Ryder

Ryder is a low-poly exploration game with puzzles to solve and collectibles to find. You travel through four environments, each with a unique landscape, different animals, and new puzzle mechanics. Each time you finish an area, you gain access to the next. Once you have completed an area, you can return at any time for missed collectibles. You control Ryder – an ethereal being with the power to bond with animals. In each area, there are 15 animals to restore by completing trials. A trial involves using the diverse talents of 2-4 animals to clear a path to the end of an obstacle course. Some trials are quite easy, while others require some serious planning. I really liked working through the puzzles and there is enough diversity to hold your interest through many trials. No two are alike and you will end up using animal talents that include freezing, electricity, wind, teleportation, flying, bouncing, etc. For each animal, there are 5 variants and one wooden statue to find. A variant is a unique version of an animal with different coloring. So, do the math. The completionist is looking at 80+ trials to solve, 56 statues to locate, and 284 animals to find. If you are not an achievement hunter, you can finish and enjoy Ryder with significantly less effort. The game auto-saves behind the scenes and gives you the option of explicitly saving to a single slot. There is a fast travel option that lets you move within an area and minimize foot travel. Should you jump into a crevasse or fall off the map, fast travel is the way you get back to solid ground. There is also a reset puzzle option that is very handy if you end up with animals on the wrong side of a trial gate and no way forward. I found Ryder to be the perfect escape for me. I celebrated the ‘aha’ moments when trial solutions became apparent. Ryder has some issues with walls and boundaries (or lack thereof) but this was just part of the fun and did not hinder me in any way. Call me obsessive, but I found searching for collectibles to be stress-free and relaxing. I did get help at the end. At 65 hours in, I ran out of steam looking for the last two creature variants. The developer was kind enough to give me a nudge, and my collection was complete! If you enjoy games like AER Memories of Old, Submerged, and Xing, then you are apt to have a good time with Ryder. The style and mechanics are quite different but the idea of puzzling your path through a landscape and collecting things along the way is similar. The Steam page indicates that Ryder does not support controllers. It absolutely does. The game worked great with my X-Box Elite Series 2 and all prompts were correct. I highly recommend Ryder. It is an enjoyable experience and represents quite an accomplishment for a small development team. [quote][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/]Follow [b]IndieGems[/b] if you enjoyed this review and want to see more like it.[/url][/quote]

I realise I have very little time in the game, which is not at all because the gameplay or concept is bad. I was enjoying the puzzles. However, it was maxing out my GPU and I am a fair bit above the recommended specs. The game needs to be optimised before it is able to be played on mid- or low-end PCs. I will absolutely change this to a positive review if the issue can be fixed.

Kinda feel obligated to be the first to drop a review of this game considering, you know, I'm Ryder. First impressions for now, it feels really good. It seems to take some heavy inspiration from the open world exploration and carefree tone of The Witness and the little puzzle-box locations of The Talos Principle, where you roam around looking for puzzles and they're clearly marked off areas. The twist is that most puzzles unlock a new animal that will spawn in the open world that you can then bond (collect really) and transform into freely. Each animal can have unique abilities, speed, or weight that will be needed to complete other puzzles. A couple immediate cons that stand out, kinda wish there was some sort of map, the signposts are helpful but still easy to get lost and be wandering around looking for the next puzzle. If you're an achievement hunter like I am it may be a real ballbuster since each animal has four cosmetic variants needed for 100% that seem to spawn randomly (Though I am still early into the game at the time of writing this so maybe not). I'm not an expert on puzzle games but this one seems well made, I've enjoyed all the ones I've done so far. The low-poly art style is very pleasant and very nice music. Overall, seems like a chill and calm puzzle game so I'd recommend Ryder. The game, not me.

Only been to the first area so far, but it seems to be a good collection of puzzles based around unlocking creatures with special abilities to be used in more complex puzzles built around one or more of the animals/abilities unlockable in the areas. There's some further collection aspects, in that there are multiple varieties of each creature you can find in an area, as well as some small statues/carvings to find with additional lore snippets. If a puzzle game dependent on getting the right characters into the right situations, this game will work for you.

As a fan of the "creature collector" games, I am enjoying Ryder quite a bit! The puzzles are fun and relaxing, not so difficult as to become a chore. Some of them can be cheesed though - I'm pretty sure I shortcut some of them simply because I could. Also, collision is funny at times. But hey, all that just adds to the charm. Keep up the fantastic work! P.S. Something's up with the achievement counters. The one for "earning all other achievements" is somehow more "achieved" than a dozen others.

Nice, cozy relaxing puzzle game - the puzzles start off easy, but ramp up in difficulty. Nothing to hard at this point, but I've only played around 2 hours and am in the first region. I dig the low-poly graphics. Glad I stumbled upon this gem.

I received a game key from the devs. I didn't want to review until I finished the game. I really enjoyed it, the atmosphere is relaxing, and I would often get turned around until I realized the map signs would change color when one of the animal puzzles was finished. I liked the different animals and being able to find and collect the different versions of those animals. If you're creative and try hard enough you can go OOB and explore. The puzzles weren't overly difficult but they weren't too easy either. If you're clever and learn to use the animal's different abilities you can solve the puzzles in creative ways. I recommend this game, especially for those cool days where you stay indoors.

Great art design and a fun little puzzle game. Perfect for relaxing on a rainy day.

This gane deserves so much more exposure and I really enjoy the overall vibe. The music is simple yet extremely relaxing, the graphics are again, simple but in that way which makes the game even better in my opinion. The puzzles are nice, the ambience is excellent and I just enjoy playing this game and chilling out. The puzzles can be cheesed, but that is kind of a given when it comes to any open world game, but it never feels hollow and the times I did do this, it was actually really fun to see how I could get past the puzzles in this way. There is a lot of content here, the ending is awesome and it's just a darn good time, along with being such a vibe and I adore it for that! :D

This is a cozy, well-made puzzle game that anyone can enjoy. lt's the perfect mix of fun, relaxation and just the right amount of challenge. I enjoyed exploring the different worlds and collecting creatures just as much as solving the puzzles. Definitely recommend!