However, there’s generally a logic and flow to the puzzles that mean even if they’re a challenge we can usually stumble upon a step that moves us forward, which itself is usually denoted by a camera pan or victory noise. The solutions usually require a little more than that mind, with one switch opening and closing multiple doors for example. Each of the areas aren’t so large that it takes too long to explore, and each action has a tangible response i.e a switch opens a door, or a lever rotates a platform etc. This allows for some abstract and outside of the box set ups, and for the most part these are just the right side of challenging. This being tells him that he only has until midnight to find his way back out lest he be stuck in there forever, and so we set off to solve various puzzle scenarios based on his artwork. Played in first person, we control an unnamed painter after he makes a deal with a magical being to escape the horrors of WWII in Prague, 1945, by entering his paintings. Up until the last portion of Summertime Madness I was really enjoying playing. What begins as a fairly obtuse, yet still somewhat logical and enjoyable, set of puzzles turns into a frankly maddening set of hoops to jump through to progress. Summertime Madness’ title might be referencing the lose plot of war and destruction that kicks off the game, but it also doubles up as a way to encapsulate how I felt playing the title, especially towards the end.

Summertime madness game