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Solid choice-based puzzlefest, November 23, 2018Lux is the game that proved to me you can make a solid puzzlefest using a choice-based interface. I imagine there are other strong choice-based and puzzle-focused games out there, but Lux is the first one I have played.
In Lux you are Sandra, the only survivor of an explosion on a research station in space. The explosion has left you blind, and you must navigate through the station with help from the station's AI to reach the command centre and send a distress signal.
In terms of gameplay, you can have one item active in your inventory at any time, and if you have the correct item active for a particular puzzle you'll see additional choice options that will enable you to solve the puzzle. (Detectiveland uses a similar mechanism.) By midgame there are enough inventory items, and the number of choice subtrees is often large enough, that simply selecting every item isn't going to help much in solving a particular puzzle. So you still need to figure out the puzzles - or at least narrow down the possibilities to just a few items.
It's a large game, too. There are five distinct areas of the station, multiple puzzles in each area, and several red herrings. The author's estimate of "longer than two hours" was accurate for my playthrough.
The puzzles are challenging but always logical. Having five distinct sections and having the AI telling you what the goals are in each section are good design choices - they help prevent the player from being overwhelmed in such a large game. The game has achievements as well. I didn't earn all of them, and so I'm guessing some of the objects that I didn't find a use for are actually related to achievements.
Finally, Lux contains my favorite single moment out of all the games in IFComp this year. I won't give it away, but those who have played the game may be able to see what I'm referring to.
I tend to like puzzlers, and I enjoyed Lux.