set of rooms, and the later puzzles feel like variations on earlier ideas rather than wholly new challenges.
Performance, Technical Details and Multiplayer
TurnOn runs on PC, Mac and Xbox One. The game is cross-platform, so progress made on one device carries over to another. Performance is smooth on all three platforms, with no major technical issues reported. The frame rate holds steady during play, even in the busiest rooms.
The game supports controller input, though the keyboard controls remain the default and preferred method. This is a small but practical feature for players who prefer to keep their hands off the mouse.
There is also no multiplayer component or any other mode beyond the main puzzle set. Players looking for a reason to return after completing the main content may find the additional packs to be the only draw.
Where It Falls Short
The biggest complaint is the lack of variation in the core idea. While the difficulty curve is strong, the basic puzzle shape stays the same across the entire game. Some players may find themselves solving similar problems with different colored tiles, which can feel repetitive after dozens of rooms.
Final Word
TurnOn succeeds because it commits fully to a single idea and executes it well. The puzzles are fair, the design is clean, and the challenge is rewarding. It does not reinvent the puzzle genre, but it does not need to.
The game is a solid, focused experience for anyone who enjoys methodical thinking and a bit of trial and error. It is not for everyone, especially those who prefer action or open-ended exploration, but for the audience it targets, it delivers consistently.
Key Facts
- Developer: Big Viking Games
- Release Year: 2016
- Platforms: PC, Mac, Xbox One
- Genre: Puzzle
- Control Scheme: Arrow keys/WASD
- Score: 7.4 of 10
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