Flightless

In order to get the most out of an atmospheric game, the players must feel like they are part of a different world throughout the playthrough, which is not an easy thing to achieve. On the other hand, it really depends on how complex the experience is, because not every game needs to be as rich as The Witcher 3 in order to keep the people engaged.

Flightless is a puzzle game in which you have to navigate mazes in order to get to the other side safely and as quickly as possible. However, there are no time limits to constrain you, so you can take as long as you need to find the perfect route. In fact, that may be the better solution, because sometimes it’s indicated to watch the level for a few minutes in order to figure out what to do.

The first few stages are fairly straightforward, given the fact that all you have to do is walk to the exit point and avoid the pits. It’s impossible to fall by walking off an edge, on the other hand, so that’s not really a constraint. However, impassable gaps appear later on, and you must find different way to bridge them in order to reach your objective on the other side.

Not only that, but enemies make an appearance later on as well, which make things a lot more difficult. Most of them patrol the maze in a pattern, so it’s important to pay attention to them for a while in order to figure out a way around them. More and more obstacles appear later on too, so you are constantly challenged by the game to come up with new ideas and solutions.

In terms of graphics, the isometric point of view is very well-chosen for this type of game, because it allows you to see most of the map and avoid any nasty surprises. The controls are very simple as well, although it might take a while to get used to the weird movement system that only works in fixed increments. The music plays its part too, but unfortunately it is not very memorable.

In the end, Flightless might be quite tough sometimes, but it can still help you relax if you do not take it too seriously. The lack of time limits really allows you take as much as you need to come up with a solution.