Oh… oh boy… oooohhhhh booooieeee… From a purely mechanical standpoint, the game works excellently. The controls are smooth and responsive, both in the FPS mechanics and in the puzzle mechanics. The graphics, while simple, are very pleasing and done in such a way that the work environment doesn’t distract from the puzzle solving and the puzzle elements fit well in the environment! Very nice!
Those puzzles though… Now, up front, I read the section that suggested that I don’t read the instructions on how to play, and, as of the time I’m writing this, I still have no read those instructions. I did have a group of people watching me play and giving me hints (or, I guess, outright trying to tell me what I was supposed to look for) and… I had a significant amount of trouble trying to wrap my mind around the puzzles.
The first thing that threw me off was the second and third puzzles. These were the ones with a [7] and a [7] with a line through it. Both had the same solution (my viewers were telling me the first one had two solutions, but still) this made grasping what was expected in terms of solving the puzzles extremely confusing, and this confusion comes nearly right out of the gate.
I vaguely came to the understanding that each number required a different color, but there were some puzzles that had two or three numbers but more colors available than there were numbers. I never totally understood this. Was the extra color a red herring? Was I expected to choose one color over another, and, if so, how was I expected to figure out which one?
Honestly, I’m not entirely sure if my issue with the puzzles is purely a me issue, or if the puzzles are really more trial and error than they are me not picking up the clues.
Over all, I find this a very well made and challenging game… but I worry it’s too challenging in its current form?