Game Reviews

Telltale Games is best known for its episodic point and click adventure game series, like Tales of Monkey Island and Sam & Max. But with Puzzle Agent, the developer is going in a distinctly different direction. And that's a good thing. The game itself feels like a mashup of a David Lynch film and the Professor Layton games, with just enough quirky humor to make it feel like a Telltale production. It's short and somewhat simplistic, but Puzzle Agent provides a great atmosphere and a solid dose of brainteasing puzzles.

Nelson Tethers is a federal agent with the FBI. But he doesn't investigate drug imports or terrorists, instead he works for the Department of Puzzle Research. After a bizarre dream in which he's visited by an eerily prophetic astronaut, Nelson gets assigned his first bit of field work. Soon enough he's on his way to the sleepy town of Scoggins, Minnesota to investigate an accident that occurred at the town's eraser factory. Of course, as is often the case with small towns, Scoggins is full of mystery.

The story is surprisingly dark, but this is offset somewhat by the game's sense of humor. When your main enemy is a group of mysterious garden gnomes it's hard to take things too seriously. That being said, Puzzle Agent does an incredible job of creating a chilling atmosphere. Though the various residents of of Scoggins all seem friendly, it always feels like there's a dark secret hiding in the background just waiting to come out. Overall, Nelson's investigation and the town of Scoggins serve as a great setting for the actual gameplay.