Trails

Trails is a delightful puzzle game that gracefully pairs challenging (yet fair) puzzles with a delightfully serene soundtrack. I really appreciated the way the puzzles taught the players new mechanics through a "show-don't-tell" style that allows the player a sense of efficacy and self-discovery. Highly recommend checking it out!

《Trails》是一款干净利落的“画轨道”逻辑解谜游戏。 在本作中，玩家需要在网格中画出多艘“沙船”的行动轨迹，从各自的起点出发，到达对应颜色的终点。在画完轨迹后，玩家可以按下“开始”键，然后所有船就会[b]同时[/b]从起点开始，沿着画好的轨迹，每回合移动一格，直到所有船走到终点。很经典的一种“先布置后执行”的解谜框架，类似《[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/583270/Cosmic_Express/]宇宙快车[/url]》（Cosmic Express）和《[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1967510/Railbound/]轨道连结[/url]》（Railbound）等一众“画轨道”解谜。 相比这些前辈，本作在机制上最核心的不同在于设计了多个可以同时移动的“主体”，也就是船，而且[b]每艘船的行动轨迹相互独立[/b]，而不是共用一个铁路网。[b]同一艘船[/b]的轨迹不能重复经过同一格，但[b]不同船[/b]的轨迹彼此之间产生交叉和重合则是完全可以的。不过，在画完轨道之后的实际执行阶段，如果两艘船恰好在同一时刻进入同一格，那么它们还是会相撞，导致无法安全到达终点。 随后，本作引入了另一个核心机制：[b]物资[/b]。每艘船上可以但也仅可以携带一份物资，某些物资需要被运往聚居地，而某些“物资”则是可以开门的钥匙等，这就对船经过的地点和顺序进行了进一步的限制。而之所以我说这是另一个核心机制，是因为“物资”的设计和前面刚说的“多条船”的设计有着紧密的联系：有时，一份物资必须在几条船之间互相传递，才能到达它该去的位置。也就是说，几条船之间并不是绕开彼此、不坑害彼此就足够了，有时还需要积极地互相协作。 这些就是本作的核心机制，其余的机制基本要么是常见的逻辑解谜机关，要么是上述两个核心机制的扩展。介绍完，接下来就讨论一下本作的机制和谜题设计。 我以前不止一次在评测中提到过，“先布置后执行”类的解谜游戏最容易掉进的坑就是“不可预测”，因为如果玩家连系统在几步之后的结果都难以预测，那么就会给这种本来就需要长线规划的解谜带来很多困难，也会给解谜过程带来很多无谓的试错。而本作机制中最让我担心的一个点，也是很容易变得不可预测的一个点，就是“[b]时间[/b]”。 具体而言，由于本作的时间是“回合制”，所以经过的时间可以等同于路径的长短。但是，人很难一眼看出两条蜿蜒曲折的路径谁长谁短，因此也就对判断“谁先谁后”这样的事情缺乏稳固的直觉，比如有些时候只能试一试（自己数格子也和“试”没区别）才能知道两艘船是会撞在一起，还是会恰好错开。如果有太多的谜题把这种时序上的约束作为“卡点”，那玩起来可能就会因为试错太多而比较“心累”。 如果某个谜题的核心难点就是“避免在某处碰撞”，那可能反而比较有逻辑，可以有多种接着思考下去的方式，比如从根本上避免两者经过同一格，或者尽可能拉开两艘船经过某一格的时间等。这里我想描述的是另一种情况：在一道复杂的谜题中，好不容易琢磨出一套能够完美符合所有其它条件的路线，结果却因为一个没预料到的相撞而作废，而且并非通过简单调整就可以解决，最后发现只有另一套完全不同的路线才能过关。这种情况之所以令人沮丧，是因为“碰撞”只是一个结果，相当于最后暴露出来的“bug”，而背后的原因可能有很多，甚至可能完全归结不到一个简单的原因，因为既然忽略碰撞就可以有多解，那就表示这种“bug”可能是很多个约束的综合作用。换句话说，问题的关键其实是[b]找不到一个清晰的矛盾[/b]，于是思路就断开了，只能用直觉或者试错来硬怼。 在本作中，部分谜题确实给了我一点这样的感觉，乍一看可能性很多，但由于各种约束之间复杂的相互作用，导致最后的解空间非常狭窄。但我还是要说，本作做得比我一开始担心的最坏情况还是好了很多的，我个人认为主要还是因为，有很多其它机制提供了各种有关位置、顺序的关键约束，包括“画线”本身的拓扑约束（虽然单看这个有时也是挺诡异的），所以痛点在于摸不着头脑的时序约束的情况还是相对比较少的，就算有时还是有点需要试错的部分，简单绕绕也能绕出来。这同样也包括整个游戏里最难的一些谜题，虽然其中有个别我个人觉得没啥思路，但还是有更多的谜题是能想出一条比较清晰的思路的，即使想出来并不容易，比如整个游戏主线的最后几关，我觉得就挺好的。 本作在游戏体验方面也有一些好的设计，个人觉得比较值得一说的就是谜题右下角一个可以拖拽的“时间轴”，对于查看行动轨迹而言十分方便，感觉其它类似类型的游戏可以广泛采用。 总而言之，本作核心机制简洁，外加谜题设计较为清晰，可能再加上这个虽然算不上精细，但把该显示的东西都显示得很明了的画面，这些就是我形容本作“干净利落”的主要原因。虽然本作可能并没有一个“大方向”上的创新，但具体谜题设计足够令人愉悦，篇幅也不大不小，正好够探索本作的这些机制，是款值得一试的好作品。 结论：[b]推荐[/b]。 一个不知道该放在哪的东西：本作的全成就比较神秘，包含一个和核心解谜机制貌似完全无关，而是要[spoiler]看懂游戏中的“道本语”（Toki Pona，一门知名极简人造语言）线索[/spoiler]的成就，就，很奇怪。但如果你不介意的话，那就没啥事。 [quote]普通玩家一枚，关注独立精品。不是为了特立独行，只是为了追求自我。 喜欢我的评测？敬请关注： 我的[b]Steam鉴赏家[/b]（[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44752532/]老船长OldCaptain[/url]）：推荐一些我个人觉得有特点的Steam游戏。 我组织的[url=https://oldcaptainwzj.notion.site/164f304725d5803a957fd3c7b478e3d6]游戏推荐数据库[/url]：保存我所推荐的作品信息，方便检索作品以及索引到对应的评测，Steam和非Steam作品都有。 我的[url=https://oldcaptainwzj.notion.site/OldCaptainWZJ-16df304725d580a0a767d6ed91ddc41c]个人主页[/url]：包含更多游戏相关信息分享，上面的数据库也是内容之一。 [/quote]

