Puzzle Agent 2

Puzzle Agent. Is there a game with a more straight forward name? It’s a puzzle game about an FBI agent that, and wait for it, solves puzzles. Agent Tethers returns to Scoggins, Minnesota to tie up some loose tethers around the case he investigated there earlier. The FBI has officially closed the case, but some sort of obsessive compulsive behavior leads the man back to the wintery village. It’s nice to see loyalty or work ethics are still low within law enforcement.

Click for more lovely Puzzle Agent 2 screens

Luckily, the game is not a straight shooter in all its aspects and the story is a true detective’s marvel. Scoggins has a friendly façade, but Tethers’ previous passing already proved there is much more than meets the eye. The little town will uncover a secret society within, a string of mysterious disappearances and even a bunch of gnomes. All these enigmas will be presented in a unique, chalk outlining of a 2D cartoon world. Additionally, the point and click mechanism is also a singular item where clicking a part of the screen reveals a circular area of interest points. Players can pick up on objects, find chewing gums that are used for clues, talk to people and find puzzles.

Naturally, these puzzles are the core of the game, beyond the well written story and character development. It’s all a giant plot device anyway. But as those go, at least there is a good change of pace between investigation and puzzle solving. The puzzles are lead in by an explanation, after which a board holds the problem that can be solved with or without using clues. Using fewer aides obviously is better and the end score is determined by clues used, number and attempts and all that. Other than that, only an inflated ego is really a frontier on solving puzzles competently.

Some of the puzzles are sort of hit or miss, but there is a wide selection of problems available. Additionally, not all hints are always useful and with gum being a restricted resource, that’s a little kick in the tethers.  And lastly, the presentation is a bit quirky with a strange choice of stop motion and touch and go voice acting, even though the soundtrack is proper. The breaking animation has a jagged flow and together with some lesser actors, it does suck some of the great atmosphere out of the game.

But overall, Puzzle Agent 2 is a good choice for any enthusiast, using a compelling story and a load of brain teasers to keep the cogs running. Even if it has some issues here and there, the chalk universe of the game offers a charming adventure and an accessible approach for both hardened puzzlers and more casual quizzers. And at a very reasonable price, it’s a nice alternative to all those professors with their top hats and annoying boy assistants; not that that’s a reference or anything. Also, the game has gnomes.

Daav Valentaten, NoobFeed. (@Daavpuke)