056 – New Puzzle videogames — 3/4

Here, a succinct review of different types of puzzle videogames published between 2001 and 2020. Not in chronological order.

Single character control

● – 2013 A first-person puzzle- released for , and OS X. Many of the puzzles are based on phenomena that occur within impossible objects created by the game engine, such as passages that lead the player to different locations depending on which way they face, and structures that seem otherwise impossible within normal three- dimensional space. The game includes elements of psychological exploration through brief messages of advice to help the player figure out solutions to the puzzles as well as adages for real life. The player controls the unnamed protagonist from a first- person perspective, in an environment full of obstacles. Upon completing a core set of puzzles, the player can access the exit door, upon which he starts to chase down a black cloudlike shape, using all the solving techniques learned before. Eventually he is able to capture the cloud as a black cube and enter a final, more expansive area, where the shape becomes a waiting shell. The shell creates a structure around it (similar to the game's logo) and sucks everything around it into its center, sending the screen to black and ending the game. ● Bobby Carrot – 2004 A series developed for iOS and as a WiiWare. The object of the game is to collect all of the carrots in an area and reach a point on the map that progresses the player to the next . In addition, there is an alternative mode where Bobby Carrot creates Easter Eggs in his path, made more challenging by the fact that they cannot be passed over twice. Throughout the game, players are met with various

New Puzzle videogames — 3/4 ● Page 1 of 14 obstacles, from steel rabbit traps and sliding gates to locks needing a key. Subsequent games added water, tractors and a bazaar to the initial concept. ● BoxBoy! – 2015 A puzzle platformer video game developed for the 3DS handheld console. BoxBoy! features a black and white monochrome graphical style. Players control a square-shaped character named Qbby. The goal of the game is to guide Qbby through a series of obstacle-filled stages that are divided into sets called worlds. Each world is focussed on a particular gameplay theme. Completing stages rewards the player with medals that can be spent on challenge stages. The game features a minimal story, in which Qbby meets two additional characters — Qucy and Qudy — after progressing through certain worlds. ● Braid – 2008 A platform and puzzle video game developed for the 's Xbox Live Arcade service, Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation 3 and Linux. The basic story elements in Braid unfold as the protagonist, Tim, attempts to rescue a princess from a monster. Text passages laid throughout the game reveal a multifaceted narrative, giving clues about his contemplations and motivations. In the past, he has made some mistake which he hopes to reconcile or, if possible, erase. The game features traditionally defining aspects of the platform genre while also integrating various novel powers of time-manipulation. Using these abilities, the player progresses through the game by finding and assembling jigsaw puzzle pieces. The player controls the protagonist Tim as he runs, jumps and climbs across the game's levels. Tim stomps on enemies to defeat them and can collect keys to unlock doors or operate levers to trigger platforms. There are also eight stars hidden throughout the world of Braid that correspond to the stars in the constellation of Andromeda just outside the main character's house. A defining game element is the player's unlimited ability to reverse time and "rewind" actions, even after dying. The game is divided into six worlds, which are experienced

New Puzzle videogames — 3/4 ● Page 2 of 14 sequentially and can be entered from different rooms of Tim's house. The player can return to any world previously visited to attempt to solve missed puzzles. ● Closure – 2012 An independent video game originally released in Flash on Newgrounds.com and later for Microsoft Windows, Mac, PlayStation Network and Linux. Closure is a puzzle/platformer that centers on the concept of light. Through each of the many levels, the goal is to reach the door at the end. Lighting is a key gameplay mechanic, as only platforms and walls illuminated by light- bulbs or orbs of light the player can carry can actually be touched by the player. However, this also means the player can fall accidentally to his death by neglecting to stay inside of lit areas. ● Eets – 2006 A 2D puzzle game released for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade. The game combines elements of games such as Lemmings and The Incredible Machine and adds a quirky and a surreal sense of humor. The player must navigate the titular character through a series of platforms to collect puzzle pieces. He must place a variety of items in Eets' path to help him. Depending on the character's mood, he reacts to stimuli differently. Extra lives and consumable powerups appear incrementally the longer the player survives. In this manner, this robust mini-game combines elements of rhythm, puzzle and arcade action genres. In addition to featuring over 100 levels, the official website has a puzzle pack — made by both developers and fans — that users can download. ● Faraway series – 2017 An escape the room puzzle video game developed for iOS and Android platforms. The player is set in an exploration environment of an ancient civilization, where the story of the player's father led him to. He gets to explore 18 temples (levels) and 2 bonus levels, each of them containing a number of puzzles, which in turn give him pages from his father's diary.