Симулятор логиста при условии, что работаем в пустыне, пустыня разбита на клеточки, а по клеточкам не спеша и одновременно плывут парусники… [h1]Abstract[/h1] A logistics simulator, given that we are working in a desert, the desert is divided into cells, and sailboats are slowly and simultaneously sailing across... Native GNU/Linux port works perfect on [url=https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3143450724]Steam Deck[/url] with external FHD (1920x1080) monitor, keyboard and mouse. [h1]Что это?[/h1] Будучи в младших классах школы на занятиях я регулярно гипнотизировал листики в клеточку перед собой с целью построить оптимальный путь из точки A в точку Б. По всей видимости автор [strike]страдал[/strike] поступал также, но пошёл гораздо дальше, так как сделал из этого игру. [h1]Ну и как оно?[/h1] Чистенько, уютненько и неспешненько. Головоломки в начале знакомят с разными механиками построения пути и весьма простые. У вас, как правило, две лодки: они должны дойти из А в Б и не столкнуться. Для торопыг есть специальная опция позволяющая разблокировать все уровни и засесть за решениями последних уже надолго. [h1]ЛОР и сюжет[/h1] Ничего такого не замечено. [h1]Локализация[/h1] Русской локализации не обнаружено. [h1]Шрифты[/h1] UI вместе со шрифтами можно масштабировать! [h1]Дисклеймер[/h1] Эта головоломка была получена мной для обзора как куратора [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/35831383/]Записки линуксоида[/url] и честно потыкана палочкой. Я не большой фанат головоломок ради головоломок (кроме разве что [url=https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198084019881/recommended/1188330/]Судоку[/url], так как там имеет место весьма крутая математика и скрытые симметрии), но несмотря на внешнюю простоту Trails цепляет аккуратным исполнением. Предыдущая игра коллектива [url=https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198084019881/recommended/1911170]Chronescher[/url] так же в своё время была предоставлена мне на «потыкать палочкой». [h1]🐧 GNU/Linux[/h1] Порисовал пути на полях в клеточку в среде [url=https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3143450724]Steam Deck[/url] + выносной FHD монитор и клавиатура с мышкой. Родной GNU/Linux порт игры отработала без нареканий. [b]P.S.[/b] Этот и [url=https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3606020893]другие мои обзоры[/url] можно глянуть у куратора [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/35831383/]Записки линуксоида[/url].

I had a lot of fun with the puzzles. The difficulty range is quite big. It starts super easy but gets to extremely challenging. There are some levels that really made me work for it! While you learn about the mechanics, cute graphics and small animations show you where the ship needs to go and what resource you need to bring where. Just don't drop the water on the way! Do recommend!

Cute little Puzzle Game. 10/10 would buy again.

I love how these simple puzzles encourage creative thinking and invite you to approach solutions from different angles. A charming little game.

