Droptliz can be best described as the love child of pipe dream and Pachinko. Depending on the board chosen, a grid of circles encasing pipes are laid out below these droppers. Like their namesake little...droplets travel down the pipes into the bottom. The goal of the game is simply to spin the grid of pipes to create connections between the droppers and the catchers at the bottom. Lastly the droplets split into two once they reach a forked part of their path and the droplets only travel downward. So what makes this so special?
The music my boy...the music. It's wonderfully cerebral and yet relaxing and organic at the same time. In simpler words its really good instrumental music that's immensely relaxing and immersive. The music progresses along with the player as the theme of the board shifts after reaching a certain points (or multiplier) threshold. Altough generally similar the genres differ and yet blend beautifully from one to the next. On one hand you're moving from some light industrial synth (the first song you hear) to a wonderful acoustic to a bassy jazz to a soulful jazz fusion deal and Celtic orchestra. Of course I'm not a fan of all of them but the majority are a delight. Before I move on from the music, I have to mention the absolutely triumphant orchestral sound plays each time you create a new pathway. As you rack up pathways (and multipliers) the feeling one gets in combination with the music is simply sublime.
The first and only mode at first is Classic mode which works in a survival-mode type fashion where it cycles through all the themes, the droppers getting faster and faster, until you run out of a long ticker signifying how many droplets are left. The tiles used to create pathways are removed and new ones come down from the top which changes up how successful you can make the board. Speed and this randomness together can be a bit frustrating at times but the desire to get that next bigger board was enough to keep me going. Luckily points also unlock three other modes. Zen mode is my favorite because you simply pick a board, pick a theme (and accompanying song), and play without any danger of it speeding up. This in turn focuses on what makes it so effective, synesthesia, and strips away some of the stressing factors taking you out of it. Power-up mode drops power-up droplets that once collected can be clicked in the corner to freeze the screen, blow up some pipe tiles, or slow them down. Infected is the second worst behind Classic in that pipes get randomly infected (which means they turn slower) and the infection spreads from tiles already infected. It's basically a layer added on top of power-up making it the most abstract but also somewhat removed from what makes the game so good.
However let's call a spade a spade. Beyond the boards and modes, the entire game is just variation on the same basic game. The real question is if the music draws you in to come back after you've played everything like it did for me. It's not a question of value for money but whether the synesthesia kicks into effect. If not...I hate to say this game won't last you very long. It's basic premise does it no favors either because again that's all it is: a mix of pipe dream and Pachinko with some cool music. If you're okay with that (and if you bought Shatter I know you are) then in my opinion it's okay if the game isn't terribly deep. Although it seems to come off like an indie darling, it doesn't seem to have that same air of importance or sophistication that make them divisive. But it also doesn't have that soccer mom cash-in mass appeal to make you feel like you're getting half a game. Droplitz lives at the corner of both streets but ends up normal somehow. Like that kid who gets B+'s and plays for the football team but isn't the super-jock captain quarterback. Yeah he's average but he's also above average. Not bad at all Droptliz...not bad at all.