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Gamers or gaming enthusiasts share many common personality traits like mastery over their game, a love for adventure, and the desire to know the unknown. Despite these broad similarities, not all gamers are alike. Some gaming enthusiasts love action and adventure games. These people love the fictional gaming world where they can use newer weapons and defeat potent enemies.
Again there are sports lovers who like to play the video game version of their favorite sport, be it soccer or basketball. Apart from these, there is another genre of games, puzzle-based, that is rapidly becoming popular among young gamers. Young gamers love puzzle-based video games as they test the problem-solving abilities of the player and constantly challenge their intellect.
Moreover, puzzle-based games also involve pattern recognition and problem-solving skills, which makes these games all the more fun and interesting.
A Go-To List For All Puzzle Game Lovers
If you have played games like Unpacking and enjoyed every moment of the fun-filled and entertaining game, your search for other puzzle-based games ends here. In this blog post, you will come across a host of games that are relaxing, yet they demand complete attention and involvement to master them.
Unpacking
Ever since the game was first released in 2021, this simple game has been a huge hit. Developed by Witch Beam and published by Humble Bundle, this game is available in multiple operating systems like Windows, Mac OS, etc.
The Theme Of Unpacking-The theme is simple, yet the game gives a feeling of wholesomeness. The music is soft (the soundtrack is composed by BAFTA award-winning composer Jeff van Dyck), and there is no narration that follows the lead character. The story is, as the name suggests, the journey of unpacking by a simple girl as she moves from one place to another.
The reason why Unpacking strikes an emotional chord with the players is that it brings out their own childhood memories of packing and unpacking. The players relive their lives through the main character as she goes about unpacking her stuff for the entire house, covering one room at a time.
The journey of the main character starts way back in the year 1997, and then there are different stages in the years 2004, 2007, and so on where she has had to unpack. The task of the protagonist and the player is to pack or fit each item that she unpacks into her new surroundings. Moreover, the object is also to learn about each unpacked object and its significance in the life of the protagonist.
Reasons Why Unpacking Is Such A Big Hit-There are several reasons why Unpacking has become so popular in such a short period. The first reason for its success is its gripping narrative. The way each unpacked item has a story to tell captures the players’ attention.
Likewise, the simplicity of the theme is also equally appealing. The story of Unpacking is that of a simple girl like every other girl you meet in real life. The simplicity of the plot and the high believability factors make Unpacking very likable.
And finally, the emotional storytelling where a favorite old mug is never discarded even though it is chipped on the edges or an old plushie is ripped apart and then patched up is highly relatable.
Accolades Won- Unpacking has won several accolades within a short period. It has won the Game Of The Year Award in several award shows like the Australian Game Developer Awards, Indie Live Expo Awards, and the GamesHub Awards. Moreover, it has also won awards for its innovation and simple yet effective soundtrack.
Assemble With Care
This puzzle game, released in 2019, is developed by Ustwo Games and is available on Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, IOS, etc.
The Theme Of Assemble With Care- The game follows the journey of an antique restorer (Maria) who restores objects in the small town of Bellariva. The narrative is gripping as you have a background on why the restorer takes up a particular task.
So the repair shop has many sections, and each section is separated by interludes which set up the background as to why the protagonist takes up a certain repairing task. Most of the repairs or restoration works are undertaken to help the citizens of the fictional Spanish town of Bellariva in one way or the other.
Reasons Why Assemble With Care Is So Popular Among Gaming Enthusiasts- Much like Unpacking, the simplicity and the wholesomeness of the game are what makes Assembled With Care so popular. The protagonist, Maria, is on a working holiday, and she helps the residents of the small town by repairing simple objects like a wristwatch or a camera.
The tasks are delightful as well as interesting. The protagonist unscrews the objects, replaces parts, uses glue to fix broken parts, replaces old batteries, and, at times, redoes the wiring in an electronic device to breathe life into it.
The entire restoration process is highly satisfying and has been given great importance in the narration. For instance, every object Maria picks up is first explored in great detail. The first stage of repairing involves picking up the object and viewing it from all possible angles.
The reason why puzzle lovers enjoy Assemble With Care is that refixing old objects requires puzzle-solving abilities. You have to think, analyze and then begin the restoration if you want the final product to be perfect and useful for the residents of Bellariva.
The most fun aspect is that the storytelling is gently integrated into the gameplay and is not a forceful place addition. For instance, when you repair a slide projector belonging to one of the characters who wishes to get a glimpse of his little sisters, it thrills you. Likewise, when you repair a tape recorder, you hear an old voice recording of the owner’s mother, and this is how you build a bond with all the characters.
The only aspect of Assemble With Care which is rather disappointing is the length of the game. There are, in total, thirteen objects that Maria or the player is expected to repair. And even among those thirteen objects, two are quite easy to repair, so the player does not get complete intellectual satisfaction when repairing those objects.
