Objectively, Winding Worlds, an Apple Arcade games developed by KO_OP in Montreal, Quebec, is mediocre. The gameplay is too simplistic to be called a puzzle adventure.

A physical representation of this game would be two wheels like you find on a computer mouse. One vertical and one horizontal. Throughout the game, the player’s goal is the same, rotate these two imaginary wheels by swiping horizontally and vertically on the iPhone until the visuals align, click, and a button appears.

It feels like cracking a safe, but I was hung up by how easy it is and how the difficulty is achieved by obscuring the connection between the controls and visuals.

But, at the same time, I could not stop playing. I was hooked by the story, the quirky characters, and even the voices used for the denizens of the Winding Worlds. I especially love the sound of the dog. It looks just as silly.

As I played on, as the story and the journey came to the forefront, and the gameplay faded into the background, Winding Worlds turned from mediocre, to excellent.

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I was enchanted by the meaning of each level. Its message is universal and I could imagine it is comforting to someone somewhere out there. It is also amazing how the main character has an arch in such a short game too.

Alone, Winding Worlds is not enough to justify an Apple Arcade subscription, but it should be considered as one of the few games on the service that is a must to play.