As far as I know, no one has ever done in depth reviews of puzzles, so I thought I'd do that here just for fun.
Heyawake by poison_island
Solve online: https://puzsq.logicpuzzle.app/puzzle/111783
Heyawake rules
You're given a board divided into rooms. Shade some cells on the board.-
Shaded cells cannot be horizontally or vertically adjacent.
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A number indicates the amount of shaded cells in a region.
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There cannot be a horizontal or vertical line of unshaded cells that goes through 2 or more region borders.
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All unshaded cells on the board form an orthogonally connected area.
This puzzle's author, poison_island, is considered one of the best puzzle setters out there, and this is, in my opinion, one of their best works. The puzzle takes one logical idea, repeatedly places it throughout the puzzle, then expounds on it further the more you solve it, which creates an incredibly strong sense of progress and rhythm despite only being a 10x10 puzzle. This method of creating puzzles is present throughout many of poison_island's puzzles, but this one uses it at its finest. Perfect 10/10
Edit: The puzzle requires some intermediate logic which I failed to point out when writing the review at first, so I've added it in the hint below. Don't be ashamed of looking at the hint, as it's something most solvers simply learn over time, and doesn't give away the full meat of the puzzle.
Hint
As a hint, try noticing which shaded cells are diagonally linked to each other in a chain. Then, notice that if the chain touches two separate edges of the grid, it will divide the unshaded cells.Double Choco by rend_4a
Solve online: https://puzsq.logicpuzzle.app/puzzle/106413
Double Choco rules
Divide the grid into regions of any size.-
Each region contains one white and one grey contiguous area. Both areas must be the same size and shape. They can be rotated or mirrored.
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A number indicates the size of the area the number is placed in. A region can contain one or more identical numbers.
This is another puzzle that has a great sense of rhythm to it, although it's a much different feeling. It doesn't make use of any fancy deductions but manages to be just as engaging. Rather than a series of interconnected eureka moments, the puzzle surprises the solver by repeatedly producing pentominoes from unclued regions. It's hard to describe here, but it comes off as almost like the punchline of an absurd joke. From the perspective of a puzzle author, it's also very impressively made. Highly recommend, 9/10
Heyawake by minnyoco
Solve online: https://puzsq.logicpuzzle.app/puzzle/122408
Heyawake rules
You're given a board divided into rooms. Shade some cells on the board.-
Shaded cells cannot be horizontally or vertically adjacent.
-
A number indicates the amount of shaded cells in a region.
-
There cannot be a horizontal or vertical line of unshaded cells that goes through 2 or more region borders.
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All unshaded cells on the board form an orthogonally connected area.
This is another puzzle with a punchline-like quality, although with this one it comes right at the end. A lot of good puzzles have clever endings like this, and this same author has released another puzzle with the exact same ending (https://puzsq.logicpuzzle.app/puzzle/19648), but this puzzle does a good job in presenting and highlighting that ending. Solid 8/10
Yajilin by Yu-ri
Solve online: https://puzsq.logicpuzzle.app/puzzle/123446
Yajilin rules
Shade some cells on the board, and draw a single loop that goes through all remaining cells.-
The loop cannot branch off or cross itself.
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Shaded cells cannot be orthogonally adjacent.
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Cells with numbers or question marks cannot be shaded, and are not part of the loop.
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A number indicates the amount of shaded cells in the given direction.
This is a puzzle made for a tournament hosted by the puzzle author, and it is fittingly very very difficult. A lot of time will be spent just looking for the break-in (the first important deduction). However, finding that break-in is a really really satisfying eureka moment, with its satisfaction owing to its prior difficulty. The puzzle still remains quite difficult even after the break-in, and is overall a very nice challenge. A good 9/10
Heyawake by shye
Solve online: https://shyeheya.wixsite.com/shyesstuff/post/159-stygian-mirror-heyawake
Heyawake rules
You're given a board divided into rooms. Shade some cells on the board.-
Shaded cells cannot be horizontally or vertically adjacent.
-
A number indicates the amount of shaded cells in a region.
-
There cannot be a horizontal or vertical line of unshaded cells that goes through 2 or more region borders.
-
All unshaded cells on the board form an orthogonally connected area.
This puzzle uses a uniqueness deduction (that is, a deduction that makes use of the fact that the puzzle must have only 1 solution), which is sort of considered as a forbidden technique. However, the way it's used in this puzzle is perfect. The uniqueness deduction is done in the break-in, and it's very clever, and doesn't feel unfairly hard once you've figured it out. The rest of the puzzle after the break-in is relatively easy, which serves as a victory lap, making the break-in that more rewarding. Another good 8/10
