Ethereal is an easy to understand puzzle game with stellar sound design.

You control a circle that can only move left and right or through walls directly above or below you. With these contraints, upon matching each pair of colored shapes, you can move on to the next level. The core concept is as simple as the visual presentation.

No text or tutorials either, just good game design and a way of conveying information visually and comprehensibly. Indie games seem to be really good at tutorials, or at least that's the impression I'm getting from this small sample of games I've played thusfar.

There isn't much to this game other than the puzzles, but I can respect that. The puzzle design is also kept fresh by the regular introduction of new mechanics that are organically layered on top of earlier mechanics.

The real selling point however is the sound design. It's very delicate: music is rare, silence is used effectively, sound effects are simple and vibrant, and when music does kick in at some points, it's quite gripping. The game does a good job at creating an ethereal atmosphere.

Occasionally, the sound effects can even help guide you to optional collectibles, so keep your ears open and let the atmosphere wash over you. It's very calming and it helped me retain my temper, even during some of the more difficult puzzles.

That being said, the sound cue that guides you to the next object of each pair is too frequent and quite intrusive. It took me out of the experience more than I would have liked. Maybe if this radar could be triggered with the press of a button, I would have liked it better.

Overall however, Ethereal offers a fun, soothing puzzle experience. Give it a shot if you like solving puzzles for the sake of solving them and if you value good sound design!