New Puzzle videogames — 3/4 ● Page 3 of 14 ● Incredipede – 2012 A physics-based puzzle video game. The gameplay of Incredipede focuses on the character Quozzle, an Incredipede with the ability to morph to complete short challenges. As the game progresses, new elements such as lava, water or wind appear. ● Limbo – 2010 A puzzle-platform video game developed for Xbox Live Arcade and ported to the PlayStation 3, Linux and Microsoft Windows. The player controls a boy throughout the game. As is typical of most two-dimensional platform games, the boy can run left or right, jump, climb onto short ledges or up and down ladders and ropes and push or pull objects. Limbo is presented through dark, greyscale graphics and with minimalist ambient sounds, creating an eerie, haunting environment. The dark visuals also serve to conceal numerous lethal surprises, but the player is able to restart at the last encountered checkpoint, with no limits placed on how many times this can occur. Among the hazards are glowing worms, which attach themselves to the boy's head and force him to travel in only one direction until they are killed. As the player will likely encounter numerous deaths before he solve each puzzle and complete the game, the developers call Limbo a "trial and death" game. Game achievements (optional in-game goals) include finding hidden insect eggs and completing the game with five or fewer deaths. The game was the third-highest selling game on the Xbox Live Arcade service in 2010. ● Mind: Path to Thalamus – 2014 A First Person Puzzler. The game throws you into a fantastic and surreal environment. You will bend the natural elements to your will in order to progress in this emotive, mindbending tale. The gameplay focuses on changing the very weather in order to solve puzzles: the player will cycle between day and night, modify the levels of fog and rain and even travel in time between seasons, changing the environment to

New Puzzle videogames — 3/4 ● Page 4 of 14 advance the story. The mechanics are directly related to who the protagonist is, what has happened to him and everything he is doing — a man trapped in his own mind, he must use all the tools at his disposition to escape to reality. Accompanied by the snarky yet heartfelt narration of this comatose patient, the player will guide him through fantastical forests, dark caverns and deceptive worlds of water and ice that directly relate to his emotional state at each point in his journey. ● – 2005 An environmental puzzle video game developed for Microsoft Windows and released for free online. Captured by a demon, the princess "No-Knees" discovers that the dungeon she is held in is actually a sentient elemental creature named Wally. Using Wally's portal- making ability, the princess sets out to escape and defeat the demon. With only six puzzles to solve and the character's lack of a jump ability, the game is simplistic and the puzzle-solving very unconventional. The player can open a single pair of interconnected portals at a time, each styled as a huge face with flaming eyes (orange or blue to tell them apart as the player repositions one or the other) and an open mouth big enough to see and walk through. Positioned with a point-and-click interface controlled by the mouse, portals are allowed only on natural surfaces. Important elements include switches, boxes and huge rolling boulders which can crush the character. ● Pneuma: Breath of Life – 2015 A first person puzzle video game. The game uses a narrated story focused on self-discovery and the fundamental nature of reality. The game was designed to test the 4 and Physically Based Rendering. The game intends players to think outside of the box to solve a series of environmental challenges. The titular character in the perspective-based puzzle game thinks he's a god — a rather chatty, self-absorbed one. You're never going to see the face of the entity you're controlling in Pneuma — the only relatable aspect is his voice. Most of the time he shuts up altogether, giving the

