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 ● Antichamber – 2013 A first-person puzzle-platform game released for Microsoft Windows, Linux 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 video game 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 level. 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 Nintendo 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 Xbox 360'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 art style 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. ● Narbacular Drop – 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 Unreal Engine 4 and Physically Based Rendering.