Sometimes even the most dynamic games challenge not only our reaction and dexterity, but also our minds. Most of the puzzles in modern projects are so simple that even a preschool child can solve them, but sometimes developers offer us really interesting and complex puzzles. This article is dedicated to the most fascinating puzzles in the gaming industry.
Let's start with an extremely funny riddle. When Metal Gear 2 came out, it was 1990. There was no point in even mentioning the Internet, and paper guides and thematic magazines were far from the most convenient sources of information. During this dark time, Hideo Kojima released a game where he confronted the player with a downright impossible puzzle.
One day, on his way, Snake encounters a laser barrier, which is turned off only at night. Alas, the time of day in the game does not change on its own, and the hero does not have cigarettes in his pockets for thoughtful anticipation. What to do? «Anyone can guess,» thought Hideo and offered the player an obvious solution.
To get around the obstacle, you need to go to the laboratory and steal the egg there. A fragile object must be carried in your pocket for a long time until it hatches... into an owl. Now we approach the laser fence and «use» the owl, making it «hoot». The guard nearby, of course, understands that owls are awake only at night and, despite the completely sunny time, turns off the lasers blocking the path.
Rumor has it that one person once solved this riddle on his own. His name was Albert Einstein.
On August 12, 2014, the gaming community exploded P.T. The project turned out to be a playable teaser for Silent Hills by Hideo Kojima. Therefore, it is not surprising that although the game has long been removed from the PS Store, it is still discussed in the community — in particular one very interesting mystery.
To pass P.T., you need to hear the phone ring, and to do this you will have to «make» the child laugh three times. Hints for the solution are scattered throughout the location and written in different languages.
It turned out that you need to wait until midnight in game time, take exactly 10 steps forward and hear laughter for the first time. Then you need to say the sound «jay» into the gaming headset, which will once again cause laughter. After it, the controller will vibrate, and you will have to freeze in place — then a third laugh will be heard, followed by the phone ringing, opening the trailer for the never-released Silent Hills.
The developers assumed that players would need about a week to solve the puzzle. But some users completed the game much faster, albeit by accident. True, a lot of time still passed before the guides appeared.
In 2018, Big Bad Wolf studio released the interactive adventure The Council. The game turned out really well: at least for a player who is able to accept a very unexpected twist in the fourth episode. The game's strengths were the dialogue, the setting, and, of course, the puzzles. The Bible puzzle was especially successful.
According to the plot, we are looking for our mother on an island with rather mysterious owners. She left information about her hiding place in the picture with one of the apostles. Which one and where? Using clue after clue, we will get to the answer — we just need to read the Bible carefully. It will take a long time to unravel the ball of this puzzle, but you can't argue: the task turned out to be fascinating, intellectual, and even educational.
There are plenty of other great riddles in The Council, and getting them wrong can even cost you your character's hand. And the game won't end there.
Let's believe that Big Bad Wolf will return to the genre and take his mistakes into account next time.
Probably, the laurels of one of the most difficult games in history deserve to go to Silent Hill 3 with its puzzle, which cannot be completed without knowledge of the works of Shakespeare. One day, Heather will find some of the author's most popular works and will have to put them in the correct order to get the code to the door. This didn't really help the author at the time, but the developers carefully give us hints like:
The first words to your left: Pretending to be a madman while dancing, Listening only to the words, I came to the grave of my beloved — and there I truly lost my mind.
This line refers us to Hamlet, and this book should be put first. In total we have five books and five clues about their location. This is a really good problem.
I'm glad that the puzzle appears in this form only at a difficult level of difficulty. On normal and easy everything is much simpler.
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Do you have your own favorite game puzzle that deserves a place in our selection? Tell us in the comments!
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