Inner Quest is a product of South Winds Games, the company behind some dependable family fun with games like Airport Mania, Simplz Zoo, and Dylo's Adventure. Each time South Winds goes to work, they seem to recreate rather than innovate, but that doesn't mean putting out substandard product. With Inner Quest, they took aim at the Casual genre and did quite well. The end product looks and sounds like a South Winds production; this tends to mean that things are dipped in primary colors, simply designed, and very bouncy. The music is even bouncy... Inner Quest is the lightest of light fare, which may come as a surprise when you review the hardware specs. This game should be compatible across all versions of Mac OS X, since there doesn't appear to be anything dictated by graphics or sound to prevent Inner Quest from running on older hardware. We're sure they had their reasons, but it's a tough sell in a world where loads of Flash-based games like Inner Quest are available online, provided you have a relatively up-to-date browser and a fast connection to the 'Net.

The look and feel of Inner Quest is similar to gem-matching games you've seen before, but with some extra bits like themed boards that change their shape from level to level. We would have liked more variety, but bear in mind that Inner Quest is intended as an impulse buy, with a very reasonable cost that is reflected in equally modest amounts of game-design horsepower. You'll get a bit tired of seeing the same game elements over and over again, but this might translate into a sort of peaceful meditative state, rather than boredom. Core Casual gamers are generally an accepting lot, but the landscape for this type of game has become more crowded and more sophisticated in recent years. We'd put Inner Quest low on the innovation curve, but South Winds has certainly created an attractive and appealing game, especially for younger gamers.

The Match-3 genre was around before Bejeweled, but that tends to be the game that most people these days associate with this style of play. Inner Quest doesn't try to do any genre bending, as we now see with complicated hybrids of Casual and RPG or Strategy genres out there. This is purely a game for people that want to relax and enjoy an experience that doesn't stress them out. There aren't twitchy action bits here, or brain-bending bits either. If you can match shapes or colors, you've got Inner Quest in the bag. The only factor remaining is time. You can work through quite a few levels of Inner Quest in a short stretch, making it ideal for those that like to pick up, play, and put down. There aren't a number of ways to play, no story mode versus arcade-style play. Inner Quest supports multiple user accounts, which lends itself to a family where Mom or Dad may like to play when the kiddies are asleep or at school. Other than that, the structure of the game invites you to simply dive in and start matching.

Each level is part of your journey through game areas in Inner Quest. A typical area may have 10 levels, and there are about 100 unique levels to play overall. A "level" is really just a new challenge that comes pre-filled with colored shapes you'll need to match. In the earliest stages, you'll just need to worry about a match, but later on you'll see instances where blocks have to be cleared multiple times, or can't be shifted with other blocks until being "unlocked." There are even some advantages you can earn along the way through skillful play, but the biggest advantage for those seeking high scores is a quick clear. Moving quickly through Inner Quest isn't at all required, but it does help you max out your scores. The key is connecting multiple clears, where the blocks dropping down trigger multiple matches. This is often more luck than skill, because you don't actually see what blocks are falling down from above the topmost layer of your puzzle. Clearing the locked blocks isn't all luck though.

Exercising patience might be the biggest frustration in Inner Quest. Some of the challenges are set up in shapes that include locked blocks in places where only one or two columns of blocks drop. This means lots of matching to create that perfect combo that helps you clear the level. There's no question that we were hugely satisfied after getting through these difficult stages, but it wasn't like these were the final stages of the game. They were, in fact, some of the earliest stages. Inner Quest does a decent job explaining itself, but doesn't go overboard with lessons and examples. It's hardly a problem for veteran gamers, but younger gamers experiencing this style of play for the first time may be prone to lose their way and become frustrated. The additional features added along the way are explained once through some pop-up dialogue, but not at all afterward. Hinting features are included, so it probably all works out in the end. We felt that Inner Quest was about right for veteran Casual gamers looking for a quick fix, and also about right for newer gamers trying to find something reliable to play offline, on their Mac.

There weren't any issues installing Inner Quest, and the process of activating a copy is extremely simple. The support for multiple profiles is a nice feature, but we hated the "mystery meat" icons used throughout the game. These are icons that don't prompt an immediate visual reaction, and have to be moused over a few times before you really understand them. We're not big fans of this design style, because the simple design just doesn't get the job done in relation to what users need to know when playing the game. A few more hints along the way would have also been nice, because there are plenty of things happening during the game that are explained once, and never again. Working through 100 levels, you will be prone to forgetting a few things along the way.

It's hard to knock Inner Quest for being anything less than a solid game. There's no doubt that competition in the Casual genre is stiff and getting stiffer, but South Winds did a fine job creating an offline experience that matches or exceeds most of the stuff you can find online. If Match-3 is your thing, you'll enjoy Inner Quest, but don't come looking for much depth. We can see this being a good time (at a very decent price) for younger gamers who value consistency and rewarding fun over variety or innovation.