Puzzle Me This: Boxes - Lost Fragments
A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, and boxed for pleasure.
‣ Boxes: Lost Fragments
From: Big Loop Studios, Snapbreak
Platforms: PC
Release: September 2023
Steam Link • Demo Video
Puzzle boxes have entertained people for a very long time. Well-to-do types used them to amuse royals and aristocrats, presenting highly-crafted and expensive puzzle boxes as gifts. Us plebeians had to make do with more practical versions: trick boxes used to hide tools or money. Sadly, in today's rushed world of mass manufacturing, the puzzle box has become even rarer, and the closest most of us got recently is to watch The Glass Onion.
But Big Loop Studios plan to change that with Boxes: Lost Fragments, a beautiful game where you figure out the hidden tricks of an ornate box. Move around the box, poking and prodding as you discover hidden objects and drawers, opening more mysteries. It's relaxing and always gratifying when you uncover a new element that takes you a step forward. We may not be kings or medieval artisans, yet Boxes: Lost Fragments looks set to give us a puzzle box experience that would be the envy of any royal court.
Explore The Game with Youtube Chapters:
📽 00:24 Select a box: Choose your challenge.
📽 00:36 Let's begin: A little inspection.
📽 01:14 First object: What does this do?
📽 01:52 Something's missing: What goes in here?
📽 02:36 A hidden drawer!: We’re making progress.
📽 03:42 A few turns: Not too difficult.
📽 04:11 Something we missed: A second take discovery.
📽 05:27 Slot and pull: Feel the motion.
📽 06:22 Finally, a key!: Keys are always good.
📽 07:32 A tricky puzzle: A little mind bender for the finale.
📽 09:47 Success!: The box has been vanquished.
AIIG's Take: Big Loop Studios are veterans at creating lush puzzle games, several of which are available on Steam. They all have an exploration puzzle element, such as the lush-looking Doors: Paradox, where you explore puzzle dioramas. Boxes: Lost Fragments takes a similar approach but focuses more exclusively on puzzle boxes. Yet these are no ordinary trick boxes, hiding secrets and surprises that might be impossible to create in the real world.
Our video solves the first of two puzzles in the demo, and if this whets your appetite, grab the demo on Steam and try the second box. They are rendered in stunning 3D with great attention to detail and backed by a calming soundtrack. Interactions are physical and visceral as you manually drag levers and rotate cogs with mouse movements. Judging by Big Loop's previous games, we can expect many more such puzzles in the final game, with innovative puzzles and fun animations. Granted, the first puzzle in the demo is straightforward. But this studio's past games suggest things can become very challenging. We're psyched to play the final game when it's released in September this year.
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