Accolades Won And Reception- Nominated for the EE Mobile Game Of The Year category at the 2020 BAFTA Game Awards. The game received positive reviews from critics and has a score of seventy-two on Metacritic. The story received praise from a mobile phone journalism website TouchArcade.
Webbed
Webbed is a puzzle game that involves Buddy, a jumping peacock spider who does various tasks in the hope of saving her boyfriend from a big and mean bowerbird. Released in 2021, Webbed is an adventure-filled game with puzzle elements. Webbed is developed by the Australian Studio Sbug Games and is available on multiple platforms like Nintendo, Xbox, PlayStation 4, and Microsoft Windows.
The Theme Of Webbed- Webbed follows the adventure-filled journey of a little peacock spider who tries to fight a strong bird. However, the little spider is not alone in its journey and has his friends, an ant, a dung beetle, and a bee, who, in their little ways, do everything they can to fight the mean bird and save Buddy’s boyfriend.
So if you think swinging through trees, navigating sticky spider webs, and interacting with a group of insect friends is an interesting venture, Webbed is the game to play.
Why is Webbed An Interesting Game For Gaming Lovers- The story of Webbed is pretty straightforward; however, the simple attributes of the tiny insects have been used as potent weapons in the narrative. So the player’s main weapon (Buddy the spider) is her ability to spin a web.
However, she can spin not one but two types of webs. The first types of webs are those that can be used for swinging the player from one place to another. The other type of web is stationary, which can be used to make bridges connecting two places.
Buddy’s webs are an essential component of Webbed; however, that is not all; you get laser shooting eyes that can be used to inflict great damage on the enemy or even destroy obstacles that may lie in Buddy’s path. Apart from the laser shooting eyes, you have swimming and gliding abilities as a tiny insect. You can use a leaf as a vehicle to glide across using wind currents.
Accolades Won And Reception- Kotaku, a video game-based blog, gave a positive review to Webbed. Like Kotaku, most critics agree that Webbed may not be the best puzzle-themed video game, yet it is highly satisfying. Webbed was nominated in the Game of The Year category and Excellence In Gameplay, Excellence In Audio for the Australian Game Developer Awards. Moreover, it won the award for Excellence In Design at the Freeplay Awards.
Cats Organized Neatly
If you are obsessed with organization and packing everything perfectly in real life, then Cats Organized Neatly is a game that you must definitely try out. This game has been developed by DU&I, DU&I UG for Microsoft Windows.
The Theme Of Cats Organized Neatly- As the name suggests, you have organized different cats that are in different poses in a grid. Cats Organized Neatly comes with 80 different handcrafted levels and over 30 cats in all shapes and sizes. In fact, you are allowed to rotate the cats and tilt them so as to fit them in perfectly. If you love arranging things and placing them neatly, Cats Organized Neatly is sure to be super satisfying.
Why Cats Organized Neatly Appeals To Gaming Enthusiasts- One of the most attractive features of Cats Organized Neatly is its simplicity. Yet the simple game requires the player to use all his brain cells to fit the cats in their various poses in the grid. Moreover, this game is not brief, there are eighty levels of the game, and mastering all the levels is a tough task for even the most experienced and tenacious players.
Needless to say that the complexity increases as the level increases. So in the first level, you will have to arrange a single contorted cat, but in the fourth and fifth levels, you will have to deal with two or more cats. Moreover, as the levels increase, not just the number of cats will increase, but their shapes too become increasingly complicated. So the tails of the cats will become bushier or more curved at the end, or their backs may become more arched, making them difficult to fit in the grid.
Reception By The Players- This simple game is loved by puzzle lovers and has a user rating of ten on Steam, a video game rating platform.
Apart from the games listed above, several other puzzle-based games have received a warm reception from game lovers.
So once you have tried all the games mentioned above, you can also try Lemon Cake, Viridi, etc. Lemon Cake is a grinding game that expects the player to restore an old bakery. However, what makes this game all the more interesting is that you are not alone in the restoration process; you get help from a friendly little ghost in the restoration process.
In Viridi, the player discovers that watching digital succulents grow in real time is nothing like watching paint dry. In this game, you will start with a small pot of different succulents, each based on its real-life counterpart.
All these games, like Unpacking, are simple and wholesome and give a slice-of-life experience to the players.
Conclusion
Puzzle-based games are fun and straightforward, yet they have all the elements that challenge your intelligence and put your problem-solving abilities to the test. All the games mentioned above, like Webbed and Assemble With Care, have all the fun elements of Unpacked, yet they have new elements. Webbed has a group of insects to increase the fun quotient, and Lemon Cake has a little ghost that makes the task of bakery restoration easy
