I don't normally write reviews on this site, but I recently played Quern: Undying Thoughts and I had some thoughts of my own. I wasn't even.
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I just finished this game in one (12 hour) sitting and I am thoroughly impressed. I'd impulse-bought it months ago and never touched it until now.Every once in a while, I get that little pang of nostalgia for Myst, and what a unique experience it was. That ambience and unhurried intrigue, the sort of odd combination of 'haunting' and 'Zen'.I've played games like Myst since Myst. Riven, of course, and a few of the newer crop that came out within the last few years (Talos, Witness, Obduction). None of the newer ones get anywhere near as close to being a worthy followup to Myst/Riven as Quern does.
And that includes Obduction.I think, in that mix of flashier titles, Quern got overlooked. And that's a crime, as far as I'm concerned.The only thing I'd put down as a negative (and I hate to even call it that) is that there's not much story/plot/lore going on.
Now, this isn't to say there isn't enough. Just that there isn't much. What is there is a sufficient reason to be on a mysterious island solving puzzles, and that's all you need. Remember, Myst didn't have much in the way of story either. It's about the vibe, man.And Quern has vibes in spades. Sound and music design is great, really sets the mood.The puzzles are the focus, obviously, and they are (I say this without a shred of hyperbole) masterfully constructed.
That line between having puzzles that are too easy (and thus boring), and puzzles that are just unreasonably obtuse is a very hard line to walk, and Quern pulls it off. There were about 2 times that I looked up puzzle solutions, and both times were in the interests of expediency. At no point was there something that made me go 'how the fuck was I ever supposed to even consider that', which is all too common in adventure games.
It's genuinely impressive to me to have a whole game where no puzzle is too easy or too hard.But that's not even the best thing about Quern, in my opinion.The best thing is the level design.If you've played Dark Souls, you're familiar with that unique rush of feeling lost in one moment, then opening a shortcut and suddenly knowing exactly where you are. Those moments that make you go 'OOOOO THAT LINKS BACK TO THAT WHOAAA'.That feeling is rare in games, I've found. And that's what makes Dark Souls so special, and it's very present in Quern too.Without getting spoilery, I'll simply say that the environment, the puzzles, the items you pick up in your journey. All of it comes together in an incredibly satisfying way. By the end, you truly feel like you've solved the whole game and that everything is in its proper place.I think that's the biggest thing about this game that's making me recommend it so heavily.
It's very, very satisfying. Very cathartic.Quern is worth your time and money. Myst is just the alltime best, imo, although Quern is legitimately good enough to challenge for that spot.With that said, grab RealMyst and let yourself get lost in it. You won't regret it.
I wish I could get some selective amnesia so I could play Myst for the first time again.As for comparing to Talos and Witness, both of those have this construction where they start with basic principles and build on them throughout the game. That's a cool flavor of puzzle game, but ones like Myst and Quern don't do that. Instead, each puzzle is kind of its own thing, and while some principles are reused, you always feel like you're working on a different kind of puzzle.But yes, definitely play Myst. It's an alltime classic. That was definitely a tricky one, but i can forgive it because there were enough clues there, it was just tricky to put them together.Spoilers below (i don't know how to censor them so beware)The thing that you put the green crystal on was already shown to be a crystal holder, because it used the red one to heat the cauldronAnd the fact that you can flip it upward, and flipping it serves no other purpose related to the cauldron.
And it even starts in the flipped-up position, so its clear from the start that theres more than one function to itWith that said, yeah, it was tricky. There are a few things that only seem obvious in hindsight, but thats much better than some puzzles where even in hindsight it makes no sense that you'd ever arrive at the proper conclusion. Even in the worst cases of earlier Cyan games, I typically could find a puzzle within 5-10 minutes (e.g., missing the double swinging door in the mountain in Riven). Obduction had me walking around for a a few hours at one point about halfway through the game.I love Cyan, but they need to hire a really, really good editor and a much better playtest team to highlight their pacing issues. I don't mind a bit of exploration to find new puzzles, but 'a bit' is in the few minutes range for me. Anything past that and I'm just going to get bored/frustrated.
They just have pacing issues. Like, really badly.
I wandered to the house with the white picket fence. Nothing there.ok? Go in one direction, blocked by the barrier. Go to the town, talk to the dude who wants power restored. Finally, a quest! Restore power! I've seen exactly zero of what he's talking about!
I took an elevator, walked a little, did a lever that let the water loose doing.no idea.At one point I saw a card game on a table in a house and I thought, obviously it will let me zoom in on and that, I'll take a picture, and I'll be set for the eventual 'card puzzle'.Nope, it's just nothing.That's when I refunded. Like, goddam now. Where's the hook? The puzzles themselves should be used as hooks! I want mystery! I want to see something cool and be blocked by something I have no idea how to solve! Not a plain locked door to the first house I go to.
What the hell.Obduction has immediately a cooler sense of atmosphere than Quern but it goes nowhere with it in a reasonable time frame.