[h1]Let's hang out with the beetlefriends. ^^[/h1]
[h2]Introduction[/h2]
[i]BeetleQuest: The Puzzle Game[/i] is a family friendly, puzzle game developed and published by Fasold Publishing. You are an unnamed character who has been invited by their beetlefriends, Magnus, Dagmar, and Boris, to their house to play some games and have a fun time. That's the basic gist of the story.
As for the gameplay, three kinds of puzzles are present. One is a memory matching game in which you match up pairs and try to beat one of the bettlefriends at their high score. Another consists of riddles in which you try to provide the answers. The third one has jigsaw puzzles. For the riddles and jigsaw puzzles, four of each are provided. At the time of this review, no Steam achievements or trading cards are available, and the game won't count towards a user's global total until it's out of "Steam is learning about this game".
[h2]Review[/h2]
Before I go into my review, I want to give a heads up that I haven't played any of the [i]BeetleQuest[/i] games, so I'm not familiar with their lore or gameplay. However, as I enjoy a fun, good puzzle game occasionally and it was offered via curator connect, I decided to give this a try. ^^
The story is pretty barebones although it is enough to get you immersed in the world of [i]BeetleQuest[/i] and its characters. It's obvious that the game is geared towards kids, and the story has this friendly, light-hearted tone that makes you feel very welcomed and remember to just have fun. Although I wish that there was more to the story (other than the beetlefriends saying goodbye after you complete all of the puzzles), it has enough narration to get kids' attention.
Of course, it's the gameplay that's the main focus. I like that three kinds of puzzles are offered. The memory matching game is pretty fun, and if you click on the pictures on the cards, you can learn more about various characters in the world of [i]BeetleQuest[/i]. The more pairs you can get in fewer turns, the higher your score. It's really more for a personal challenge to beat the high score.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3556795031
As for the riddles, they can be slightly challenging for kids but not too much. I think it's best to have a parent accompany their kid as they go through the puzzles, in case they get stuck on any of them, although for adults, they're pretty easy to solve.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3556795131
With the jigsaw puzzles, I admit that these are my favorites. I do enjoy good jigsaw puzzles, and the ones provided here are lots of fun. They weren't challenging to complete, and there's only one difficulty level, so it's definitely easy for adults. For children, it'll depend on their age, but they may find these puzzles either a bit challenging or slightly easy.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3556795315
If there are any negatives to point out, it's that there's no option to change the game to windowed mode. You have to play it in fullscreen mode, and I tend to prefer to play games in windowed mode. Also, I didn't see any options to adjust the game's music or sound volume, which would be a useful feature. In addition, even if you save your game progress, when you start up the game again, there's no load button on the main screen. You have to click on "New Game" and then click on the gear icon in the upper left corner to find the load button. In addition, no Steam achievements are present, which would have been a fun feature but not a dealbreaker for me.
In regards to the art, I like this hand-drawn style. It feels very kid-friendly, and I especially like the use of bright, vibrant colors. It has a very cutesy style, which is appropriate for young kids.
As for the music, the tracks are pleasant to listen to. Like the art, it's definitely tailored towards kids. The tracks are all instrumental, and they're perfect to listen to as kids are playing through the different puzzles and trying to solve them.
[h2]Conclusion[/h2]
Would I recommend [i]BeetleQuest: The Puzzle Game[/i]? If you're a parent or grandparent looking for a short, fun puzzle game to play with your kids or grandkids and you don't mind the lack of Steam achievements, then this is a game worth taking a look. It is quite short, so all the puzzles can be done in one sitting. As for how long it'll take to complete the puzzles, I'd say that anywhere from 30 minutes to less than an hour, but of course, it'll depend on the individual.
Finally, I'd like to thank Fasold Publishing for the review copy. Although the game is short, the puzzles are quite fun, and I can definitely recommend it to families with young kids. ^^
[quote]For more detailed, fully complete, high quality reviews like this, please follow [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44702020/]The Introverted Gamer[/url], prioritizing heart and soul always. ^^[/quote]
