Recent reviews by GabeAndTheGoat

Bonfire Peaks has been designed in stunning voxel-art with the puzzles coming from the incredible (and devilishly tricky!) minds of Corey Martin and Alan Hazelden. Fellow puzzle gamers may recognise Alan as being responsible for A Monster's Expedition. The game itself features a character who is on a journey to burn his belongings. This cathartic journey takes you through the 'overworld' which sees you start at the bottom of a mountain. You must navigate your way upwards to its summit where a satisfying conclusion awaits. Each puzzle is marked by an unlit campfire. On approach your character simply sits down and you are instantly loaded into the level with no fuss or preamble. When the level is completed you move back to the overworld to see your character now sat by a lit fire with a crate spawning in alongside. These crates are vital to your progression upwards into new areas. Don't panic though, not all have to be solved, meaning you shouldn't reach a state where you feel locked from further progress.

The game designers have gone to extreme lengths to make the puzzles approachable. Your character has a limited array of movements (no diagonal steps are possible) and these moves come to feel intuitive after a short while. What's more is that they have provided a simple 'reset' to the puzzle so if you should find yourself having gone down the wrong route to solve a puzzle or done something you didn't want (like thrown all your crates in the water in a fit of desperation!) you can restart without having to leave the level. For those who have been more restrained and perhaps just taken a step too far you can undo single moves. This is accompanied by a beautiful ghostly outline of your character. Worryingly, when I have used this, I have realised just how many steps I've taken. When repeating the puzzles I normally find they can be done infuriatingly simply! Functions such as these though make the game suitable for those who like to sit and think things through as well as those that like to take a more trial and see approach. Whilst sitting and thinking you can enjoy the stunningly fitting soundtrack.

Initially you may be wondering how it is possible to complete 202 levels with just crates. It does sound a lot! However, the game constantly evolves. Other mechanisms are introduced, seemingly without introduction. You learn on the spot and through your own experiences. Whilst the introduction of water was my personal favourite there are also breakable blocks, arrows and spikes. The delight in not being spoon-fed when these come into play is, in my opinion, immense. Bonfire Peaks encourages you to constantly reassess what you know, or think you know, to master a new mechanic.

The overworld may at first seem like somewhere to blindly pass through. After all, you got the game for the puzzles so surely it is those levels that matter and warrant all your attention? Here the answer to that is definitely 'no'. The overworld has been thoughtfully created to hint at the journey of the developer and it was a privilege to share in some of those finds. He has also been kind enough to share that space with the works of other developers leading you to look for easter eggs pointing you to the likes of Patricks Parabox, Kine, Monster's Expedition and even the Discord symbol for Thinky-Puzzle-Games.

For those who like to gather achievements you won't be disappointed. They are scattered throughout the game and many you will find yourself bagging them through minor mishaps in levels. Yes, that does mean I tried to burn my belongings on a torch instead of the actual bonfire, I may have shot my character (lots) and killed him in spikes (not intentionally, honest)! The final achievement, Let Go, felt like permission at the end of the game to do just that. It was a journey I didn't know I even needed to take until the end.

So far I'm up to chapter 4 (Exceptions) and I'm really enjoying this 2D/Top-down puzzle hybrid. The characters are fun and the dialogue keeps a good story going. I'm surprised at how slick the two gaming styles have been merged and the complexity of puzzles that it creates. Each new world brings fresh dynamics and new challenges. Bosses are tricky but not impossible. The ability to quickly restart a level is a bonus.

Definitely recommended.

I first heard about OMNO nearly 3 years ago when it was at Kickstarter stage. Back then it promised to take you on a journey of discovery through an ancient world of wonders. With the support of its backers the developer, Jonas Manke, was able to take the time to exceed his promise and fulfil his vision with magnificent graphics, beautiful soundtrack and a journey you won't want to end.

