Practical magic

Videogame designers are problem solvers by trade – but there’s alchemy involved in the role, too. Throughout the creative process, they must conjure up pragmatic or imaginative solutions to the obstacles they face. The very best games, of course, tend to involve a combination of the two.

Sometimes those problems aren’t really problems, but rather alternative ways of looking at a concept: a ‘what if’ reimagining of a familiar scenario. Take Drinkbox’s Nobody Saves The World, for example, an action-RPG that gives your blank-slate avatar the opportunity to choose between multiple, wildly different character builds at the wave of a magic wand. Some encounters might call for a bow-wielding rat; alternatively, you might prefer to switch to a horse that can kick enemies to death and then bring them back as zombie minions.

There’s similar design wizardry to be found in Windjammers 2, another thrilling act of necromancy, as Dotemu resurrects and reinvigorates the 1994 Neo-Geo favourite without losing the original’s arcade purity. Compact puzzler Filmechanism has both aesthetic and mechanical links to the past: its presentation harks back to the Game Boy Color era, while you can instantly switch between past and present forms of its single-screen challenges.

Finding a fresh take on an existing idea isn’t always easy, however. Praey For The Gods tries to shadow a Team Ico classic but stumbles with its breaks from formula, while Aeterna Noctis imagines a version of Hollow Knight that looks more like a Castlevania game: an appealing combination on paper that doesn’t quite land. Happily, Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker delivers a finale that threads a particularly tricky needle. Satisfyingly wrapping up one story arc while leaving room for more, it’s a piece of creative problemsolving with the dramatic flair of an illusionist’s prestige.