Alan Hazelden’s Thinky Third Thursday - December 2023

Alan Hazelden, 22 December 2023

Hey!

Welcome to the final Thinky Third Thursday of the year, my monthly roundup of thinky puzzle games that have grabbed my attention.

Recent thinky highlights:

Mobile Suit Bababy Hempuli (free until Dec 28, Windows)

I love that Hempuli is spending his time making bizarre Baba Is You spin-off games - previously we've had Baba Files Taxes and Keke in the Caves of Peril to name just two. This time it's a mashup with Into The Breach, which starts pretty gentle until the rule-changing mechanics from Baba Is You start to kick in. Mobile Suit Baba was released today and is free for the next week, after which point it'll be $4.

Crossroad OS by Daisy Games and Guy (Windows/Linux)

This is a great combination of good puzzles and bad vibes, set in a haunted computer. The puzzles themselves involve trying to fill up progress bars, which sounds simple but there's a lot of variety there as the game progresses. There's a demo available if you're not sure it's going to be your thing, but it's pretty cheap so I recommend just picking it up.

Snakebird Complete by Noumenon Games and Astra Logical (Nintendo Switch)

Snakebird is an absolute classic - incredibly hard, but very rewarding. Snakebird Complete, which just came out on Nintendo Switch, bundles Snakebird and and its less brain-melting sibling Snakebird Primer together in a way that feels totally natural, as if they've always been one game. It also adds an optional hint system which is nice for a small push towards the solution on some of the harder levels.

Disclaimer: I worked at the publisher Astra Logical for a while and was involved in making this happen; though I'm no longer at Astra and don't financial benefit if the game sells.

Confounding Calendar by various contributors (free, web)

Every day during December, the Confounding Calendar releases 2-3 small single-screen puzzles for your entertainment, and they're always a delight. Some of my favourites from this year so far include:

> by noaForgotten Ritual by NozomuCopyPasta with Cheese by Christopher SouveyThorny Hollow by Toombler

but there's too many great games to list them all, and plenty more still coming every day through 31 Dec!

More thinky releases from the past month:

• Forest Grove, by Miga Games and Blowfish Studios
• Orten Was The Case, by Woodhill Interactive
• THE MULLER-POWELL PRINCIPLE, by Three Dots Games and Take Aim Games
• The Exit 8, by KOTAKE CREATE
• Hexle, by PUNKCAKE Délicieux
• Chessarama, by Minimol Games and Minimol Games,Hawthorn Games
• PortalSnake, by bcat112a

Upcoming games to watch for:

The Mermaid's Tongue by SFB Games (Windows demo available)

This is a recently announced sequel to 2019's Tangle Tower. Tangle Tower was a charming detective game - less involved than something like The Case of the Golden Idol but with a real sense of character. From playing the demo for The Mermaid's Tongue it seems like it's going to be a great continuation of those vibes.

Boxes: Lost Fragments by Big Loop Studios and Snapbreak (Windows/macOS demo available)

Following in the footsteps of The Room series of games, this is a game about poking and prodding mysterious artefacts until they open up. It doesn't have the same level of ambition as The Room series, and the puzzles aren't as strong, but it's still reasonably satisfying to see the contraptions whir and do their thing. It's apparently coming out next month.

That's It!

Next month I'll be sharing my highlights of 2023 and I'd love to know if you have any recommendations I might have missed. Please reach out on Discord, Mastodon, Bluesky, or Cohost with suggestions!

While you're thinking about your favourite games of the year, did you know you can submit them to the first ever Thinky Awards run by ThinkyGames.com? All games released between 1 Dec 2022 and 30 Nov 2023 are eligible, and there's a bunch of different categories.

Until next time,

Alan