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Adventure games from last 10 years with challenging puzzles

El Pollo Diablo

Educated
Joined
Nov 4, 2011
Messages
49
Are there actually any?

In this day and age, it seems games media is pushing and gamers are accepting the narrative that adventure games are all about story and characters and not, you know, gameplay (puzzle solving) and challenge, although that is absolutely not how the genre started out.

I played all (well, ok, most of the) classics and am now wondering if there are any recent examples of adventure games that aren't afraid to crank the difficulty up. Albeit not in a completely unfair way e.g. I'm not a fan of "oh you forgot to do that thing in chapter 1, can't complete the game anymore". However, one thing I do not mind is "moon logic". For what it's worth "moon logic" is just "game designer logic" and if you fail to get it, tough luck, git good. Yes, I might be the only person in the universe that actually enjoyed that moustache puzzle in Gabriel Knight 3 (in fact, as far as I'm concerned that's the only proper puzzle in the game, but that's perhaps something for another topic).
 

WallaceChambers

Learned
Joined
Jul 29, 2019
Messages
311
Dropsy, Thimbleweed Park, Resonance, VirtuaVerse, and Virtue's Last Reward were all challenging imo.

There are a lot of other games that were moderately challenging like Technobabylon or The Book of Unwritten Tales but they're not really top level hard.
 

CryptRat

Arcane
Developer
Joined
Sep 10, 2014
Messages
3,548
Seconding above list, Thimbleweed Park is the game you're looking for. I would add Deponia trilogy, the 3rd game being the hardest of the 3.
 

ValeVelKal

Arcane
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
1,604
To the above list, I would add
Detective Gallo (solid puzzles, like the LucasArt of old)
Primordia (maybe my favorite point and click of the non-LucasArt nostalgia generation)
The Samaritan Paradox (very dry, but really hard puzzles - a bit too hard for me)
Dead Synchronicity (really hard puzzle, ends on a cliffhanger for a part II that was never released, still long enough as a "full game" and pretty much self contained except for that end)
Thinking about it as I write this, while I found it average while playing it, it is certainly one of the most memorable Adventure Games I played, as I remember a LOT of things about it. It is ... different. The motto of the game is "you gotta do what you gotta do", your character becomes ruthless and it is not an humorous kind of ruthless.
Edna & Harvey Breakout is 12 years old but exceptional puzzles. IMO the closest game from the LucasArt of old.

I had to use a walkthrough for Dead Synchronicity and The Samaritan Paradox. I know, LAME.



On the easy side but not trivial :
Gibbous (first half is great with good puzzles, second half is bad with like 5 interactive items at the same time ^^),
Kathy Rain (first 70% is great but terrible ending in the last 15% of the game),
Whisper of a Machine (great all along)
tiny and Tall (starts good ends great, though episodic and only one episode released)


I found Virtuaverse to be terrible. Puzzles were hard because they were unfair, assuming an understanding of an universe that is never explained. Though I guess if you are OK with Moon logic you will like the game.
 
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El Pollo Diablo

Educated
Joined
Nov 4, 2011
Messages
49
Updated my journal, thanks folks!

Perhaps I just had bad luck and most of the adventures I played recently have been on the easy side. Of those mentioned:

I am aware of Thimbleweed Park, been saving it for a "special" occasion where I'm in the mood for an adventure game and know I'll have a large chunk of undisturbed time (which is increasingly difficult to come by)

Haven't played Edna & Harvey Breakout but I did play Harvey's New Eyes and found it to be on the easy side (though I did hear Breakout is more difficult). Haven't picked up any Daedalic games after that. How does Deponia compare?

Played Primordia but remember it mostly for the setting and not puzzles.

Played Gibbous and Kathy Rain last year and found them both easy to the point of frustration for different reasons. Gibbous falls in the category of adventure games that only present the player with several locations at once. This way, even the puzzles that would normally be difficult can be figured out very quickly, because the solution space at any given time is just so tiny. In Kathy Rain it's obvious the focus isn't on the puzzles, and for what puzzles are there the hints (if you can even call them that) are just too strong. At several points in the game Kathy literally tells you how to solve the puzzle.

Anyway, if folks have other examples of really difficult ones, feel free to chime in. Looking not just for the games you liked, but also (especially) the ones you found frustrating and/or had to use a walkthrough. Not saying I'll be able to complete them though, I just like the challenge. Take Discworld for example, really difficult game, failed to complete it both when I played it the first time and when attempting to replay it years later. Still have huge respect for that game.
 
