Game Inspiration: Portal 2
The adventure puzzle genre (as distinct from plotless puzzlers like Candy Crush) has an appeal distinct from most other genres. Most other genres emphasize skill in manual dexterity to some degree. You get into the zone in these games. When you are on a roll in Runner 2 or Ninja Gaiden Black, the controller becomes an extension of your mind and body. You know what to do, it’s just a question of whether or not you have the skill to do it. But with puzzle games the joy comes from regularly not knowing exactly what to do, and yet seeing the components you need in front of you. You are taken out of the moment. Your hand-eye coordination often has little to do with with whether you succeed. The game wants to know if you can assemble the answer from the puzzle pieces in front of you.
The problem with puzzle games is that you can never experience this joy of discovery twice. I have experienced this so many times. I still remember the answer to every puzzle in games like Planetfall, Full Throttle, and Portal. Even if I wait a year or more in between, my brain still has a pretty good idea of what I should be doing. I don’t have that “just stand in a spot racking my brain for an hour before finally rage quitting and then returning the next day” before I finally get it. I move through these games at a pretty fast pace, only forgetting minor details that delay me a few minutes at the most.
So are puzzle games only good for one playthrough? If it is a great game to begin with, I think the answer is a resounding “no.” I have a few strategies to help get the most out of a replay of any great puzzle game.
1. Take some time off. It’s true, it won’t make you forget the answers to all the puzzles, but it will help. I recommend a year off at least. Taking time off will also make help with the next strategy.
2. Appreciate the charm of the game. While I did not forget the answers to all the puzzles in Portal 2, I forgot just how funny it was. The jokes felt fresh again, but also familiar. All my favorite puzzle games have charm that will carry them long after they have stopped taxing my brain. Take time to really appreciate what makes the game great beyond it’s puzzles. In fact…
3. Take time to stop and smell the roses. Portal and Portal 2 have all sorts of hidden rooms covered in the mad scrawlings of an Aperture scientist. With the burden of figuring out the puzzles lessened, finding all of these hidden rooms became a fun way to spend my time, Or, I could listen to Wheatley ramble on, and on, and on. Or I could look at all those little design details I was too busy to look at when I was figuring out puzzles. And since you have extra time on your hands…
4. Try doing any available challenge modes you might have skipped during your first playthrough. Portal 1 had you redo test chambers but put parameters on them like how many steps you could take, how many portals you could fire, or even changed what surfaces could have a portal on them. These challenges can add a fun new challenge.
5. If there is any user-generated content for the game, after waiting a year there is probably a lot of quality puzzles to choose from. Never underestimate a fan’s ability to take a developer’s concept and make it better (also worse, but that’s what user ratings are for). I wish all puzzle games had user-generated content, but those that do are basically offering you free new gameplay for life. (By the way, while we’re on the subject. I don’t care if it’s too difficult to give me a level editor for Portal 2 on consoles, but they could at least let me download user-generated maps that were made on the PC.)
But what about you? Do you replay puzzle games or are they one-time rentals? How do you enjoy them once the initial discovery has worn off. What new things could developers do to add replayability to their games? Let me know in the comments.
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