New Puzzle videogames — 3/4 ● Page 5 of 14 player's brain space to puzzle its way out of the game's various arcanely ordered spaces. The game is much like other puzzle games that privilege mechanical gimmicks. You're supposed to go from point A to point B, using whatever special ability the developers have cooked up to make inexplicably inaccessible areas reachable. In this case, looking at specific parts of the environment will trigger effects. Some puzzles are very tricky, so victory over particularly knotty areas of the game is especially sweet when it feels like you're not getting led by the hand. Part of the issue with Pneuma overall is that it's asking you to engage with its philosophical questions while also making use of a play experience that asks you to re-think how you interface with a gameworld. ● Portal – 2007 A puzzle-platform game released as bundle (The Orange Box) for Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and ported to other systems including Mac OS X, Linux and Android (via Nvidia Shield). Portal consists primarily of a series of puzzles that must be solved by teleporting the player's character and simple objects using "the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device", a device that can create inter-spatial portals between two flat planes. The player-character, Chell, is challenged and taunted by an named GLaDOS (Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System) to complete each puzzle in the Aperture Science Enrichment Center using the portal gun with the promise of receiving cake when all the puzzles are completed. ● – 2011 A puzzle-platform game developed for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Like in the first Portal (2007), players solve puzzles by placing portals and teleporting between them. Portal 2 adds features including tractor beams, lasers, light bridges, and paint-like gels that alter player movement or allow portals to be placed on any surface. In the single-player campaign, players control Chell. In the new cooperative mode, players solve puzzles together as Atlas and P-Body.

New Puzzle videogames — 3/4 ● Page 6 of 14 Portal 2 received acclaim for its gameplay, balanced learning curve, pacing, dark humor, writing and acting. It has been described as one of the greatest video games of all time by numerous publications and critics. ● Pushmo Series (known as Pullblox or Hikuosu) – 2011 A downloadable puzzle game developed for Nintendo 3DS and later for U. A Pushmo is a large, climbable playground structure made of blocks that can slide forwards and backwards. The player controls Mallo — a red, round sumo wrestling creature visiting Pushmo Park, home to dozens of Pushmo. While speaking with Papa Blox — the park's caretaker and the creator of the Pushmo — Mallo learns that a number of children have become trapped within the Pushmo structures. In order to rescue the children, Mallo must move the sliding blocks in particular way. If Mallo becomes stuck, the player can either reset the Pushmo or use a rewind feature. Also, difficult levels can be skipped and re-visited later, if desired Along with the game's included 250-plus levels, Pushmo also includes the Pushmo Studio, where players can create and share their own Pushmo puzzles. ● Q.U.B.E. (Quick Understanding of Block Extrusion) – 2011 A physics-based puzzle video game developed for Microsoft Windows and later for OS X. A sequel — Q.U.B.E. 2 — was released on Windows, mac OS, PlayStation 4 and . The player's character, after waking up from some incident and have been contacted by Commander Nowak, finds himself with a pair of gloves that can interact with specific blocks that are in the walls, floors and ceilings of the various rooms as he progresses. The function of the blocks are distinguished by colour : - red blocks can be extended or retracted - yellow blocks, always in groups of three, can be used to make stair-like structures - blue blocks can be retracted to act like a springboard to whatever touches them - purple blocks provide means to rotate sections of walls of a room - green blocks provide a sphere or cube, which the player will need to manipulate.

New Puzzle videogames — 3/4 ● Page 7 of 14 In the early stages, the player's goal is to use a combination of these blocks to get to an exit point and move to the next chamber. As the player progresses deeper into the unknown complex, new puzzle aspects are introduced. Q.U.B.E. was one of the twelve finalists (but did not win) for the 2011 Challenge sponsored by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. ● Quantum Conundrum – 2012 A puzzle-platformer video game developed for download for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. As the boy protagonist, the player can run and jump, interact with various switches and lift light objects. He can die by falling into toxic liquids, bottomless pits, or falling from too great a height. And if hit by destructive lasers, he will be brought back to the start of a puzzle or a checkpoint. The goal of each room is to reach its exit door, though it may be necessary to activate certain switches or other devices before the exit can become available. Initially, the player does not have control of when the dimensions are shifted, but later gains access to the Interdimensional Shift Device glove where he can switch to any dimension as long as a battery for that dimension is placed in a power receptacle for that room. In some puzzles, the players must find and locate these batteries; in other cases, the player may have to choose which batteries to insert into place to solve a puzzle. ● Return of the Obra Dinn – 2019 A puzzle video game released for mac OS and Microsoft Windows and with ports for the , PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The Obra Dinn, insured by the East India Company, went missing in 1803 as it was to sail around the Cape of Good Hope. It has since washed up in port with all sixty passengers and crew dead or missing. The player is tasked to determine the fate of all souls on board, including their names, where and how they met their death, who their killer was, and their location should they be alive. The game is played in first-person, allowing the player to fully explore the Obra Dinn, using a monochromatic dithering style to mimic the shading & color methods of

