I finished Irondune, and again am surprised by the amount of information that the manual gives you. Without it, some of the challenges wouldn't make as much sense. I was stuck for a while...
Spoiler:having missed a second hot spot on the armor
but once I could continue, things flowed smoothly. There is definitely a pattern to each place. There is alway a few FMVs to give you more background, one person left to meet, many letters and pictures to look at, and, of course, the secret metal labs to find. The puzzles are as Jelena said, just right - enough of a challenge, but still logical.
I'll need to wait until next weekend to finish off at the Asylum.