EVAN’S REMAINS

Please climb on these landmarks

Boy genius Evan has gone missing, and in a mysterious letter he asks for one particular young lady, Dysis, to travel to an unexplored island to find him. Nobody knows why he needs her, or where on the island he might be. Cue running from left to right across gorgeous pixelated beaches.

You won’t spend all your time admiring the beautiful reflections in the crystal-blue water, however, because strewn along your path are numerous murals. These are platforming puzzles, and to solve each one and progress you need to jump over the pillar at the end. 1 Some platforms on the mural stick out, while others are retracted, and generally a puzzle revolves around switching the platforms between the two states. Jumping on a platform retracts it. Other platforms are switches that switch the states of all platforms.

As you progress, more complexities are thrown into the works, from platforms that teleport you to ones that can be moved, and others that can change their type. Each area focuses on the introduction of a new puzzley wrinkle, and few outstay their welcome (the game itself is only a few hours long).

Beyond beautiful visuals and taxing puzzles, there’s also a hefty sci-fi story. Inspired by Japanese visual novels, Dysis’ investigation as she pushes inland into the ruins of a forgotten civilisation is intriguing, and full of twists. 2 The dialogue that punctuates the puzzles rarely feels too long, and this mystery makes you want to keep pressing on. It’s a mixture that feels fresh, and the two halves of puzzle and story feel highly polished: more than enough to keep you remaining in this puzzle paradise. Oscar Taylor-Kent

Every puzzle can be skipped and this plays into the story – Dysis can simply walk around them. The tone of the story reminds us of celebrated Japanese mystery novelist Hiroshi Mori.