Maybe it’s John Walker’s lingering affect, however I’ve been on a little bit of a puzzle bender, and PuzzleTales scratches that itch properly. Part sci-fi quick story, half conventional puzzle-book with slightly little bit of branching game-book to it in case you’re good sufficient to determine alternate options. The brainchild of writer Lavie Tidhar and puzzle-smith Jake Olefsky, it’s maybe extra videogame-adjoining than something with bleeps and bloops, however you play it in your browser so it’s shut sufficient for me. The first 4 (of twenty-three) chapters are free to try here. You might want note-paper and a pen.
While PuzzleTales is the identify of the web site and the overarching challenge, the only real story proper now — Svalbard — is hopefully the primary of many. While I’ve solely had the time to offer a fast shake, it’s an attention-grabbing piece of utopian post-post-apocalyptic fiction, telling the hopeful story of a lady exploring the technological ruins of the world previous. Svalbard opens with a dive right into a long-abandoned digital videogame world, crumbling and haunted, with retro game-themed puzzles. As the tone and topic of the story modifications, as do the puzzles, and the solutions wanted.
Even in case your mind is a sputtering, fizzling mess, PuzzleTales has a built-in trace system, supplying you with a protracted checklist of potential hints and a shame-inducing ‘I give up, what’s the reply?’ button. Tapping out will exclude you from the excessive rating board, however I’d think about that’s of little concern for the common puzzle-hound – you’re in it to fry your noodle, not flex on the web. I admit that to be able to write this and get a really feel for the prose, I skipped forward slightly. While I’ll ceaselessly carry that weight, I can affirm that it is a good story, and the illustrations, although sparse, are charming stuff.
PuzzleTales is out now and prices $12.95 for the complete Svalbard story. The first 4 chapters are free.
