Day 1073
Game expectations are really odd things, because a game can be perfectly fine, however if it doesn’t meet expectations then it falls flat. It’s actually, as far as I know, not that common that a game can be both really well done, but still fall flat with certain audiences.
I say this, I had recently decided to finally play Doors. Doors is a point and click puzzle game from 2022. In this game you’re an unknown person who is (probably) trapped within your own mind and must solve puzzles to open each door. Each door is a self contained puzzle where you must find objects, and clues to get the door open.
It is a well thought out game, the controls work nicely, and not a hard game to grasp. The narrative is kind of meh, but I bought the game for the puzzles, not the narrative so I don’t really care. However, I was bored with this game. I got about three to four doors in before I decided I didn’t care enough about this game to keep going.
However, I didn’t know why I felt like that, so I decided to try another game, which was called Boxes. Like Doors, Boxes also have self contained puzzles, but those puzzles are to open special boxes to get the item. It is also a bit bigger than Doors, as those items are used to solve the puzzle of the room you’re in.
What makes the two games different though, beyond graphics and the scope of their puzzles, is how those puzzles are presented.
Doors present their puzzles as if the door existed in a particular themed area. So the area around the door has the puzzles, and it functions relatively the same, you find items you can pick up, which then can be used to activate or uncover the puzzle, and you solve the puzzle.
Boxes treat their boxes more like puzzle boxes, so there are hidden compartments if you know where to look. Compartments that reveal secrets and more than one puzzle that needs to be solved in order to get the item in question. It is engaging and sparks curiosity when trying to figure out the box, and delight when it is solved.
This resulted in me thinking that my issue was that I liked the exploration aspect of puzzles. That my boredom with doors was that it was very clear cut what I needed to do and very little exploration.
However, I play other puzzle games that have nothing to do with exploration. Like I enjoyed games like Sizable and The Shape of Things, they were self contained puzzles that don't require exploration. At least… Sizable only required a bit of it, but probably the same amount as Doors.
It was only when I was trying to put my feelings into words that I realized the problem was expectation.
See, there is another game I played that has a lot of similarities to escape room style puzzle games but is also self contained. That is The Room, where you were given a puzzle box that just got bigger and bigger as you discover its secrets. It actually has a whole series now that I need to get around to playing.
When I played Boxes, it reminded me of The Room, and I enjoyed that a great deal. In fact, I probably had expected it to be like The Room, and the same goes for Doors. I probably thought I was going to get a playing experience like The Room, where I would fiddle with these doors to discover they were more than what they appeared, and didn’t get that.
At least, that’s why I think I wasn’t interested in Doors, which is a pity because I do think the game is well made. I just don’t care enough to want to play it.