A Monster’s Expedition
I play 100+ puzzle games every year and this is likely my favourite release of 2020.
Draknek and his team have truly advanced the state of the art in how the game’s world is put together and how exploration and puzzle-solving are interconnected. There is no other puzzle game that does quite what this one does in terms of the interaction between mechanics design, navigation, and secret-finding. It’s not just a game about pushing and rolling cylinders around, it’s a game about really interesting cause-and-effect relationships between the cylinders, the spaces they’re placed in, and the places that you wanna get to but can’t.
– Real player with 602.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best Open World Family Friendly Games.
If you love cute but challenging puzzle games and think the goal of visiting a public park is to leave not a single tree standing, this is definitely the game for you. It might even be the game for you if only one of those two things apply.
I’ve put a lot of time into this game, so saddle up for a thorough review.
A Monster’s Expedition with Overly Long Subtitle is a large and challenging tile-based and turn-based spatial puzzle game of the sokoban subgenre. Beating the game is somewhat tricky, but mastering it (clearing all the fog) is very difficult—and I say that as a longtime DROD player.
– Real player with 108.6 hrs in game
DESOLUS
DESOLUS
Desolus is an atmospheric puzzle game where you explore a city of Gothic architecture torn between multiple universes. Solve surreal puzzles by twisting architecture with black holes, and travel between dimensions to navigate impossible space. Witness a cataclysm which threatens to merge past with future, and experience the final moments of a lost city.
Desolus has been awarded at numerous game festivals, including an exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, a nomination for ‘Innovation in Art and Narrative’ at the Boston Festival of Indie Games, and nominations for ‘Excellence in Art’ and ‘Excellence in Music’ at MAGFest.
FEATURES
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Explore a hauntingly beautiful fractal-like city of immense interconnected Gothic architecture.
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Solve surreal puzzles by manipulating black holes to send architecture between universes.
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Seamlessly travel through portals which connect multiple universes and impossible spaces.
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Listen to an atmospheric original piano soundtrack created by Kyle Landry.
Read More: Best Open World Exploration Games.
Evergarden
While it might seem like a simple/basic (ie easy) puzzle game, it’s actually pretty complex and takes skill/time to keep moving forward to get a better score/complete the achievements. But, the sometimes frustration of doing poorly in the puzzle area is made up for by beautiful graphics, nice music/sounds, and a very peaceful/(yes I know it’s contradictory to say) relaxing bit of game play. Basically, it’s a wonderful game to both look at and play, while also being difficult enough to where you feel accomplished completing an achievement yet not hard enough to make any of them unobtainable with practice.
– Real player with 40.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best Open World Exploration Games.
Evergarden (Puzzle)
Options include separate sliders for Music and SFX, Full-screen and Quality.
If you cannot interact with the game (clicking does nothing), make sure that there isn’t anything pushing on your controller, and the problem should be fixed.
Story:
There is an understated story that ties everything loosely together, but I can’t tell you much about it without giving things away. We will find a couple of notes that help, including this one from the very beginning of the game:
– Real player with 38.0 hrs in game
Jericho’s Rose
Jericho’s Rose is a short exploration game about solving the puzzles of an ancient temple. On your journey you will find old and powerful artifacts that help you venture deeper into the temple and its ever-changing corridors. Meet the strange but lovable inhabitants of your village and experience the world around you.
Key Features
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Explore the desert and its secrets at your own pace. You never know what you may find.
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Solve the puzzles of the temple and unravel the mysteries of this ancient place.
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Find hidden treasures. They sure come in handy when you are deep underground.
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Meet the villagers and other characters along your way. Maybe you can help each other out!
Laser Maze
This is a great puzzel game and for $5. The grafics are pleasing and it is easy to control with a great soundtrack to go with it. I highly suggest this game especially if you are new to puzzel games.
– Real player with 24.7 hrs in game
As the title suggests, Laser Maze is a game that is all about redirecting laser beams through maze-like areas with the help of mirror devices. I haven’t found all secrets yet but I finished the entire campaign and six bonus puzzles, and I can already say that this game is well worth the price of around 4€ (at the time of release) if you are into 2D laser redirection puzzles.
In the game, you are a maintenance robot on board of a space station and it is your job to figure out what happened to the crew. The robot is steered with WASD or arrow keys and you can aim the laser redirection with the mouse. This mechanic generally works very well. On your path through the station you encounter computer terminals that give you background information and goals to pursue.
