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No new postsWhat is your favourite adventure game puzzle?
So… GK3’s infamous “cat moustache” puzzle gets a mention yet nobody talks about “Le Serpent Rouge”???
Weird, I’ve only heard great things about it…
Not to mention the even more notorious “donkey tail” moustache puzzle in Discworld…
My personal favorite is the one with the crates in Broken Sword 3.
Okay, not really but seriously Sefir mentioned one of my favorites.
As for most memorable puzzle…. I’m like Lee in Limbo. I forget a lot of stuff once I complete the game. I recall a lot of the DoTT puzzles that involved doing things in the past to affect the future were quite inspired, though I cant seem to recall any particular specific one :-/
I can help with that. One puzzle I thought was quite clever is when
Laverne is stuck in a tree in the future and you have to get her down. It’s a cumquat tree (small orange fruits). In the past you find out that George Washington loved to chop down cherry trees, so what you have to do is use some red paint you found on the cumquats in the past and what do you get? A cherry tree! Washington cuts it down and Laverne is free.
There are so many more like that and most of the puzzles are head and shoulders above other adventure games the way they hint at the solution without making it obvious or easy, and giving you enough clues for that “aha!” moment when you figure it out.
Puzzles in general, I like combining inventory items.
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My all time favorite puzzle has to be the Insult Sword Fighting in Monkey Island.
I think everybody knows what i’m talking about, so no further explanation is needed.
+1 
I don’t really remember the “how-to”, but I still have laughs when seeing the result of one Day of the Tentacles puzzle :
spoiler-alert-link-to-a-jpeg-showing-some-food-and-a-wooden-historical-piece 
Creative kind of puzzles. I’ve said this numerous times, but the puzzle should really bring the feeling that it’s you who’re solving it. There’s nothing wrong with “hand-holding” or in-game hints if they’re used properly and in combination with the more challenging puzzles.
So, how can a puzzle be “creative”?
Problem 1: You need to open the door.
Level 1 - There’s a key beside the door. You pick up the key and use it on the door.
Level 2 - You assume the key is under the mat or a flower pot. You find the key there, and then use it on the door.
Level 3 (not always needed, depends on the game) - You need to bypass a mini-game in order to pick a lock.
Problem 2: Based on the clues, you need to determine in which European city the suspect is hiding.
Level 1 - The menu with 3 cities is shown, and you need to choose the correct one.
Level 2 - The game presents you with a map of Europe, and you need to pinpoint the correct city.
Level 3 - The game presents you with a map of Europe, and you need to manually input the name of the city in question.
Recently finished: Four Last Things 4/5, Edna & Harvey: The Breakout 5/5, Chains of Satinav 3,95/5, A Vampyre Story 88, Sam Peters 3/5, Broken Sword 1 4,5/5, Broken Sword 2 4,3/5, Broken Sword 3 85, Broken Sword 5 81, Gray Matter 4/5\nCurrently playing: Broken Sword 4, Keepsake (Let\‘s Play), Callahan\‘s Crosstime Saloon (post-Community Playthrough)\nLooking forward to: A Playwright’s Tale
So… GK3’s infamous “cat moustache” puzzle gets a mention yet nobody talks about “Le Serpent Rouge”???
Weird, I’ve only heard great things about it…
LSR definitely is one the best puzzles. I also like the DoTT-type ones, not sure if the beauty contest especially but many many puzzles in it. So intelligent riddles and then more regular puzzles that utilise several times/places/characters are very enjoyable.
Currently Playing: Dragon Age Origins: Awakening
Recently Played: Red Embrace: Hollywood, Dorfromantik, Heirs & Graces, AI: The Somnium Files, PRICE, Frostpunk, The Shapeshifting Detective (CPT), Disco Elysium, Dream Daddy, Four Last Things, Jenny LeClue - Detectivu, The Signifier
If you’re not sure, feel free to list as many as you want. I just want to know what makes a good puzzle because that’s interesting to me (especially if I ever decide to start making my own adventure games). I’d recommend mentioning the game and putting the puzzle in spoiler tags. Like
Resonance (maybe not my favorite but a recent one I liked)
When Ray has to get access to the Antevorta, using the STM system to ask the receptionist about the time, then hacking into emails to get information about how the system works.
Sorry if this has been discussed recently before.
Sorry if this has been discussed recently before.
Not that recently. but I’ll merge both threads nonetheless… 
The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka
I still consider Le Serpent Rouge to be the best puzzle I’ve ever played.
NP: A Link Between Worlds, Beneath a Steel Sky and Vampyr
I think using Plato’s Lost Dialog for all of the various stone combinations in Fate of Atlantis has to be up there for me. That was a very well implemented system of clues, especially when you had to reverse the combination to get into Atlantis itself.
I think using Plato’s Lost Dialog for all of the various stone combinations in Fate of Atlantis has to be up there for me. That was a very well implemented system of clues, especially when you had to reverse the combination to get into Atlantis itself.
Agreed, that one is also up there at the top of the list. It’s actually rather similair to Le Serpent Rogue in that you had to search for clues by reading through texts about the mystery you were trying to solve. I think the latter was a bit more developed and intricate which makes me rate it even higher. I can’t think of any other game that has come even close to those two in regard of presenting the feeling of solving a historical mystery.
NP: A Link Between Worlds, Beneath a Steel Sky and Vampyr
Perhaps the animal puzzle in Riven. Took me lot of time to figure out the solution, which was a perfectly logical one and based in the explore first - solve later riddle method. Required lots of notes and attention to detail both to what you see and also to what you hear. And there is a tricky part where you can solve it either with some inspiration or with even more reading and attention to detail. I am talking about the part where you have to find out what the first animal is. You can either realize that since no sound is applied, then there must be a no-sound animal (making the fish a strong candidate) or you can read in Gehn’s journal that the small ball was found at the middle of the village’s lake, then travel to another island, use the lens machine to look through the lens in the lake and spot a rock’s shadow that looks identical to a fish. Magnificent.
I’m so attracted to the idea of the types of puzzles in Myst and Riven and the long-term way in which you have to solve them. But I don’t know if I can actually stomach playing them (I’ve already played those games with walkthroughs). Is Myst 3 comparable?
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