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Manny

Educated
Joined
Nov 27, 2009
Messages
60
El Pollo Diablo, I think the same as you about Harvey's New Eyes and Kathy Rain. With that in mind, I endorse Thimbleweed Park and Edna & Harvey The Breakout's recommendation. Both are from the few latest adventures that have a good puzzle design and a good difficulty. Edna & Harvey The Breakout's design is quite different in complexity than its sequel. Harvey's New Eyes was a disappointment in that regard.

I would add, even though it's also 12 years old now, the second season of Telltale's Sam & Max. Although there are several simple puzzles, there are others quite creative and complex, on par with some of the classics, imho.

And no, it's not bad luck: current adventures in general are more interested in telling a story without the player "artificially" lingering on them with complex puzzles.
 

CryptRat

Arcane
Developer
Joined
Sep 10, 2014
Messages
3,548
Nothing recent I've played is even nearly as hard as Discworld, from the games proposed here the ones I've played are more like average Lucas Arts and yes in particular Deponia 2 & 3 especially (from my fading memory 1 is a bit easier, 2 & 3 do have one very big sequence) and Edna & Harvey : The Breakout are indeed harder than Harvey's new eyes.

Note that maybe it's just me because the locations, number of items or spots are not that big but I think that The prince And the coward which as far as I know was only recently translated into English is quite hard.
 

ValeVelKal

Arcane
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
1,604
Updated my journal, thanks folks!

Perhaps I just had bad luck and most of the adventures I played recently have been on the easy side. Of those mentioned:

I am aware of Thimbleweed Park, been saving it for a "special" occasion where I'm in the mood for an adventure game and know I'll have a large chunk of undisturbed time (which is increasingly difficult to come by)

Haven't played Edna & Harvey Breakout but I did play Harvey's New Eyes and found it to be on the easy side (though I did hear Breakout is more difficult). Haven't picked up any Daedalic games after that. How does Deponia compare?

Played Primordia but remember it mostly for the setting and not puzzles.

Played Gibbous and Kathy Rain last year and found them both easy to the point of frustration for different reasons. Gibbous falls in the category of adventure games that only present the player with several locations at once. This way, even the puzzles that would normally be difficult can be figured out very quickly, because the solution space at any given time is just so tiny. In Kathy Rain it's obvious the focus isn't on the puzzles, and for what puzzles are there the hints (if you can even call them that) are just too strong. At several points in the game Kathy literally tells you how to solve the puzzle.

Anyway, if folks have other examples of really difficult ones, feel free to chime in. Looking not just for the games you liked, but also (especially) the ones you found frustrating and/or had to use a walkthrough. Not saying I'll be able to complete them though, I just like the challenge. Take Discworld for example, really difficult game, failed to complete it both when I played it the first time and when attempting to replay it years later. Still have huge respect for that game.
I know it was obvious in the OP, but if you want recent and really, really hard, then that's Resonance, Samaritan Paradox & Dead Synchronicity. That the 3 games in the whole list I had to use a walkthrough for (+ once Harvey and Edna : the Breakout)

Harvey New Eyes is trivial except the Chapter I in the orphanage which is still easy. Deponia is significantely harder, and Harvey & Edna Breakout much, much harder.
 
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V_K

Arcane
Joined
Nov 3, 2013
Messages
7,714
Location
at a Nowhere near you
In addition to the mentioned above, Goetia has a few good puzzles (and a great game all over), although a couple of late-game ones might be verging on the unfair territory.
The Dream Machine doesn't reach the hair-pulling hard levels, but maintains a solid difficulty throughout.
West of Loathing is an RPG with strong Adventure streak (almost a hybrid really), and has some puzzles that can give proper Adventures a run for their money (especially in the El Vibrato questline).

I second Whispers of a Machine in the "not particularly hard but not insultingly easy either" category and would add Röki to that too.

Finally, if you just want some creative and challenging puzzles and don't care about the story, play Baba Is You - it's a pure puzzle game but its mechanics are pure genius.
 
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Erebus

Arcane
Joined
Jul 12, 2008
Messages
4,763
I'm about halfway through Gibbous and its puzzles are way too easy to be satisfying. In most cases, what you have to do is almost instantly obvious.

Whispers of a Machine has more reasonably difficulty. It's not often very hard, but it requires you to use your brain.
 
