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.

Sherlock Holmes The Awakened – PS5 Review
PlayStation Reviews

Sherlock Holmes The Awakened – PS5 Review

Sherlock Holmes The Awakened is the latest title from Ukrainian developer Frogwares. A remake of the original 2007 release shows the level of commitment Frogwares has to produce titles. H.P Lovecraft comes to 221b Baker Street Sherlock Holmes Chapter One for me was a great title. When Frogwares announced the remake of Sherlock Holmes The Awakened it went straight on my wishlist. Frogwares weren't happy with just a simple remake, opting to change almost everything aside from the overall plot. Quest Design, Voice acting even the ending has changed. This means there is something for everyone whether you are a newcomer or played the original. Gameplay Blending the Lovecraftian world with the rational world of Sherlock Holmes. This dark adventure will push Sherlock to his limits leaving...
Defend The Rook – Xbox Series X Review
Xbox Reviews

Defend The Rook – Xbox Series X Review

Chess. A traditional game as old as time (well 9th century Russia). Some traditions are made to last, King, Queen, Bishop, Knight, Rook and Pawn. But wait! What if the rule book was thrown out of the window and suddenly the rook was the most important character? So what if the others were now a Rogue, a Fighter and a Sorceress? What if the enemy were goblins, orcs, wolves, or giant mushrooms? Is this even chess any more? Well, One Up Plus has stomped all over tradition to make this happen in the form of Defend the Rook. Time to pack a bag full of tactics, skill, logic and mortar and see where this adventure takes me. Defend the Rook - It's a Castle, not a Bird! Can the few outwit, outgun and outplay the many? Time to bring it on and see what I am up against. My hopes are quite high as I ...
Contraptions 2 – Switch Review
Switch Reviews

Contraptions 2 – Switch Review

Contraptions 2 is a 2D puzzle game by devs Moragami Co., Ltd and published by Funbox Media & GS2 Games Inc. Available from 27th April, it is the follow-up to the first iteration that was released back in 2019. Available on PC, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, the concept is to find the physics-based solution in order to eliminate the monsters on the screen. Having not played a game like this since Jeff Tunnell's The Incredible Machine back in 1992 I could not wait to get started! Contraptions 2 - Testing That Brain! Once in a while, a game comes along and it just drains away time. Contraptions 2 is one of them! I have been lucky enough to play it on the Nintendo Switch and I do not know where my evenings have gone. Gameplay Although relatively easy to grasp, Contraptions 2 reli...
Montgomery Fox and the Case of the Missing Ballerinas – PS5 Review
PlayStation Reviews

Montgomery Fox and the Case of the Missing Ballerinas – PS5 Review

Montgomery Fox and the Case of the Missing Ballerinas is a point-and-click puzzle-adventure game developed by Paprikari and published by Big Fish Games and Ocean Media LLC. It is available to pick up on the PlayStation Store for £11.99 On The Prowl For Answers Gameplay In Montgomery Fox and the Case of the Missing Ballerinas, players assume the role of the titular character. Montgomery Fox is a detective looking into the disappearance of several ballerinas and suspects a character named Lazy Dog but lacks the required evidence. Players will enter levels which are hidden object games with clues and evidence to find. While hidden object games make up most of the gameplay, there are a couple of different puzzles. Lost & Found During the hidden object sequences, players will have ...
Papertris – Switch Review
Switch Reviews

Papertris – Switch Review

Papertris is a match 3 game from Germany-based Father and 2 sons developer Paper Games. It is available for the Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam. Today we will be looking at the Nintendo Switch version which will set you back £4.49/$4.99 at the time of writing and will require 346MB of storage. Not Quite Tetris in Name, Not Quite Tetris in Nature Everything from the name and the looks of the game tells you this is going to be something akin to Tetris. But no, not quite. It does feature falling blocks and you do have to make them disappear. But that's about where the similarities end. Gameplay Papertris is a match 3 game. You know the sort, make 3 or more of the same block touch and poof! Bye-bye, blocks! It features power-up blocks that I never quite worked out how they work. Th...
Alterity Experience – Xbox Series X Review
Xbox Reviews