《TRAILS》是一款独立游戏，刚打开游戏就有一张沙漠地图出现在我的眼前，地图上是前进的路线，游戏中有不同的机关使得游戏添色不少，而且每打完几关就会出现额外的独立关卡，红色的标志与不同的字母标示着挑战性和难度。 游戏的核心机制围绕沙船航线规划展开，你需要规划路线，确保沙船到达目的地。随着关卡的推进，从刚开始的一艘沙船慢慢变成三艘沙船，而后续的关卡还会有崩塌的地形，障碍物等机关等等。不同的机关加上多艘沙船再加上地形和路线规划，这真是一场脑力风暴啊，还得考虑携带水源前往补给站到达目的地。 后续的关卡还能给船安装上翅膀，可以飞跃崩塌的地形，还能用钥匙打开一扇大门，用钥匙和不用钥匙还能解锁不同成就，另外成就的名字还挺有意思的，游戏中足足有着71个关卡，设置中支持一键解锁和删除已储存的答案，游戏支持云存档和简中，还有23个成就，如果你喜欢益智解谜类型的独立游戏，不妨上手试试，如果觉得困难不妨抄下作业或者挑战自我 [table][td]欢迎关注鉴赏家[url= https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45519015/]“无趣评测”[/url][/td][/table]

Starts off super chill, almost like a casual mobile game, but before you know it, you’re knee-deep in puzzles that really make you think. New mechanics roll in gradually, and by the end, some of the side quests are brutal! (In a good way.) I’m definitely going to need a fresh brain and some sleep before I try those again. Overall, a lovely little game. Clean, comfy visuals. Smart, satisfying puzzle design. Definitely worth the time.

[b]TLDR[/b] Simple line-drawing puzzle game, smooth gameplay, not that challenging except for later stages. [13/20⭐, 14h🏅, 3/5💡] [b]Context[/b] A line drawing puzzle game, the player draws paths for ships delivering resources in a grid map. The closest that comes to mind is [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/macwh/recommended/583270/]Cosmic Express[/url], the main difference being that here paths may overlap. [b]Writing[/b] There is not really a plot, you essentially set the path for a couple of sand-surfing ships to deliver resources to towns. [b]Aesthetics[/b] The visuals are simple and stylised, adequate for a game of this kind. The acoustic guitar soundtrack is decent, but inevitably gets tiresome after long sessions. The map is annotated with messages in a constructed language, but are not essential for the gameplay [spoiler]except for the final achievement[/spoiler]. [b]Gameplay[/b] Gameplay takes place in an obstacle grid, and for most of the levels, you must draw a path for a couple of ships until their destination. Each path cannot overlap, but they may overlap with each other. As the game progresses, new mechanics are introduced, such as the need to pick and drop resources, or keys to remove obstacles. Since you can only carry one item at a time, this leads to some interesting synchronisation challenges with multiple ships. Most levels are rather simple, but the last half a dozen bonus/optional levels get considerably complex, with multiple resources and NPC ships with fixed paths. The controls are pretty smooth, I particularly like the ability to fix small portion of the paths without fully redrawing. I was however disappoint that there wasn’t an option to undo changes. There are no game overs or penalties, if you fail a level you can just try again or reset your attempt. Progress is auto-saved, including level state. [b]Value[/b] It took me less than 12h to beat the game (which unfortunately involved some re-playing and savefile-corrupting crash), and then another couple of hours to get the last obscure achievement. You can always revisit previous levels, but there is a single progress slot. You progress linearly through the main levels, the bonus levels are optional. Achievements are related to actions that will naturally occur during gameplay, except for the last one. [quote][i]For more puzzle-game reviews and curated lists check out the [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/43326007-The-Clueless-Adventurer-Puzzle-Trove/]Puzzle Trove[/url].[/i][/quote]

🔹EXPECTATIONS: a pathfinding puzzle game with its own twist of quirky mechanics. 🔹REALITY: a cosy and gentle pathfinding puzzle game. 🔶 Trails is a pathfinding puzzle game that feels cosy, welcoming and warm (not just because it is set on a desert). Everything around it feels gentle: music, visuals, mechanics, progress and even with its settings. 🔸 Difficulty wise, it starts pretty easy, but it steadily keeps getting harder until the challenging final levels. It has over 40 levels in the main path, keeping the hardest ones to the side, plus some really hard that need special requirements to be unlocked. 🔸 It introduces new mechanics by themselves and then mixes them up with previous ones, to make up for some tricky challenges that keep up the interest. I only wished they were more unique, innovative or surprising. 🔸 What I praise the most of Trails are its quality of life features, that add up to that feeling of gentleness previously mentioned. "Unlock all levels" right from the start speaks for itself, but others like path locking (to modify only 1 of some overlapping paths), how easy it is to mend already drawn paths (adding new sections/extensions), or the play bar, that lets players check the state of the board at any point, are very welcome features that I wish other games of the genre have from now on. 🔸 In short, Trails is pretty simple and straight forward in its proposition. It is inclusive and makes an effort to welcome players from any player base. It wants to be played by anyone and all, so I would recommend it to everyone who looks for a chill time that leads to a chill challenge. POSITIVES: 🙂+ Balanced difficulty 😄+ 😍+ Quality of life features NEGATIVES: 🙁- 😠- 😡- 🔹 Find more puzzle games here 👇 https://www.youtube.com/@Mael_Duin