Universities have slowly become hubs of creative and talented new developers to find their footing, and maybe even release some great work in the process. A-Mazing Enigmas by Bradley Charles is a prime example of this with its simple, creative ideas that made for a superb, albeit short puzzle game experience.
A-Mazing Enigmas is the result of a Final Major Project from Bradley Charles, a student who recently finished his studies at CCCU Games Design. In this puzzle adventure, players use three individual characters to solve relatively simple puzzles, swapping between each character to complete levels by hitting switches, finding keys, and avoiding a few enemies.
The game is a short one, taking me only 20-30 minutes to finish its 10 levels. It is a bit of a downer it's not got more content, but it is a student game by one person in a short amount of time, so let's cut the guy some slack. The levels we do get however are pretty good. The levels grow in complexity at a steady pace with more tasks emerging in later levels, with more enemies, switches, paths and elements to solve and deal with.
I found myself enjoying the game more and more as the levels became more complex, though this mainly amounted to more keys or buttons to activate as opposed to finding new ways to tackle a problem; Again, student game. The more intricate level layouts and a greater number of tasks to do felt more engaging, making the relatively simple gameplay much more of a brain teaser than it may appear.
The more unique element of A-Mazing Enigmas comes from the three characters' attributes. Each character can only activate and use objects that match their colour, meaning the green character can only deal with green keys, the red character the buttons and so on, having you constantly switch between characters to complete each task. The same goes for obstacles and enemies, which require the right character to get past them.
It's a simple mechanic but does so much to add a little more thought and planning to how and when you use certain characters, making it just that slightly more interesting and engaging.
As you can likely tell, A-Mazing Enigmas has taken a few cues from the cracking indie game Baba is You, more so in its presentation. The art, which shares the same minimalist DNA style, uses few colours and objects on the screen that manages to still look charming and colourful despite its simplicity. Then there is the gameplay, which takes the games simple rules and uses them in different ways to create its puzzles, though they don't quite reach the level of difficulty that Baba does in the later levels. It's a great influence to use when working on this style of game, and it's worked great for A-Mazing Enigmas.
This quick puzzle adventure proved to be a fun little game. Whilst it was a lot shorter than I'd have liked, I still think it not only played well but more importantly showcased a student's skills in level design and creating an interesting set of mechanics, and that's clearly what this game's goal was.
I'd love to see the game get some more content in the future, or maybe even a fuller, more robust sequel or version release, but this demo does highlight Bradley's clear skills in game design, and I for one hope to see his name again in future.
Disclaimer: Thinky Games is part of the Carina Initiatives and may have professional relationships with individuals and businesses related to the subject of this article. Please see our Editorial Policy for details.
