Dimhaven - The Lost Source

A fun cozy first person puzzle game clocking in around 8 - 12 hours, depending on your playspeed. The game is somewhat linear, with several locations following seamlessly after one another. The puzzles in each location are well-crafted, for the most part, and build upon each other, so there is usually not a lot of confusion which puzzles to tackle next. If confusion does arise, there is a gradual and contextual hint system, as usually you just need to be pointed in the right direction. I was stumped only twice, once by a hearing-based puzzle that was a detour from the game's usual, albeit varied, visual puzzle design. And once by the location barriers, actually, because after you've accepted closed gates, knee-high obstacles and straight up invisible walls as level constraints, you don't expect some of them to provide a prompt to simply open. Aside from that I found all puzzles to be somewhat challenging and entertainingly crafted. Our protagonist has a handy instant camera and photo album including markers for notes and scribbles, which is a great and immersive quality of life helper. She can even hold up single photos so you have constant reference. On that note, it would have been nice if the album would open on the last page after loading a game; scrolling through fifteen pages of photos every time does get a bit tedious if you don't have the time to play in several longer sittings. The story is a serviceable mystery plot, aided by some environmental storytelling, but not the main focus of the game and thus nothing to write home about. But that is hardly a problem considering that the game delivers on its main gameplay loop.

The game has it's good points and some really bad points. Almost all the puzzle encounters in the game, begin when nothing happens after interacting with it. Push a button, nothing happens. Flick a switch, nothing happens, Pull a lever Nothing happens. Door knob, It's locked. That is the experience of the puzzle design of Dimhaven. Nothing happens when you try things out. It is not like Myst or Riven where you manipulate levers to progress through a game. It makes for an unsatisfying experience to explore a world when things do nothing. Instead, this games puzzle design is all about taking pictures and comparing your pictures with things in the world. You then have use a notepad or draw on your own pictures with diagrams and numbers to order things around. I would consider this an extremely difficult and awkward form of puzzle design. Almost maddening difficulty for me. The puzzle near the end was so difficult I could not figure out the picture myself. It was possible to be just a percentage point off the final solution. Maddening. I had to look up a walkthrough to finish the game. Frustratingly awkward. It was less Eureka and more 'finally' when figuring out things. looking at pictures over and over again got old. I also accidentally took pictures many times and needed to delete them. Awkward controls with inventory and getting things to work in the world. Click and drag mechanics with levers, not a good sign in any puzzle game. Some puzzles had some extremely awkward manipulations just to enter numbers. Frustrating and Challenging is my main summarization of Dimhaven. For puzzle lovers enjoy. Good things. I like the look of the game. Interesting world. It went with a pleasant art aesthetic of pixelated simple graphics in 3D that I liked. The music and audio was also nice. The game is also rather short. Not many puzzles in total but they are very plumbing overworked and difficult. I spent probably too much time on some of them. Again I was unable to get the final puzzle. I'm going to give the game a like because I finished it rather than bailing completely.

Fun and complex puzzles, definitely worth a play

Great game, No hand holding at all lol. Still, great game with a great story. Will make you feel like you accomplish something when you solved a puzzle.

I am sorry, Zadbox. You did such a good job with Quern. This could have been deeper story build on the foundations of that game. But the setting jumps from one place to the other. Its very linear yet it also closes off other areas. Stuck on one puzzle? Due to the way the puzzles and the game are built, you will get hardstuck. This was not all that much of a problem for me in part 1 and 2, but definitely in part 3. The spike in difficulty is noticable. But also the hints and even certain mechanics make little sense without looking for help outside of the game. And I had to search for help more then once. In part 1 all the solutions are carefully worked into the envoirment. You even reference Outer Wilds wich did a fantastic job with envoiremental puzzels yet is not easy to complete. But in parts 2 and 3, the goes away. I cant help but feel that the focus and goals changed over time and a lot of the areas that you were supposed to go were cut. Other then being stuck, the overal amount of gametime is quite low. I really hope you keep making these games but please consider these points as I am not the only one who feels this way.

This was a great game. Sadly I'm not as clever as some people are so I required the aid of a walkthrough but it was still an interesting game regardless. I fully recommend getting this game. Hopefully you are sharper and more clever than I am and you won't need the walkthrough.

Really wonderful puzzle game with impeccable style and charm. Gorgeous art, phenomenal (but not overbearing or overused) voice acting and characters, and an excellent variety of puzzles with novel and fun solutions. Really wonderful game, I only wish it was a little longer. I played through the game in about 6 hours, but I'm not exactly a speedrunner. Lots of great quality of life features with the photo system, with a high degree of control and framing capabilities, and allowing for taking notes directly in the game by sketching or typing on the photos you take. I can't get over how beautiful the setting, environment, and ambience are. Clearly made with a deep love and appreciation of the genre.