Gnog (2017)

first off, i really recommend playing with a controller for the best experience.

second, if you have the means to play this on VR, DO IT. it's stunning and is a whole different experience than on a normal screen.

one of my favorite puzzle games. it was challenging but also fair (as in if i was lost, it was my fault, not the devs'.)

the music is amazing and the visuals are so crisp but simple. its very easy to 100% it on steam so definitely do that if you like that sort of stuff.

double fine did great with this one. (edit: game actually made by KO_OP. they did great :) )its so obvious there was live put into it.

Man, this game really surprised me! I went in expecting very little, as it was described as 'a series of tactile toys' which to me didn't seem like something I'd like.

A better description would be a series of point and click puzzle boxes, where you have to kind of just click on everything and see what happens, which I found pretty fun. I spent two hours playing this which was the perfect amount of time. None of the puzzles were frustrating, and I didn't feel like it overstayed its welcome.

The art is gorgeous and super brightly coloured, and I absolutely loved the soundtrack, produced by 'Marskye'. Coincidentally they also did the soundtrack for Boyfriend Dungeon, which I recently played (and liked a lot) and I enjoyed their work on that too!

Gnog is a collection of digital toys. Each toy has flaps, buttons, sliders, dials and other parts that can be fiddled with. When you do it right you unlock the next step. It's different and cute. The music is nice.

The only real drawback, as Haxiel noted in their excellent review, is that mouse sensitivity is a bit off - making it harder to adjust dials and also possible causing you to miss options (like the middle option between 2 jack ports). It's probably much easier in VR too.

Still, this is definitely worth it if it sounds appealing to you (only like €8 too).

I feel like it's hard to make an original puzzle game so late into the genre, but Gnog brought something very refreshing to the table. It lets you go back to those weird baby toys where you just press buttons to see what happens, except that this time you're rewarded for it!

Gnog takes natural human curiosity and the incessant need to push a button if we see one, and makes it a fun little game with sweet visuals and calming ambient music. Can definitely recommend!

GNOG is a puzzle game, which takes a tactile approach towards solving puzzles. Each level in GNOG resembles the head of a monster, which hides clever contraptions underneath. You can click, drag, slide or rotate different objects on each level to work your way towards a solution. Where GNOG shines, however, is in its presentation. Each level in GNOG involves bright colours, beautiful sounds and a simple, intuitive control scheme. The following trailer should give an idea of what the game looks and plays like:

Personally, I found that a sense of child-like joy was present on each level of GNOG. The combination of bright colours, a relaxing soundtrack and the cheerful nature of the game really drove this home. The puzzles themselves are also good, with each level following a certain theme (such as a spacecraft, a kitchen, a submarine, a forest etc). The complexity of the puzzles increased as the game progressed, but the level of challenge remained mostly consistent. In a way, GNOG is not about 'solving' puzzles, but rather tinkering with them. On each level, you poke, prod and examine each object to see what it does, then put it all together and arrive at the 'A-ha!' moment. The solution itself matters less than the process of finding that solution via experimentation.

I did have a few minor gripes during my playthrough. The game lacked a hint system, which was frustrating at one or two points. Some of the objects were a bit obtuse to be understood straightaway, so it took a fair amount of trial and error to proceed through these areas. Another minor problem was regarding the rotational elements. I played the game using a mouse, which was rather unwieldy when it came to rotating objects. I found that moving horizontally or vertically was a much better approach in these cases.

I was also reminded of The Room during my playthrough of this game. The presentation styles of these games are poles apart, but both of these games share a few key characteristics - such as a hands-on/tactile approach to puzzles, a priority on discovering the solution over the solution itself, and the idea of small, independent puzzles working together to solve a larger problem.