UMAMI Review | Twisty Jigsaws

I live the unfortunate life of a cat mom. I love my cats more than anything, but they’re both trouble makers and that means I haven’t been able to complete a good jigsaw puzzle in many, many years. I have no where to hide one where my cats won’t find it. Thank goodness they’re cute. But, that’s why I tend to really enjoy digital jigsaw puzzles. All the fun of a real life puzzle without the hassle of losing pieces to the whims of my children. And UMAMI, a 3D jigsaw game from developer Mimmox is a unique take on the digital jigsaw puzzle genre. 

UMAMI is a 3D puzzle game where you rotate and organize wooden blocks in order to put together a food and animal related puzzle. The game features 15 hand-painted puzzles and no time limits so you can take your time solving each one at your own pace. The game is designed to be relaxing so players can destress and enjoy putting together each adorable puzzle. 

In general, UMAMI is pretty simple. You’ll start each level with a plain wooden centerpiece that you’ll place your pieces around. Your puzzle pieces are laid about randomly on the mat below, not organized in any particular way. It’s totally up to the player on where to begin - I often started with the top of the puzzle because those pieces were the easiest for me to find, but if you’d like to start randomly picking things up and putting them on the center piece, you’re welcome to. 

At any time, you can reference what the final puzzle is meant to look like, which most of the time makes it easier to figure out where a piece is meant to go. I didn’t always find the reference to be helpful because, since each puzzle is 3D, there isn’t really the perfect way to show a 360 degree look at the finished design. But, mostly, you’ll be able to figure it out using the reference or by simply placing pieces trial and error until you find the right spot, much like you would a regular jigsaw puzzle. 

What I love about the game is that it really forces you to think about jigsaw puzzles differently. Because each puzzle is 3D, you have to think about how the piece will look not when it’s placed flat, but how it will look when it’s placed in front of you in a 3D space. You also have to think the same way when looking at the reference photo - the way that you might look at a globe versus a map - you have to think about how the puzzle looks all the way around, not how it would look flat like a normal jigsaw. 

What I found frustrating were some of the game’s controls. When you pick up a piece you’re able to rotate it any way that you’d like and place it on the empty center piece in any way you’d like as well. If you get your piece in the right spot it will wiggle, letting you know. I was really thankful for this mechanic and think that I probably would have spent hours and hours trying to solve the puzzles without it. But, before you’re able to find that right spot, moving the pieces around is a huge pain. There were some moments when I would place a piece, see that it wasn’t in the right place and try to remove it, but it would stick in place. Only when I aggressively flicked my mouse in the opposite direction would it come off, sometimes flying elsewhere on the level and sometimes forcing me to try to find it again among some of the other pieces. 

The pieces will also rotate on their own at times, when you’re placing them. I would be trying to put pieces on top of the center piece tall ways, and it would flip horizontally because I hovered it over another spot and it thought I was trying to put it there. It’s difficult to explain in writing, but it feels at times that either - 1. The game is trying to sabotage you by making it difficult to put a piece in the right place or 2. Is guiding you way too much by forcing you to put it in the right place, defeating the purpose of you completing the puzzle yourself at all. 

But even with some wonky controls, I still couldn’t put UMAMI down when I first started. I think I did six or seven puzzles back to back before I took a break. There’s something really satisfying about completing a 3D puzzle and getting fireworks at the end to celebrate. It won’t be for everyone, certainly, but I’ll definitely be recommending it to my friends that love a good jigsaw puzzle.

Breakdown

Game name: Umami

Developer: Mimmox

Publisher: Mimmox, Nexting

Availability: PC

Game Length: 5+ hours

Reviewed on PC

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed most of UMAMI’s puzzles. The game itself has a very unique concept and its one that I’ve never played myself before . While some of the game’s mechanics are a bit frustrating, I still found myself wishing there were more than 15 levels. If you’re a fan of jigsaw puzzles and are looking for an extra challenge (and a few fun surprises), you’ll definitely find one here, but you’ll also find yourself craving a lot of different foods, so you’ve been warned.