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What adventure game from the last ten years had the best and most clever INVENTORY puzzles?
Creative combinations and applications of unexpected items. It’s what I love most about adventure games. So what adventure game in the last ten years do you think had the best and most creative inventory puzzles? Not Myst-like, not slider puzzles, not dialog puzzles. Pure good old fashioned Macgyvering!
Interested to hear your thoughts.
OK I’ll start.
I would have to go with DOTT, Lost in Time, Riddle of Master Lu, and COMI.
What is your favorite collection of inventory puzzles?
EDIT: As i was kindly informed, in the effort to strike up some discussion quickly, I screwed up my own answer! Obviously, none of these are from the last ten years! Apologies.
I actually can’t even think of one that qualifies as being strong on inventory puzzles and from the last ten years! I guess that’s why I was asking.
Anyone else have anything?
So what adventure game in the last ten years do you think had the best and most creative inventory puzzles?
I would have to go with DOTT, Lost in Time, Riddle of Master Lu, and COMI.
Actually you are not answering your own question, because none* of those games is from the last ten years.
(* = Assuming “Lost in Time” is referring to Coktel Vision game from 1993 and not the walking simulator from 2020.)
It’s easy to think inventory puzzles from any adventure games, memorable ones from the last ten years are much harder to find. Well, Broken Sword 5 had some memorable ones, albeit for wrong reasons.
“The best and most clever INVENTORY puzzles” that the topic title is asking for are very challenging to think of.
Guard Duty had one of the best mazes ever, but obviously that doesn’t count for an inventory puzzle, so I can’t think of anything, just like I couldn’t think of anything when I read the question originally.
As there are no responses to the original question, I can only assume that there are very few puzzles that fit the criteria.
So perhaps it’s best to loosen some of those criteria, which you (unknowingly?) did in your own answer by omitting the ten year limit.
Actually, I might say something positive about The Antidote.
While the inventory puzzles themselves aren’t that spectacular, the inventory function otherwise is. You can talk to any inventory object, and most inventory objects have unique responses!
But that’s not really what the question is asking for.
So what adventure game in the last ten years do you think had the best and most creative inventory puzzles?
I would have to go with DOTT, Lost in Time, Riddle of Master Lu, and COMI.
Actually you are not answering your own question, because none* of those games is from the last ten years.
(* = Assuming “Lost in Time” is referring to Coktel Vision game from 1993 and not the walking simulator from 2020.)
It’s easy to think inventory puzzles from any adventure games, memorable ones from the last ten years are much harder to find. Well, Broken Sword 5 had some memorable ones, albeit for wrong reasons.“The best and most clever INVENTORY puzzles” that the topic title is asking for are very challenging to think of.
Guard Duty had one of the best mazes ever, but obviously that doesn’t count for an inventory puzzle, so I can’t think of anything, just like I couldn’t think of anything when I read the question originally.
As there are no responses to the original question, I can only assume that there are very few puzzles that fit the criteria.
So perhaps it’s best to loosen some of those criteria, which you (unknowingly?) did in your own answer by omitting the ten year limit.
Actually, I might say something positive about The Antidote.
While the inventory puzzles themselves aren’t that spectacular, the inventory function otherwise is. You can talk to any inventory object, and most inventory objects have unique responses!But that’s not really what the question is asking for.
Apologies.
I actually can’t even think of one that qualifies as being strong on inventory puzzles and from the last ten years! I guess that’s why I was asking.
And what do you mean about Broken Sword 5’s puzzles. Were they no good?
Anyone else have anything?
There Is No Game had some very creative puzzle solutions, especially during the “Zelda” part. The last Monkey Island has some nice inventory puzzles, but I can’t really point (and click) at anything outstanding. I thought the little LucasArts-inspired game Mutropolis made better use of the “collect 3 items” concept. Lair of the Clockwork God had funny puzzles. But I can’t really think of anything as complex as Lost in Time or Riddle of Master Lu.
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There Is No Game had some very creative puzzle solutions, especially during the “Zelda” part. The last Monkey Island has some nice inventory puzzles, but I can’t really point (and click) at anything outstanding. I thought the little LucasArts-inspired game Mutropolis made better use of the “collect 3 items” concept. Lair of the Clockwork God had funny puzzles. But I can’t really think of anything as complex as Lost in Time or Riddle of Master Lu.
Cool. I’ll have to try these out.
When I think of clever use of inventory items I think of the classic “newspaper under door-toothpick in keyhole-retrieve key” puzzle. But since I first saw that puzzle in either Phantasmagoria 1 or Post Mortem it has become a puzzle cliche. So even if it appeared in a game released last year I would no longer think of it as inventive or clever.
