Tag: Puzzle

Looking for that next puzzle game to stretch those brain muscles? Thumb Culture has news and reviews of the newest puzzling genre games.

FORENSIC – M.E. Protocol – PC Review
PC Reviews

FORENSIC – M.E. Protocol – PC Review

FORENSIC - M.E. Protocol is a new crime scene investigation simulator developed by k148 Game Studio and published by JanduSoft, that hit the Steam shelves on May 28th. Step into the shoes of a forensic investigator, check out crime scenes, and try your best to solve the case! A Different Kind of Murder Investigation An investigator game like this honestly sounds fun on paper. Usually, in these kinds of games, you are either just a regular cop or the guy who gets sent to clean up after the fact. Getting to actually work on the forensic side of things is a great concept, but the execution isn't without its flaws. Have you seen a game like this before? Let me know in the comments! Gameplay In FORENSIC - M.E. Protocol, you play as a forensic investigator tasked with analysing crime sce...
Riven: Remake – PC Review
PC Reviews

Riven: Remake – PC Review

I already checked out Myst, and now I'm exploring its cult classic sequel, Riven! This remake did come out in 2024, and Is out on the Steam Store, for £31.49. But if you do wish to pick both remakes up for one deal, then it will cost you £53.54. The theme with books kinda reminds me of the movie Inkheart. Gameplay Riven picks up right where Myst left it, with the player being asked to go to the actual world of Riven. A place that holds a man who is looking to do harm to others called Gehn. Besides, actually getting context for why we are in Riven. The player must navigate and explore the areas, which in turn will hopefully lead them on the correct path. From what I could understand, my main goal, or what I made my main mission, was to light marbles from each of the gold domes. As I sa...
Myst Remake – PC Review
PC Reviews

Myst Remake – PC Review

One thing I love about remasters and remakes is that they offer a chance to people who may have missed out on the originals. It's me; I'm people. That is why I will finally get to check out the latest version of Myst. This version has been remade from the ground up, thanks to the team at Cyan Worlds Inc. Besides hearing about the game now and then, I have no actual clue what Myst is actually about. So I will be interested just what mind-breaking puzzles I will get to do. You can grab Myst on the Steam store for £31.49 and apparently players can experience the game in VR too! After all these years is this game a hit or Myst? Gameplay After a brief intro of a man being killed and dropping a book with the title Myst, we awake as a no-named character on a mysterious island without knowing...
Whirlight: No Time To Trip – PC Review
PC Reviews

Whirlight: No Time To Trip – PC Review

There’s something comforting about a good point-and-click adventure game. Maybe it’s the weird characters, the ridiculous puzzles, or just the fact that they let you slow down and enjoy the world instead of sprinting between explosions every five seconds. Whatever the reason, Whirlight: No Time To Trip absolutely nails that old-school adventure feeling while still managing to feel modern enough to avoid becoming stuck in the past. After checking out the preview a while back, I was already interested in what the Willy Morgan devs, ImaginaryLab, was building. The humour landed well, the art style looked fantastic, and the puzzles showed real promise. Now that the full game is here, I can happily say the final result delivers on pretty much everything I hoped it would. Time For Adventure!...
The Third Shift – PC Review
PC Reviews

The Third Shift – PC Review

When I was a kid, my mom would take me to a big natural history museum close to our house. I remember feeling both enraptured and terrified by the taxidermy animals, with their frozen poses and glassy eyes. Sometimes I would wonder if they moved at night, or when I wasn't looking at them. It was a strange atmosphere; a place of learning, yet with a sense of quiet, creeping dread. It's a sense of horror that very few games have capitalized on, at least up until now. The Third Shift is a survival horror game developed and published by Teebowah Games. The initial demo released all the way back in 2020, and I distinctly remember watching it back in high school. Development has been on and off for the past few years, but the game finally released this April, and I was excited to finally ...
The End of the Sun – PS5 Review
PlayStation Reviews

The End of the Sun – PS5 Review

If "story-driven adventure steeped in Slavic folklore" is a phrase that interests you, then get ready for this one! The End of the Sun, developed by the small, family-run studio The End of the Sun Forge, certainly piqued my interest when I first saw it. Originally releasing on Steam in 2025 to a "Very Positive" reception, the game is now available for PlayStation 5. Is this a tale worth telling? Or will playing this game have you begging for the end of the actual sun? Let's find out! Spend Your Days in the Sunshiiiiiiine! With plenty of walking simulators out there, it can be difficult to find ones that tell a genuinely engaging story. Got any recommendations for someone who is admittedly not too clued in on the genre? Let me know in the comments below, so I can add them to my ever-ex...
Rumbral – PC Review
PC Reviews

Rumbral – PC Review

Travel between realities, find your path and uncover the beauty of being alone in Rumbral the new release from OSEA Innovations. We got out hands on the game to try out to see wether the puzzles were brain melting or a walk in the park. Rumbral is currently available on Steam for £12.99. If you're looking for other games to add to your library, you can check out our other reviews here. Let's get ready to Rumbral Gameplay If you have ever played games like Little Nightmares or Limbo, then you'll know exactly what you're getting with Rumbral. The entire world expands to the right alongside a few puzzles. All seems normal at first until the main character comes into contact with some red goo. After stepping into this goo, you are transported to an alternate reality back in time where ...
Ghost Master: Resurrection – PS5 Review
PlayStation Reviews

Ghost Master: Resurrection – PS5 Review

I am, admittedly, a bit of a sucker for remasters/remakes. Or, at least, the ones of games that didn't come out a few years ago... Being able to experience something from my younger years on modern hardware is both nostalgic and comforting. So, when I saw that Ghost Master was returning from the dead, I knew I had to check it out! Released in 2003 for PC and a year later for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, Ghost Master is a sort of puzzle/strategy hybrid. A game my younger self would often describe as "The Sims but you have to haunt them instead of take care of them". Not that I really took care of my sims... Now, in 2026, Ghost Master: Resurrection is here! Developer Mechano Story Studio state that this is a "faithful remake of the beloved original" but with some much-needed bug fixes and upgr...
Angel Engine – PC Review
PC Reviews

Angel Engine – PC Review

"And the Lord Of All Games spake, 'Thou shalt not make a game in the image of a data entry overtime shift', and all saw and said it was good." -Polygonics 4:51 Angel Engine is a self-proclaimed "horror surgery simulator" developed by HMS Studios and Black Lantern Collective and published by NerveLabs and Aurakenn Games. It is currently only available for PC. Clocking In to the Martyr Factory The game is based on a highly-popular short-form analogue horror series of the same name, centered around humanity kidnapping an angel and performing horrific experiments on it it to try and stave off Armaggedon. Based on my research, the original Angel Engine series is controversial for heavy AI usage, to the point that the Steam page directly says that, unlike the original, this game doesn't...
The House of Hikmah – PC Review
PC Reviews

The House of Hikmah – PC Review

 Have you ever played a video game inspired by the golden age of Arabic scientific and cultural development? Would you like to? The House of Hikmah is a 3D puzzle-platformer developed and published by Lunacy Studios, in their grand debut. Lunacy is an interesting studio: an independent, fully-remote, junior-built team dedicated to making diverse, narrative-heavy stories. Will Lunacy's ethically-sourced games nudge out a healthy space in a crowded market that can't even support Fortnite? Well, based on the experience I, a pasty white boy who is most certainly not part of the target audience, had with it, I believe they can. The House of Hikmah is a short, comfortable, well-crafted experience, like drinking a bowl of homemade soup. But what makes it so satisfying? The Key To Success ...