Recent reviews by Somatix

While the puzzles and mystery can be fun and intriguing, this game is fundamentally let down by the fact that it is a rougelite. While there are some permanent upgrades and many puzzles remain solved, the fact of the matter is with the limited resource system (keys, gems, steps) and the RNG elements, you may have the answers to some puzzles but have to wait multiple days for the ability to act on that information through no fault of your own, only to find you don't have the resources to make those rooms work. This is somewhat abated by the permanent progression upgrades, but it never stops being a rougelite with all the problems inherent to the genre.

If this game didn't have the needless rougelike elements to pad the playtime, this game would be an easy recommend, but since the game is fundamentally designed with those random elements in mind, and, as a result, would be hard to remove them. The name 'Blue Prince' is even a sort of pun on the blueprints you use to draft new rooms to the house, since there are more rooms in the pool than space in the house, necessitating playing multiple days to see all the rooms.

But that can cut both ways -- sometimes you will be stuck with nothing but dead ends and no rerolls, meaning you can have multiple wasted days as you try to get the configuration of rooms you need to solve a puzzle you already know the answer to. Not to mention how the RNG compounds when you need specific items to spawn along with specific rooms to use said items in.

If you do decide to play this game, though, keep a physical notebook handy if you can. The game tells you to do this and you would be wise to do what it says. A lot of puzzles will be made easier by taking good notes and being observant about your surroundings. It will be better in the long run if you don't just take screenshots of everything that might be puzzle related, only to end up with a mountain of unsorted clues to sift through when you need one of them to make sense of a puzzle. Especially since, due to the RNG elements, it might be multiple days until you see the relevant rooms and items again.

Ultimately, how lucky you are is the main determining factor in how much you will like this game. Either you will be able to endure the RNG elements that pervade every aspect of this game to get at the puzzles underneath, or you will find the RNG a confusing and inexplicable aspect of the game that drags down what could have been an amazing puzzle game otherwise.

A fun, if a bit obtuse, puzzle game. Most notable for being the sequel to Myst, one of the most important pc games ever made. Myst is not strictly speaking required to play and understand what's going on in Riven, but it will give you greater context for some of the setting details and background for character motivation that will otherwise might go over your head.

The remake updates the graphics and changes a few of the puzzles for the better. Things are easier to track and the screenshot note function is a good inclusion, given the game expects you to do quite a bit of legwork and note-taking by to solve some of the later puzzles. It does add some replayability over the original by randomizing a few of the puzzles on each playthrough, but otherwise knowledge transfers between playthroughs.

One massive downside I've noticed to the remake is that making it open world and removing the still framing of the powerpoint style of the original means that it's so, so easy to overlook environmental details that would have been obvious the way it was framed originally; be on the lookout for small levers or buttons if it seems like you're where you're supposed to be but feel like you're missing something.

If you like puzzle games, you should definitely give Riven (and Myst) a shot.

Book of Hours is not a fast-paced, action-packed, adventure of a game. It is a slow, thoughtful, methodical game that requires you to meet it halfway.

As the opening to the game says, Book of Hours is a forgiving sort of game. If you're worried you might be stuck, there's usually another way. It is _hard_ to actually reach a fail state in this game that usually requires some deliberate action on behalf of the player.

Many of the negative reviews point out that this game is not as high-stakes as the previous game, Cultist Simulator, and that's true! But it's also a completely different genre of game. Book of Hours steps back from the constant management and upkeep of Cultist Sim in favor of a more forgiving, deliberative game.

Consequently, it has a great amount of complexity, some of which is intentionally obscured or obtuse, as you have the time and space to experiment and learn. This game will require you to read and examine things, and it's a game that definitely benefits from a spreadsheet. But, at the same time, in this game you're a librarian -- you _should_ be making a catalog of what's in your collection!

It's a game that rewards forethought, planning, experimentation, reading comprehension, and a willingness to play a slow, thoughtful game at a slow, thoughtful pace. It is absolutely worth a play if you enjoy longer-form games with moderate complexity and don't want your stint as librarian to end because you didn't juggle your fascination and dread properly. It's a game for people who like to read and obsess over lore.

If you're looking for a more challenging game, a more punishing game, that has the same sort of general vibe, cool lore, at-times obtuse writing and conveyance, go play Cultist Simulator! If, however, you're looking for 2 novels worth of text and all the time in the world to read your books and lore, and don't like your runs dying to things beyond your control, then perhaps Book of Hours is for you.

It really is, genuinely, worth a play if any of this sounds interesting to you.

The game is free, cute, not particularly hard, short and a lot of fun. Easily worth the ~2 hours it takes to 100% complete.

As a survivor of Mort the Chicken, I appreciated the cameo literally no one was asking for

Absolutely wild they hid a 9/10 game in this 4/10 game

yeah, it's alright

Evocative of D&D and other tabletop games.

If you're looking for a way to scratch that tabletop game itch, or wanted to see what the fuss is about, give this game a try

Solve three crimes, to the chagrin of your brother.

It's short and silly, but it's priced accordingly. Give it a try

A cute as heck game about saving the world through the power of singing and positive thinking.