I’m currently playing Still Life as part of a AGCPT. It has a mechanic in the inventory screen that actually simplifies two or more inventory items being combined. Combining items is not new or innovative. But including a mechanic for doing so is/was. But the game is over ten years old, so it wouldn’t qualify. However, the game’s developer, Microids, has refined the process, so the inventory management system used in Syberia 4 might qualify.
Other than that, I’m pretty much at a loss for words.
For whom the games toll,
they toll for thee.
I’ll limit myself to three.
Mutropolis from 2021 featured surprisingly good inventory puzzles. Sometimes difficult but there was always a logical reasoning behind them.
It’s been a while since I last played it but Kelvin and the Invincible Machine from 2014 is another that comes to mind.
The last one is Tales from 2016, which I remember for its riddles and sometimes clever solutions.
AKA Charo
And what do you mean about Broken Sword 5’s puzzles. Were they no good?
Well, at least stuff you needed to with the matchbox was simply stupid and didn’t really fit the tone of the game, let’s just put it that way.
It’s been a while since I last played it but Kelvin and the Invincible Machine from 2014 is another that comes to mind.
It’s a great game, but I can’t remember if it had any great inventory puzzles.
At least they weren’t memorable, if they were great.
The last one is Tales from 2016, which I remember for its riddles and sometimes clever solutions.
Yeah, although how it was done was a bit stupid.
To quote a review I wrote few years ago:
“The bigger problem is how inventories and objects in the game world are handled. A small innovation, although one that has been seen decades ago in some form, is that each book has its own inventory. The player also has a magic bag that can transfer one item from one book to another. The existence of magic bag can be seen as a necessary tool of explanation on how items can move from one tale to another. But the fact that it can hold only one item is simply lame, it only serves to artificially lengthen the playthrough time by forcing the player to jump between books in the aforementioned manner more times than would really be required.”
Yeah, I’m probably remembering these older games more for their greatness than their inventory puzzles. But they’re traditional 3rd person adventures so of course a large part of the puzzles are going to be traditional inventory puzzles.
The last one is Tales from 2016, which I remember for its riddles and sometimes clever solutions.
Yeah, although how it was done was a bit stupid.
To quote a review I wrote few years ago:“The bigger problem is how inventories and objects in the game world are handled. A small innovation, although one that has been seen decades ago in some form, is that each book has its own inventory. The player also has a magic bag that can transfer one item from one book to another. The existence of magic bag can be seen as a necessary tool of explanation on how items can move from one tale to another. But the fact that it can hold only one item is simply lame, it only serves to artificially lengthen the playthrough time by forcing the player to jump between books in the aforementioned manner more times than would really be required.”
I’m not sure I fully agree with that. Yes, it’s especially onerous if the player when stuck resorts to use everything on everything, but it could be argued the system makes the player less inclined to do that. I’ve seen that same argument used in the Return to Monkey Island thread with regard to games which give a response every time you use an item on something (unlike RTMI).
Whether those systems make most players think more or just annoy them… neither of us can really say.
AKA Charo
I remember noting how good the inventory puzzles were in Ben There, Dan That: Time Gentlemen, Please! were.
Definitely superior to its predecessor, which was also pretty good.
I can’t get into it, because it keeps on crashing on my machine very early in the game, but Return to Mysterious Island is supposed to be predicated on great inventory puzzles. From the little I’ve played, I can see it.
Hector: Badge of Carnage is another game with a heavy focus on inventory puzzles, and I remember thinking that it did them rather well.
Last, Thimbleweed Park must be mentioned. I couldn’t get enough of those Specks of Dust. (But seriously, great game with smart puzzles).
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Interesting question because most of the standout puzzles in newer adventures tend to stand out for doing something different than item puzzles.
Technobabylon (2015) had a cool puzzle where you collect samples of an audio recording that’s been genetically engineered within the DNA of various different plants. The inventory item for the sample taking device had it’s own unique U.I element, following the trail of clues was fun, and it fit perfectly within the Sci-Fi narrative.
Zniw Adventure (2020) There was a fun puzzle where you make a decoy of Zniw, using random stuff in the forest, to fool a predator dinosaur. I remember laughing at how it turned out looking.
Perfect Tides (2022) The puzzle final puzzle to get presents and wrap them before Hanukkah stands out. It requires you to have done different things across the game’s seasons, which highlights how well PT translated the slice of life genre to traditional adventure mechanics. It doesn’t make unnatural progression blocks, which wouldn’t appear in daily life, but instead rewards you if you went the extra mile and explored/experimented. Plus completing the puzzle ties in to the game’s themes. A lot of Mara’s growth is learning to get out of her own head and think about how her actions effect others. So if you, as the player, thought about other people and the world enough to get their gifts it’s reflected in Mara having become a little more considerate over the year. Conversely, if you don’t get your family gifts you’re left with a stinging “that’s okay, I didn’t expect anything” type of line from Mara’s mother.
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