If you're looking for a relaxing way to pass the time and improve your architectural skills, Poly Bridge 2 is worth checking out.

There are only so many ways to build a bridge but Poly Bridge 2 finds a way to add enough to give new life to the aging original. The lack of a tutorial can make the first few levels more challenging than necessary, but the mix of traditional bridge-building and unconventional solutions will keep you engaged level after level. When the 64 levels included in the game are done the community fueled Gallery and Workshop levels will keep you going for hours on end.

A fun game that will test your brain and no doubt frustrate you at times, but a lot of value in the editor directly and indirectly. At a pretty reasonable price I’d say this is a great option if you want a bit of puzzle solving fun.

Poly Bridge 2 has all the tools to be really good. The building mechanics are solid and the satisfying feeling of seeing a bridge come together, with all the moving parts working perfectly, is certainly awesome. With some of the puzzles, true satisfaction can be found, and the tools in the sandbox mode allow players to create endless opportunities. However, the game is missing some of the polish that should probably come with a sequel. Instead of the eureka moment of putting the pieces together just right, the final product is often frustrating and confusing. Still, Poly Bridge 2 is at its best when everything clicks just right, like when a gorgeous bridge is constructed that lifts up high enough for a submarine to float right under just as a buggy flies on by.

This will be a better game once the community goes to work, but I’m not willing to drive my truck over this bridge just yet. 5/10 snapping steel beams.

To me it feels far more like an expansion pack than a whole new game, slightly improving the cutesy graphics and adding in a couple of extra construction materials, but even then it all overlaps a little too closely with the original. A sequel to a game that already looked awfully similar to another series seems like something that should have iterated a great deal further by now. I certainly recommend checking out people’s most elaborate and daft bridges on YouTube – as for creating them yourself, it’s harder to get excited about.