‘Rime’ is an eyecatching, ‘Zelda’-like puzzle-adventure

‘RIME’ is a game about the acceptance of loss.

The game is available for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One

The first few scenes in “Rime” convey three essential aspects of nature: its mystery, danger, and beauty. The opening shot is of a star-encrusted sky. Then the camera lowers to reveal grey, storm-lit clouds above a violent sea.

A scrap of red cloth flies in front of the camera before the scene fades to white and transitions to a blue sky. A broken marble tower comes into view that overlooks tree-dotted cliffs and a pristine beach on which lies the solitary figure of a young boy. Enu is dressed in a tunic, like a boy in a picture book about ancient Greece, and what appears to be a torn red cape. With effort he lifts himself to his feet.

As Enu, players explore the beautifully realised island.

Though it lacks hack-andslash combat, “Rime” is a puzzle-adventure game similar to “Zelda.” I delighted in how the game’s puzzles built on each other.

Aside from acting as mere gateways between areas, a number of the puzzles immerse the player in the game’s aesthetics. There are puzzles that manipulate time, so that one can scroll through the game’s day-night cycle and revel in its fantastic evocation of Mediterranean light.

“Rime” also signals its artistic values via puzzles that require you to place things on pedestals. Although there were numerous times I had to step away from the game to gain a fresh perspective on a puzzle, I almost invariably found that when I returned to it, I was able to swiftly grasp the solution - a rhythm I value in puzzle games. — Washington Post.

“Rime” is a game about the acceptance of loss. — Photo courtesy of Grey Box A visitor plays chess with a robot designed by Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute. — AFP photo

(Clockwise from top right) Visitors test virtual reality VR headsets during the Computex Show in Taipei. • President and Chief Executive Officer of Nvidia Huang Jen-hsun speaks during the Computex Show in Taipei. • Margaret Vinci, manager of the Seismological Laboratory at California Institute of Technology (Caltech) points to a shake alert user display on a laptop screen at the Caltech Seismological Laboratory in Pasadena, California. It is part of the West Coast Earthquake early Warning system. • Testing Asus VR headsets at the expo. — AFP photos