"Simply walk to the door." This game taunts you from the beginning, full well knowing it is anything but simple.
I originally started this game in 2019, and I quickly figured out that this wasn’t going to be something I was going to be able to sit and complete in a few play sessions. On and off, starting and restarting, it took me until 2025 to complete it. Due to this, I think it’s worth you considering what kind of game this might be for you.
For me, it became a side-game that I would keep coming back to bit by bit. Back then, I gave it a go but it wasn’t whole-hearted. I enjoyed puzzle games, but I enjoyed satisfying puzzle games. I wanted to play something for a while and be done. Challenge was never really something that interested me, so I didn’t try all that hard. This game starts easy and fairly quickly ramps up to the mind-bending. I must have gotten bored, had a long break and reinstalled the game at least 2 or 3 times before I reinstalled it in 2025.
I used to find this game daunting, and a bit boring as there is not much in this game to keep you engaged other than your own will. There is no story, there is no specified route, you’re just thrown into a level and you need to figure out how to get to the door. Because I myself have had such differing feelings about this game over the years, I don’t think this game will be for everyone. If you enjoy picking apart complicated puzzles, you invite a challenge, and think the sheer disorientation of navigating a confusing space is enough to keep you engaged, I think you’ll enjoy this game.
If you enjoy more engaging or relaxing puzzles, or you prefer something story-led and don’t have the mental energy or inclination to think [i]that[/i] hard about getting to a pointless door, I wouldn’t be confident that you would enjoy this.
I’m not sure what changed, but I was more determined this time and decided I would only focus on one puzzle at a time. One puzzle a day was my aim. My first sit down with it, I figured I’d get as far as I could until I got stuck then change to the one-a-day goal. It didn’t take me long to get back to the point I got to years ago, and I definitely found this game way more satisfying treating it as a daily brain-teaser. One reason for this, I think, may be because these puzzles really are mind-bending, completing one and ending the day on the high-note of success made me far more likely to keep going than completing 1, tiring my brain out and then getting stuck on the next one and having to give up and come back.
At one point, I was very unsure if I was smart enough for this game. I booted it up, loaded my daily puzzle and it was absolutely frying my brain. I was on about level 15 of 30 I think. I thought to myself, I’ve played a lot of puzzle games, but my god, I think I'm just too dumb for this? I finally completed it, and thought, if that was level 15 I think I'm screwed.
Well, turns out the touchscreen on the Steam Deck when I was on the level select is a little janky because I worked my brain overtime to complete that puzzle only to find that it had somehow selected the last and most difficult level. The [i]actual[/i] level 15 was much simpler. I thought, there [i]is[/i] hope for me yet.
It took some minor re-mapping on the Steam Deck, and I of course learnt not to use the touch screen during level select, but apart from that it ran completely fine.
The puzzles overall were satisfying to complete, and I imagine it’s the kind of thing that some people will be better at naturally than others. Because you can scale the walls, there is no true up or down, you’re twisting and turning in the space. I personally found it hard to think about each map in its 3 dimensional form. I found that it was easier to map out the routes of how to get here and there in my head as if it was a flat 2D plane. I’m not sure this makes any sense, it likely doesn’t, but I found it interesting the way I was trying to memorise the levels.
Because it was so easy for me to lose track of where I was, I found that I quickly started to strategize about each level in terms of where I thought I was supposed to go in each level as a linear progression. For example, if you have a map with many ways to go, many levers to push, it soon became less about trying to remember how to get where, but from the start, where does the level intend for me to go first? Then you start to see, well they definitely want me to go to this switch first, as that moves this section, so from here, where do they intend for me to reach next? I found this strategy extremely helpful in figuring out how to actually get to the end of each level.
Overall, looking back on it now I enjoyed the process I went through with this game. It’s probably made me a little more competent and resilient towards these kinds of puzzles. It was a personal challenge for me, and I'm glad I finally managed to complete it. If they came out with a second one though, would I bother? That’s a good question, and I’m honestly not sure of what the answer is.
[quote][b]Achievements:[/b] Included
Easy to 100% if you can complete every level. [/quote]
[quote]For more reviews of this genre, check out my curator page [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45518898-The-Best-First-Person-Puzzle-Games/] The Best: First-Person Puzzle Games[/url][/quote]
