Boxes: Lost Fragments was one of the games with a demo available during Steam Next Fest last week. Boxes comes to us via developers Big Loop Studios who previously made the well-received puzzle games Door: Origin and Door: Paradox. Much like its previous games, Boxes is a fantastical mystery-themed puzzle game where players focus on a single object that has multiple puzzles within itself, each one leading to the next.
Gameplay
The demo that was available for Boxes was very basic with two very quick and simple puzzles available to show the style and type of gameplay we could expect. Boxes is perfect for the casual gamer or a relaxed experience as players poke around with their mouse on intricately designed boxes for hidden levers, panels, and so on to access new secret areas of the box all to get the secret that lies within. The UI is limited to the hint and menu buttons as you cleanly drag around the crisp graphics to find the next gear to turn, a puzzle to solve, or a secret lever to pull.
Expectations
Both puzzles available in the demo were very quick to solve and I expect to be introductory puzzles for the final game to introduce players to the controls and solving options before more complicated and longer puzzle boxes appear. I would love for the final product to be more complicated and have the puzzles to be a little longer as well, as the demo was exceedingly quick. Aside from length or the so far little complexity, the game is incredibly intuitive and easy to learn as well as stunning to look at. The style, theme, and story of the game that the demo has hinted at are very appealing, and I can’t wait to get more of that steam/gear-punk when the final game comes out.
Verdict
Overall, while Boxes: Lost Fragments was one of the shortest demos I tried out during Next Fest, it will be one of the upcoming games I look forward to the most. As of yet, there is no price listed for the game but developers Big Loop’s previous entry of Doors is $15 and is similar to the upcoming Boxes, so I expect the price to be similar. Currently, the Demo for Boxes: Lost Fragments is still available on PC via Steam and the official release date is still unannounced, so I highly recommend all you puzzle fans to check it out!
