Is Lofi Mahjong a new way to play the classic westernised version of Mahjong, or more of the same old gameplay with nothing new to do?
The first look at Lofi Mahjong offers the promise of calm, cosy vibes with pretty tiles and scenic backgrounds. The Lofi music adds a calming break from an overstimulating life. Just sit back, relax and enjoy matching tiles.
First look, design and imagery
The opening scene gives us an image of a bright, pastel-coloured game with beautiful tiles and a stunning background. The scene includes the standard Play, Options, Credit and Extras buttons.
The levels themselves also include the options to change the tile colour, background image and skip the current music track. The tile colours cycle through five colour options; this only changes the base colour, not the images on the tiles. You quickly notice the tiles aren’t colourful like the starting screen promised, but are just simple black images on a tile.
The background image cycles through eleven calming scenes that enhance the game’s relaxing atmosphere. The scenic images, though beautiful, look blurry and grainy and not as pleasing as you expect. Furthermore, the background resets along with the tiles when using the reset level option, which is problematic. This might not bother some, however if you need a darker background, having it change back to the brighter ones could be an issue.
Accessibility
Lofi Mahjong includes options for a range of languages, transparency, music and SFX level, screen size and the meow option. The music and SFX change at 10% increments, which you must cycle through as it is a one-way system. The lack of a sliding scale for the music and SFX left me choosing between too loud and too quiet.
The transparency option allowed you to see the tiles underneath, and I honestly do not see the point of it. Seeing what tiles were underneath actually hindered my gameplay as it was too much information and confusing.
I quickly turned off the cat’s meow, as it was overstimulating and brought nothing to the gameplay. The different background options are accommodating, as some are too bright, so the darker backgrounds were very helpful.
Tile matching relaxation
Lofi Mahjong gameplay is simple: match tiles to clear the board. It’s the classic tile-matching game that a lot of us grew up with. You can choose what level you like to play straight away; there is no unlocking of levels as you go.
There are no layout options; each level has a preset design, and you cannot change it or pick your own arrangement. Due to the numerous ways tiles can be arranged, they could have created design sets with multiple levels.
With the music and no timer, the vibe aims to be relaxing, calming, and no pressure. Lofi Mahjong is just laid-back gameplay at its simplest form. With 40 levels to work through, you will likely find yourself playing the same levels multiple times. That is not a bad thing, as each time you can remove the tiles in a different order, creating diverse challenges.
Lofi Mahjong Mechanics
Level 1 starts with 44 tiles, but by level 4, you are at 144 tiles, so the complexity ramps up fast. Though Lofi Mahjong increases the tile count and level complexity quickly, I did not find them too challenging.
Lofi Mahjong has your standard tiles: Circles, Bamboo, Characters and Honours, totalling 144 tiles, using the westernised wind system.
Each level has options for a hint, undoing a move, or shuffling the tiles. Hint highlights a pair of tiles you can remove, and undo restores the last pair you removed. Shuffle comes in very handy when you run out of moves so that you can continue the level. There was no limit to shuffling the tiles, allowing you to continue shuffling until you could clear the board.
There is an information box in the top left corner giving you data about the level you are currently playing. This box displays how many tiles you have left, how many moves are remaining and what level you are on.
Assets and design
Lofi Mahjong states on the Steam page:
“The development process of this project involved the use of advanced digital synthesis and generative tools to assist in the creation and curation of certain audio assets. These tools were utilized to enhance the thematic consistency of the soundtrack and to supplement the creative workflow. All final assets have been reviewed and integrated to ensure they meet the quality standards of the studio”
I don’t see why this game needed any AI; the simplicity of this game could be achieved by humans. Maybe I misunderstood what their statement means, and I am happy to be corrected if that is the case.
Promises delivered or a letdown?
Lofi Mahjong gameplay is just what you would expect from a tile-matching game: simple gameplay, pleasing scenery, and relaxing music. I find myself disappointed, though. There are already so many versions of Mahjong, so you really need something to make the game stand out.
The music is a lovely addition to Lofi Mahjong, but the lack of control over its volume is a problem. A smaller increment of movement and up/down arrows would have been better.
The imagery, though gorgeous, is disappointing. What could have been a gorgeous, scenic version of Mahjong is a let-down, with a blurry and grainy background. The scenes are very scenic, but they leave my eyes hurting and me continually trying to focus.
The tiles are the biggest disappointment of it all. They could have created some beautiful images, but went with plain, boring black pictures. The starting screen shows colourful tile images that don’t match the actual gameplay tiles, leaving me feeling cheated.
Similarly, the cat’s meow seems cute, but it quickly became over-simulated and had no reason to be in the game.
Lofi Mahjong promises a classic Mahjong game with calm, cosy vibes, but fails to deliver on either. Its starting screen has cosy imagery, but that’s where it ends. The music is relaxing, but the tiles are plain and boring, and the background is eye-straining.
Platforms: PS4, PS5, PC
Publisher: Gossiam Games and y-zo studio
Developer: Gossiam Games and y-zo studio
Played On: Steam
Code Provided By: Keymailer
First look at the gameplay
My first look review video for Lofi Mahjong is shown below.
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