XOLO

When someone starts playing something with no name on the box, it usually doesn't end well. With XOLO, it was exactly the opposite — an obscure thing from the early nineties that turned out to be a solid puzzle-action piece for DOS.

It's essentially an enhanced logic game based on sudoku principles or similar number puzzles, but with ambitions for more active gameplay. The goal is to manipulate elements on the playing field, arrange them correctly, and progress according to conditions that the game gradually tightens. It's not your typical thing — the game doesn't explain much in words, so you're fumbling in the dark at first and only gradually figure out what you're supposed to do.

The controls are straightforward, the mouse works without issues. Clicking and dragging elements is intuitive, though the pace of play is rather slow. At first glance it looks like a calculator or a logic teaching program. The graphics are minimalist — clean lines, a few colors, no extra effects. It's not a thrilling visual experience, but that very straightforwardness makes it readable and functional even today. The mechanics gradually become more complex, new elements keep appearing, and so the game stays alive without needing to loudly signal how fantastic it is.

XOLO isn't a game that would strike anyone as revolutionary today. But in the context of the DOS software scene back then, it was undoubtedly an ingenious title for people who weren't looking for shooters and logistics, but quiet thinking and gradually uncovering the rules. It's not widely known — actually barely known at all — which is a shame.

Playing it today in an emulator won't necessarily thrill anyone, unless you're specifically hunting for an old logic puzzle with a bit more action to it. But if you're curious what puzzle-gaming looked like in its rudimentary form, back when you were grateful computers even dealt with such things, it's worth experiencing. Playing will take an hour or two, then either you'll crack the key and keep going, or you'll give up. No sentiment, no grand promises.