New Puzzle videogames — 3/4 ● Page 8 of 14 early computer games. To help track their progress, the players is given a logbook that includes a drawing of all the crew members, the crew roster, and blueprints of the ship. They are also given the "Memento Mortem", a pocket watch-like device that can be used on a corpse. The players can revise their logbook as they gain more information, but to prevent guesswork, "fates" are only validated in correct sets of three. Colin Campbell (from ) recommended the game, saying "Return of the Obra Dinn takes the whodunit’s conventions and twists them into kaleidoscopic narratives that are perplexing and delightful". ● Scribblenauts – 2009 An emergent puzzle action title developed for the Nintendo DS. The player controls a character named Maxwell, who must collect objects called "Starites" to complete each level. Maxwell is guided by tapping the touchscreen. A fundamental element of Scribblenauts is the ability of the player to summon myriad objects. Summoned objects range among animals, weapons, forces of nature, famous people (both fictional and real), vehicles, household objects, easter eggs of the development team and even internet memes. The game includes a homonym system to offer the player possible choices between similar-sounding objects, such as distinguishing between a toy balloon and a hot-air balloon. The game is segmented into 220 levels over 10 themed areas and each given a 4 star ranking based on its difficulty. Puzzles are given a par for the number of objects they can summon — typically being between two and four — though the player is free to summon more, so long as there is space in the meter at the top screen. Once the player completes a level, a silver star appears on the level selection button and a "Free play" mode is unlocked. At that point, the player is given the option to play through the level three consecutive times without reusing objects. Successfully completing the challenge grants the player a gold star for that level. The game always rewards the player with "Ollars", its in- game money, to allow them to purchase new areas, different avatars and other visual changes to the game.

New Puzzle videogames — 3/4 ● Page 9 of 14 ● Sheep, Dog 'n' Wolf (or Looney Tunes: Sheep Raider) – 2001 A puzzle-platformer stealth video game developed for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation. After another failed attempt at stealing a sheep from Sam Sheepdog, Ralph Wolf returns home. Daffy Duck bursts in and declares that Ralph is the newest contestant on the game show "Sheep, Dog, and Wolf". In this show, Ralph is tasked with successfully stealing sheep from Sam in a variety of environments, though he is not allowed to harm the sheep in any way. Despite many obstacles and encounters with various characters, Ralph is finally able to steal Sam's entire flock. The goal of each level of the game is to steal one of the sheep from Sam Sheepdog's flock without him noticing and escort it to a marked area. ● Stacking – 2011 an adventure puzzle video game developed for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 video game consoles and later for Windows and Linux. The game is based on the Russian stacking matryoshka dolls. The player controls the smallest doll, Charlie Blackmore, who is attempting to reunite his family that is being forced to work for an evil industrialist named The Baron. Charlie is able to jump inside dolls that are one size larger than he and control them, as long as the larger doll is facing away from him. If the player already controls a stack of dolls, that stack can jump into a one-size-larger doll as well. The player can also unstack the dolls at any time in order to enter dolls smaller than his current stack. Stacking and unstacking dolls help player to solve puzzles. Stacking has received largely positive critical appraisal. ● – 2013 A puzzle-platform video game for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. The Swapper is a side-scrolling puzzle-platformer in a science fiction setting. The player character — a female scavenger — is stranded on a damaged space station and is looking for means to escape. To do so, she must explore the station and find orbs that are used to activate certain

New Puzzle videogames — 3/4 ● Page 10 of 14 doors in order to progress further into the game. The player acquires a hand-held cloning tool early in the game through which he solves puzzles to collect orbs. Once created, the clones will move with the player unless otherwise blocked by the environment. Like the player, clones can die falling from a large height or through other environmental hazard. The cloning functionality is limited by certain light sources. When using the cloning tool, time slows down, allowing the player to execute more difficult manoeuvres. Later levels include sections of the station where gravity has been reversed, increasing the difficulty of the puzzles. ● – 2015 A puzzle video game developed for Linux, OS X and Windows and later for PlayStation, iOS, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. The game features a philosophical storyline. It takes its name from Talos of Greek mythology, a giant mechanical man who protected Europa in Crete from pirates and invaders. The Talos Principle is a narrative-based puzzle game played from a first- or third-person perspective The player takes the role of a with a seemingly human consciousness as they explore a number of (virtual) environments that include over 120 puzzles. These environments interlock greenery, desert and stone ruins with futuristic technology. The puzzles require the player to collect tetromino-shaped "sigils" by navigating enclosed areas and overcoming obstacles within them. Drones and turrets can be disabled using portable jammer units, which can also disable force- field walls that block the player's path. As the player collects sigils and completes more puzzles (fighting difficult situations), new puzzle elements become available. His progress through the game is limited by doors or other security systems that require the collection of a number of specific sigil pieces. The Talos Principle was named as a finalist for the Excellence in Design and the Seumas McNally Grand Prize awards for the 2015 Independent Games Festival, and was nominated in Excellence in Narrative. At the 2015 National Academy of Video Game Trade