Joined
Feb 28, 2011
Messages
4,099
Location
Chicago, IL, Kwa
Also, not from the last ten years, but A Tale of Two Kingdoms is ace and has some sadistically hard puzzles if you want to get the best ending.

Don't miss that rope!
 

jfrisby

Cipher
Patron
Joined
Mar 21, 2013
Messages
491
Grab the Codex by the pussy Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut Shadorwun: Hong Kong
I think Tales was a standout on puzzles. I would agree on Samaritan Paradox, Tale of Two Kingdoms (there's the new remake on Steam), or the QfG-likes Heroines Quest or Quest for Infamy.
 

ValeVelKal

Arcane
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
1,604
In addition to the mentioned above, Goetia has a few good puzzles (and a great game all over), although a couple of late-game ones might be verging on the unfair territory.
The Dream Machine doesn't reach the hair-pulling hard levels, but maintains a solid difficulty throughout.
West of Loathing is an RPG with strong Adventure streak (almost a hybrid really), and has some puzzles that can give proper Adventures a run for their money (especially in the El Vibrato questline).

I second Whispers of a Machine in the "not particularly hard but not insultingly easy either" category and would add Röki to that too.

Finally, if you just want some creative and challenging puzzles and don't care about the story, play Baba Is You - it's a pure puzzle game but its mechanics are pure genius.
So I bought and installed "The Dream Machine" after your comment and I am having a blast. Great story, great puzzles - just the right level so far.
 
Repressed Homosexual
Joined
Mar 29, 2010
Messages
17,867
Location
Ottawa, Can.
There's a reason adventure games died and will stay dead. Nobody wants to play a game that is like work. People play games to unwind and relax, not to figure out the cryptic, nonsensical mind of a game designer who thinks himself as "clever". Nobody wants to waste time figuring out what to do. People stop playing when they need to waste time figuring out what to do, as they should.

The only reason they were popular is because they were the only genre that had a story. But since CD-ROM every game now has one.
 

ValeVelKal

Arcane
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
1,604
There's a reason adventure games died and will stay dead. Nobody wants to play a game that is like work. People play games to unwind and relax, not to figure out the cryptic, nonsensical mind of a game designer who thinks himself as "clever". Nobody wants to waste time figuring out what to do. People stop playing when they need to waste time figuring out what to do, as they should.

The only reason they were popular is because they were the only genre that had a story. But since CD-ROM every game now has one.
The fact that there are so many people grinding and getting into guild raid discipline, including being available on the clock, shows that actually a lot of people are happy with games that are very much like being an employee in the service industry.

Even then, a lot of people find the kind of thinking needed in games relaxing, else chess or strategy games would not have been so popular.
 
Repressed Homosexual
Joined
Mar 29, 2010
Messages
17,867
Location
Ottawa, Can.
There's a reason adventure games died and will stay dead. Nobody wants to play a game that is like work. People play games to unwind and relax, not to figure out the cryptic, nonsensical mind of a game designer who thinks himself as "clever". Nobody wants to waste time figuring out what to do. People stop playing when they need to waste time figuring out what to do, as they should.

The only reason they were popular is because they were the only genre that had a story. But since CD-ROM every game now has one.
The fact that there are so many people grinding and getting into guild raid discipline, including being available on the clock, shows that actually a lot of people are happy with games that are very much like being an employee in the service industry.

Even then, a lot of people find the kind of thinking needed in games relaxing, else chess or strategy games would not have been so popular.

These mechanisms have a clear, tangible goal in mind with clear progression.

Spending hours clicking on objets at random with no result is not progress.

I'm not doing something so pointless unless I am being paid.
 

ValeVelKal

Arcane
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
1,604
Great story, great puzzles - just the right level so far.
Just a warning though: the quality of both takes a huge nosedive in the last episode. The first five are top notch, however, and absolutely worth playing.
I am in the dream that looks like a video game / Tetris world and boy is it bad indeed.
Game had been perfect up to this point.
 

V_K

Arcane
Joined
Nov 3, 2013
Messages
7,714
Location
at a Nowhere near you
I am in the dream that looks like a video game / Tetris world and boy is it bad indeed.
There's a schtick to this chapter that it seems you haven't uncovered yet.
It actually consists of two connected dreams - the gamer guy and the tired girl from the upper floor. I found it very creative and enjoyable, on long tightrope walking animation notwithstanding.
The problem is that it isn't communicated very well from the gamer's dream, only from the girl's, and getting her to sleep is also a bit counterintuitive.
The bad chapter is the one after that.
 

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