Nukezilla Review: Puzzle Agent 2

Our last visit to the small hamlet of Scoggins, Minnesota, was a weird one. The first Puzzle Agent consisted of an FBI agent by the name of Nelson Tethers tasked with visiting the village and finding out why the eraser factory that supplies the White House with mistake-fixers suddenly closed down.

What started off as a simple mystery grew larger and out of proportion: the town was filled with puzzle-crazy citizens, Nelson was almost killed by a chainsaw-wielding villager, and he even ran into a cult of gnome-worshippers. Then there was a break in the case, and Nelson was sent back to HQ with no word on the disappearance of the eraser factory’s foreman. For everyone but Nelson Tethers, the case was closed.

Some time has passed since the events in Scoggins, but nothing seems to have resolved. So Agent Tethers has decided to take some time off and return to Scoggins to find the foreman, solve the case, and figure out if the gnomes really exist in Puzzle Agent 2.

Scoggins is just the same as when Nelson left it; the hokey townsfolk are still puzzle-obsessed and secretive, the sheriff’s still incompetent, and everything gives off a Twin Peaks vibe. Artist Graham Annable’s chalk-like animations are just as gorgeous as ever, capturing the whimsy of the small, mysterious Minnesota town. There’s a lot of character given to each of the townspeople, due mainly to the way they’re drawn.

The story this time around deals with a lot more crazy elements. If you come into this game expecting anything other than weirdness around every turn, then you’re not paying attention. Nelson, over the course of the game, runs into murderous astronauts, an equation for lunacy, more gnomes and cult members, and a man who doesn’t even exist. I love a good, satisfying, weird, tale, and PA2‘s story doesn’t disappoint.

Though we revisit the same area, we do get to experience some new characters, including a sociologist who has been studying the eccentric townspeople for years and a love interest for Nelson. The love interest, one Korka Teterdottir, is as lovely as she is puzzle-obsessed, and catches Agent Tethers’ eye the moment he steps into her puzzle-themed abode. Their interactions are fun to watch, but are limited to only a couple of pivotal scenes. For all the good things I can say about the story, I feel that this relationship could’ve been examined further and added another romantically-inclined facet to Nelson’s character.

Normally a game like this would have to stand on its puzzles to be good. That’s not the case here, as the story is yet again fantastic and crazy, but the puzzles come up short.

As occurred in the last game, puzzles come in all shapes and varieties. The 33 included puzzles range from guiding Nelson through a dark room to math complex enough to stump most high school kids. Some of the puzzles from the last game come back (cutting open doors and redirecting light paths with mirrors), and those puzzles are generally the ones that you see most often in different variations throughout the game.

These are the puzzles that tend to be the easiest. Actually, most of the puzzles here are pretty easy. Each puzzle is rated on a ten-star performance scale once you’re done, depending on how many wrong answers you gave and how many hints (pieces of gum; they help Nelson think better) you used to solve it. I can count on one hand the number of puzzles I didn’t get ten stars on.

Again, the lack of polish in the puzzles isn’t enough to derail this game, as the story is entertaining enough to support the game. Unlike last time, the game ends in a pretty satisfying manner, with less of a cliffhanger and more an allusion to what the next game might have in store for us. If this entry is a taste of what’s to come in the Puzzle Agent world, I’m excited to see what’s in store later on in the series. As long as we get some better puzzles.

Disclosure: We were sent a review copy of this game from Telltale Games.