The Block

Its simplistic nature might not be to everyone’s taste, but The Block is a game for those who appreciate a few minutes of relaxation. A chilled experience that’s prime for unwinding.

A small and inexpensive experience without goals, tasks and many other stressful things. During creative building you can relax nicely. Ideal for short rounds in between.

The Block is a relaxing and creative city builder. Choose your map, flick through your assets, and get building. Though its appeal is limited, its laid-back approach is enjoyable.

Coming at arguably a fitting time of the year, The Block — simple and small in scale it may be — makes for an adequate palette-cleanser of a release. Balancing a stripped-back and minimal appearance with a gameplay loop open to self-propelled challenge-making. Its variety on object selection and grid sizes isn’t the most expansive. So quickly prone to repeated use and suggestions that a more substantial selection wouldn’t have gone a miss. Even so, for a game devoid of true objectives, progression or anything else you’d consider standard fare in most games, The Block does just enough in providing a fascinating short-burst of a clicker-type release. One whose simple premise but obsessive potential means that an hour spent in The Block is just as viable and likely an outcome as any number of minutes.

Compared to many other “games as toys”, The Block feels limited. It’s an interesting, tiny city builder that challenges you to make use of finite space, but it fails to capitalise on its unique hook in any meaningful way. That said, if you’re looking for something to play after a rough day to work, there’s a satisfying vibe to the game that’ll fill an hour.