You play in an open world environment as a character I shall refer to as OMNO, though the title may not in fact be in reference to this. As the player you will take OMNO on a journey through a series of landscapes; from swampland, to forest, through icy tundra, across blistering desert and finally to floating islands.

He carries a staff which he uses to gather energy from the natural world which is required to activate pillars. Each area you move through has collectables in the form of orbs, glyphs, books and magical creatures. Orbs are required to activate puzzles within a region. These need to be completed before moving to the next area. The books and the glyphs help to tell the story of the journey to the tower and final gateway which OMNO seeks to find. There are 41 creatures spread throughout all 5 regions. These can also provide OMNO with energy when interacted with accordingly. A favourite feature of the staff though has to be its ability to allow OMNO to surf across the landscape, dash, glide and even teleport across vast distances. If there was ever a way to travel, this surely has to be it!

As you travel you meet a companion and that friendship becomes something you cherish by the end of the game. The final scenes are heart wrenching but I won't spoil them by revealing it. This game is a journey everyone should take. Perhaps you will take something away from the game - for me it was that the journey can matter as much as the final destination and to place value in the here and now.

I really liked Kine. It's a fun puzzle game about moving one or more of three musical instrument characters around what looks like a simple block oriented course. Each puzzle only takes a few moves but it's not as simple as it sounds because it involves rotating the character and extending their 'limbs' to help movement. Movement from one position to another is very slick and its just as easy to revert a move so the game encourages a try and see if it works approach. The music is fun and there is a story which ties it all together.
Highly recommended if you like puzzle games.

My biggest achievement this week has got to be having finished A Monster’s Expedition! Finding the museum exhibits was one thing but getting all the snowmen took the puzzling to a whole new level. For those that haven’t seen it yet you play the character of a monster who is keen to learn! He travels around a ‘museum’ which is a series of islands that can only be reached by pushing down trees to form bridges or rafts. After finding all 143 exhibits you can then take your monster to find snowmen who are waiting to be his friend! This is much trickier than it sounds as you often have to reset trees you have already used and do numerous laps of islands to get a network of rafts and bridges in order to get to the island with the snowman on. With 52 to find it was no small feat!

It really is a very good puzzle game with quirky jokes about human behaviour on the exhibits. You certainly get a lot for your money with this game and I’m very much looking forward to seeing what they do next.

I loved this game. The puzzles are very good, you really need to keep your eyes open. Fortunately it's easy to retry a section. The artwork and animation is wonderful and the music fits the story really well. The story itself develops nicely. I've had to watch the ending a couple of times to get it but I'm only 7. I loved the dog! It's very easy to move around the screen - it really is point and click. Highly recommended.

I really liked this 3D platformer. It's fun and colourful. The levels were of good length and each contains puzzles for which you need to be observant to solve. Nothing too taxing though! There is a companion character - a bird Pru - who is slightly more challenging to control (or at least she was for me) but she doesn't appear until later in the game. The gameplay mechanics work well, the story progresses through the game and I didn't encounter any bugs despite the game being in Early Access.

To sum up, really fun and good to play.

I love this game. There is so much to explore and it is just loads of fun! There is always something new just around the corner that surprises and makes me laugh. Gameplay is easy, the challenge is just finding all the different things to do.

It's regularly updated and each update adds an awful lot.

The devs are really supportive and responsive.

Loving the game so far. The wombat creatures are super cute and the ducks are funny. The game play is straightforward which allows you to really enjoy the animals and surroundings. It's nice to play a non-threatening game at your own pace. Sound effects are nice too. Looking forward to playing more tonight and I would definitely recommend.

So far this is a really fun game. I got it not really knowing what to expect - just a ball rolling along a track. I was surprised. It's quite addictive, the controls responsive, colours vibrant. I've not played all the way through so I don't know what else is to come, but the idea is that you are very much trying to play against the clock and improve your time. It also has multi-player which I haven't tried. It's had me laughing out loud largely at my own stupidity but I reckon that's a good recommendation.