New Puzzle videogames — 3/4 ● Page 11 of 14 Reviewers (NAVGTR) awards, the game won Game, Special Class. ● The Witness – 2016 A first-person puzzle video game for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nvidia Shield, maOS and iOS. The player, as an unnamed character, explores an island with numerous structures and natural formations. The island is roughly divided into eleven regions, arranged around a mountain — the ultimate goal. Throughout the island are yellow boxes housing turrets. These can be activated once the puzzles within the box's region have been solved. When activated, the turrets emerge to shine a light toward the top of the mountain, indicating that a section of the game is complete. Several such turrets need to be activated to unlock access to the inside of the mountain and ultimately reach the game's final goal. Additional puzzles can be discovered if all eleven turrets are activated. ● Toki Tori – 2001 A puzzle video game with platform elements originally released for the and later for Android, Linux, iOS, OS X, WiiWare, OnLive, Microsoft Windows, Windows Mobile, , PlayStation 3, , Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Switch. The story begins in a chicken coop with many eggs. One of them will hatch, becoming the chicken, Toki Tori. He decides to set out on an adventure and rescue his unborn family. Gameplay in Toki Tori consists of using a limited number of tools to gather up all the eggs in the level in a single run through it in a certain amount of time. Toki Tori is given a set number of tools in the beginning of a level. The puzzles are designed around the tools so they must be used intelligently in the fight with monsters (using a tool incorrectly could make the level unbeatable). There are four worlds, each with 15 levels. The worlds become progressively more challenging as the player progresses through them, with later levels usually only having one specific way of collecting all the eggs. But once the player has a clear idea of how to beat the level, there is usually ample time to execute the plan.

New Puzzle videogames — 3/4 ● Page 12 of 14 ● Unmechanical – 2012 A 2.5D puzzle video game developed for Windowsand and later for iOS. It is available on , GOG.com, GamersGate, OnLive, Rain, and on the App Store. An extention was released for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Unmechanical features puzzle solving and exploration. The game began as a student project. It focuses on accessible controls that make it easy, and challenges the player with a wide array of puzzles.

● The White Door – 2020 A puzzle video game released on Steam, iOS and GOG.com The White Door is a story about Robert Hill, who awoke in a Mental Health Facility and lost his memory. The player needs to follow the instructions to find the secret of the main character and help him restore his memory.

Multiple character control

● Echochrome (I & II) – 2008 A puzzle game created for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable (PSP). Echochrome requires the player to control a moving character — which resembles an articulated wooden artist's mannequin — to visit, in any order, particular locations on the surfaces of collections of three-dimensional shapes. The objectives are marked by shadows ("echoes") of the moving character. When the last marked position has been visited, one last echo appears, which the player must reach to finish the level — scoring is simply a matter of timing completion of each level (or a course containing several levels). However, the character cannot be directly controlled by the player — it moves autonomously, following a path along the surface of each shape in a manner which keeps the path's boundary on the character's left. There are certain points where it may hop off or fall. It then falls downwards to whatever appears to be below it, or off the bottom of the screen to be rematerialized at a previous position. This behavior forms one of the most compelling aspects of the

New Puzzle videogames — 3/4 ● Page 13 of 14 game because the player must deliberately interpret the three-dimensional world as if it were two-dimensional in order to determine where the character will land. A sequel to the game — Echochrome II — was released for the PlayStation 3 utilizing the PlayStation Move. A spinoff — titled Echoshift — was released on the PlayStation Portable.

Sources : Wikipedia nintendo.com .com

New Puzzle videogames — 3/4 ● Page 14 of 14