– Real player with 12.9 hrs in game
Door3:Insignia
Cool game! Riddles are quite intricate and are constantly changing which is nice. I love the beautiful surroundings
– Real player with 12.6 hrs in game
Review at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQo3Pwf_Rok
This puzzle game is so very impressive, I LOVE it! The puzzles are simple and hard at the same time. If you fail on a door, you will have to restart with a possible chance of the puzzle changing on you. So no path will be the same. The map is huge! So don’t expect to just go through just doors. Lots to explore and discover. The graphics are amazing for this type of game and I look forward to trying to solver every puzzle! A+
– Real player with 12.3 hrs in game
The Witness
The Witness is one of the best puzzle games that I have ever played in my entire life, ever. It’s concept is so ingenious and unusual that it is a masterpiece and a piece of art in and of itself.
Graphics: 4.5/5
Gameplay: 5/5
Audio: 3/5
Story: N/A of 5
Accessibility: 2/5
Graphics:
This games graphics were absolutely stunning when this game first came out, but over time, have fallen off pretty hard since it first came out. I gave this game a 4.5/5 in the Graphics department because the game, to me, still has amazing graphics for its' time (when it came out), and docked it a half point because they’ve fallen off a bit since then.
– Real player with 72.1 hrs in game
When I first started playing this game, I’ll be honest, I bought it for the graphics and a brain teaser or two. What I got instead was a masterpiece in my opinion. This is one of the best games, if not the best game, of all time I have ever played, up there with Portal Two. And after playing though a certain endgame challenge, I can honestly say I enjoyed every second of this game. Were there times I felt really stupid and had to look up a guide? Of course. Were there times the elegant solutions inflated my ego and made me think I was a genius? Also yes. And with the randomizer mod on expert difficulty, I’ve just grazed the surface of what this game has to offer. TL/DR: This was one of the best games I’ve played in a long time. Would definitely recommend, worth the price (though if you’re on the fence or don’t usually enjoy puzzle games, wait for sale).
– Real player with 40.6 hrs in game
Escapeworld Dilemma
This is a really good adventure puzzle game. The environment is very large spanning multiple islands with different geographies and themes, from high desert to the depths of a coal mine. The graphics are gorgeous, I spent hours just flying the drone to look at the fantastic detail. The puzzles and puzzle mechanics I found medium to hard, there was nothing I would class as simple, although all the puzzles can be solved by spotting particular sequences or
combinations and with the clues and hints that are left for you to find. I only got frustrated once when I couldn’t find a particular location, which turned out to be a case of not looking everywhere (and there’s a lot of everywhere to look at). For an early access game it is very robust. I found one bug that could crash the game and a couple of puzzles where the puzzle mechanics would allow you to wreck a working solution if you were heavy handed. Joe at Sonoma was very responsive and was going to fix these. All in all, more than worth the price paid.
– Real player with 64.2 hrs in game
Escapeworld Dilemma is an adventurous, open-world game, intended for players who like a lot of logic puzzles.
At first glance, the game seems small and short, but as soon as the puzzles start, it changes the impression of the game itself.
We played the game until it was complete. There are both easy and difficult puzzles.
During the game, we encountered a lot of irregularities (stuck in the texture, deterioration through the interface, cracking graphics, etc …)
In collaboration with Joe, all this has been resolved and the game in the set gives the players an unforgettable adventure.
– Real player with 31.9 hrs in game
Fishy 3D
Fishy 2.5D
Let’s go, in and out, 20 minutes adventure…
I can’t find the 12th moon ლ(ಠ益ಠლ)
– Real player with 6.0 hrs in game
for such a small game there is a fair amount to do after you beat the “story” (stars, moons, achievements). def worth it
– Real player with 5.2 hrs in game
Power Washer Hero
I have not gotten this game to work at all. Every time I try to play this game in VR steam VR freezes up. The 2.7 hours is because that is how long it was open in the background refusing to quit. Just go rent an actual power washer from a hardware store. That way at least you can get some cleaning done.
– Real player with 4.8 hrs in game
An experience every man woman and child should be forced to do.
Become the hero the city doesn’t need but the one they deserve.
10/10 worth my liver
– Real player with 2.6 hrs in game