April's Diary

What you actually do

Each room begins with a big heap of items stacked on top of each other. Your job is to clear it by selecting three matching items in sequence to remove them from play—match-3 rules, but applied to a physical pile you can visually parse. The key difference from flat tile matchers is perspective: you’re not matching on a grid; you’re reading depth, visibility, and obstruction. Some items are blocked, some are buried, and picking the wrong thing can clutter your available selection and force you to rethink the route.

One detail I really like is that the game embraces the “this is a pile of stuff” logic. You’re effectively doing spatial triage: spot obvious triples, but also plan for what you’ll expose next. It creates a gentle strategy layer where smart players are thinking two or three moves ahead—clearing a top layer not because it scores immediately, but because it reveals the set you need to finish cleanly. That’s where April’s Diary is at its best: low-stress on the surface, quietly brain-tickly underneath.

The “3D” part isn’t just a label

A lot of games say “3D” and mean “we made the menu buttons slightly round.” Here, 3D actually matters because your ability to judge what’s available (and what’s about to become available) is the whole puzzle. Some versions of the game description explicitly highlight that you can rotate your view to inspect the pile from different angles—exactly the kind of feature that turns potential frustration into “ahh, I see it now.”

Story and atmosphere: small, but it works

Don’t expect a sprawling narrative epic. The story is more like a drizzle than a thunderstorm: enough to give context and flavor, without pulling focus from the puzzles. The Victorian manor setting is a great match for the premise, because “elegant old house full of rooms” is basically a permission slip for endless themed spaces and little mystery breadcrumbs. The store description also hints that you’ll “uncover another mystery” as you progress through the rooms, which gives the cleaning a nice sense of purpose beyond pure tidiness.

Soundtrack earns a special mention

The game’s soundtrack is credited to Martin F. Strauss, and it fits the vibe: gentle, period-appropriate, and designed to keep you in that “one more room” trance without exhausting you. If you like puzzle games as a wind-down ritual, the audio direction supports that intent nicely.

Who this is for

April’s Diary lands in a sweet spot for players who:

enjoy match-3 logic but want it in a fresh format (3D pile management instead of a flat grid)

want something relaxing and family friendly without being mindless

like puzzle progression that feels tangible—your “win condition” is literally a clean room, not just a score number

It’s also the kind of game that feels great in short sessions. Clear a room, get a bit of dialogue, move on. It doesn’t demand that you “commit your life to the meta,” and that’s honestly part of its charm.

Minor caveats (without killing the vibe)

If you’re allergic to repetition, know that the structure is intentionally consistent: room → pile → match → clear. The variety comes from different item mixes, pile layouts, and whatever story beats appear between scenes, rather than totally new mechanics every 10 minutes. If you like “refining your method,” it’s satisfying; if you need constant novelty, it may feel a little samey.

Verdict

As a concept, April’s Diary is delightfully specific: Victorian housekeeping as a strategic 3D match puzzle. And the execution is better than the niche pitch suggests—clear rules, satisfying spatial problem-solving, a gentle story thread, and a soundtrack that keeps it cozy. If you stumble on it while browsing Steam and think “wait, what?”, that’s exactly the correct reaction. Then you play a room… and suddenly you’re weirdly invested in making sure Lord Ashford’s mansion stops looking like it lost a fight with gravity.

(Developed/published by CRX Entertainment Pte. Ltd..)