Alterity Experience – Xbox Series X Review

In a world where the truth is out there, Onitron Studios brings us Alterity Experience. This is a chance to experience what it will be like in the middle of an alien invasion. Time to find those crop circles and take this title for a spin. Best move the laptop to the basement and fashion myself a tinfoil hat. Alterity Experience - Purple Haze, or Purple Ama(i)ze? Gameplay I start my adventure in Alterity Experience in an office looking at computer screen and a purple corn on the cob. I must admit that it is a pretty strange beginning, but I get the feeling that nothing about my experience is going to be not strange. It turns out that the missus and the kids have gone to watch a film leaving me on my own to investigate the purple glow.  After a brief tutorial about how the buttons and ...
Maskmaker – Meta Quest 2 Review
VR Reviews

Maskmaker – Meta Quest 2 Review

A couple of years ago InnerspaceVR released Maskmaker on Steam for the VR audience. Well, last December they made it available to the Oculus community. Do I have what it takes to carve and paint my own masks to complete this intriguing puzzle based adventure? Best raid the man drawer for the necessary tools for the task and I'll see you on the other side. Maskmaker - Stanley Ipkiss vs Rocky Dennis, seconds away, round 1. Gameplay Maskmaker sticks to the tried and tested formula for controls. I chose to mainly teleport as it's quicker, but I found myself using normal movement for the more close environments. Every time an object was highlighted I would pick it up and look all around it for clues. This is a puzzle game after all. There is a tutorial to make sure that I know how to do ever...
Donut Dodo – Switch Review
Switch Reviews

Donut Dodo – Switch Review

Donut Dodo is another excellent addition to the revitalising of 2D platformer's that those who grew up in the 80s were accustomed to. Being a relatively new company that was founded in 2020, Pixel Games already has an impressive resume of 2D arcade adventure games, that focuses on "creating classic, pick up and play, pixel art games for modern consoles." Donut Dodo is available now to buy on steam and switch. Defeat the evil dodo and reclaim your donuts! Donut Dodo is not a game I would typically play, that being because I am unfortunately a millennial, and I did not grow up surrounded by the summers filled of playing on the arcade machines, however, I must say, I was pleasantly surprised by this game. Gameplay You play as the baker Billy Burns, who has to outwit the evil Dodo and his ...
Thumb Culture’s Most Anticipated Games of 2023
Features

Thumb Culture’s Most Anticipated Games of 2023

2022 offered up a healthy serving of amazing games from Elden Ring, God of War Ragnarok and Horizon Forbidden West. We now look to 2023 and what games have got us excited. Already it's looking like it will be better than 2022 with the sheer variety and quality of games to be released. 2023 is Going to be an Exciting Time for Gaming! What game are you excited about in 2023?  This a hard question, for me at least, with so many games announced to be released this year. Let us know in the comments below your choice. We put this question to Thumb Culture's writers, check out their choices below: Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name Developer: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio Release: TBC 2023 Vinno Squires - Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, from Sega developer R...
NEScape! – Switch Review
Switch Reviews

NEScape! – Switch Review

Some people are going to look at NEScape! and write it off without thinking—but I’m here to tell you otherwise. This under-the-radar indie is worth your time, and is perhaps one of the more obvious candidates for the hallowed title of ‘hidden gem.’ NEScape! is a fully-realised escape room—a modern phenomenon—intriguingly brought to life in a 1980s-style 8-bit aesthetic. And it works so well that it’s easy to imagine it as one of the actual classic games of the NES library. THE DEFINITIVE 8-BIT ESCAPE ROOM EXPERIENCE At the start of the game you’re placed in a dark room. You find the right pixel to turn on the light switch then have an hour to complete the puzzles and escape through the locked door. To do so you cycle between four screens—the four walls of the room—and interact with the d...