Breath of Light is described by its creators as a “Zen flow puzzle game.” But I wouldn’t call it that. The main mechanic is much less expectant than the experience of puzzle-solving. It encourages relaxation rather than focus; openness as opposed to cleverness. So instead of “puzzle,” let’s call how Breath of Life has you guiding an ephemeral life force toward a scattered array of pale flowers a “meditative stimulation.”
If you’re like me, your brain is a hyperactive mess of interrupting thoughts (thank you ADD). Sometimes, the inability to control the flow of your own thoughts feels like a pipe erupting from a volume of water too large for it to handle. But, in this case, the pipe is your skull and the water pressure gets jacked up by basically all forms of information ever—they don’t call this the Information Age for nothing.
Meditation, or the ability to command ones mind into a centered, relaxed state, can be difficult to achieve for folks like me. Which is why playing Breath of Light feels kind of like a release. As a unique, gamified version of guided meditation, Breath of Light helps you enter a state of calm serenity without you even noticing. A hypnotic, adaptive soundtrack by Winterpark gently emits low and high binaural tones, encouraging your absorption in the game’s “meditative stimulations.”
Rearranging the Zen rock stones on the screen allows you to connect ephemeral energy waves to the dying lotuses that need them. Pushing and pulling the light toward them causes each flower to burst into motion and color, the soundtrack picking up ever so slightly to revitalize you. It’s all inspired by Sumi inks and Indian Buddhist art.
But bringing the Zen garden back to life becomes increasingly—er—stimulating, since variables like flow pattern, mirrors, and different stone-types can change the approach. But Breath of Light never tips over into puzzle-solving, allowing you to sink in, the good vibes seeming to flow from the screen right back at you.
Released today, you can enlist Breath of Light’s guided meditation for a one-time fee of $3.79 via the iOS App Store.