Sudokoid and Sudokuvania are all the rage in the world of paper-logic-puzzles. These giant abominations take the old favorite Sudoku and twist and stretch it into the shape of a metroidvania videogame, complete with explorable maps, item upgrades, boss fights and secrets.
I wrote about these huge, layered puzzle grids a few months ago when the second Super Sudokoid game was fresh on the scene, and now the progenitor of the burgeoning genre has a new sequel: Sudokuvania 2: Lineage of Logic released this week and I'm sure it's already soaking up the hours of many a logic puzzle enthusiast.
As with the previous entries, this new one plays in-browser in a dedicated software that allows all the usual markings and tools that you'd expect to have working on a Sudoku puzzle, while also allowing for the very key fog-of-war effect that hides most of the sprawling map until you slowly reveal it one solved digit at a time, new routes and branches opening up when you've entered enough correct numbers in a given area.
Each "room" on the map is a different Sudoku grid which overlaps with others nearby, and you'll slowly learn new rules (often in the form of collected inventory items) that reveal to you the new solving logic needed in a new thematic environment. Sudokuvania 2 features Quest Lines and "optional enemy puzzles that can be played to learn a digit and bypass difficult logic." Perhaps the most intriguing advertised feature is replayability in the form of non-linear paths to multiple conclusions: "one ending to the puzzle’s quests can be reached without completing most of the grids."
After doing research for my first article, I dove in and played a bunch of the first Super Sudokoid, which was recommended to me as perhaps the best entry point for someone who wasn't super familiar with lots of variant Sudoku rules. I had a such a great time that I was sucked in and played on and off for a week, only resorting to the occasional YouTube playthrough hint when I was really banging my head against a logical wall.
Sudokuvania 2: Lineage of Logic is available to play for free online now, and if you'd like you start with the first in the series you can find it here. I wish you luck on your journey, adventurer... these labyrinthine puzzles are not for the faint of heart (or mind).
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