By Kevin (@prufesuroak)

• Device 6
• Developer - Simogo Handelsbolag
• Publisher - Simogo Handelsbolag
• iOS
• Rating - N/A

*Disclaimer: If you’re looking for a good fun game, don’t bother reading this and buying this game; if you’re looking to be challenged and feel smart then by all means get this.*

Device 6 is described as a “text-adventure” though it’s not really all that. It’s mostly a mystery novel, with visuals and on a backlit screen. But nonetheless I like the idea of having a mystery novel feel, with cinematic noir imagery every now and then.

Right off the Bat the game starts out with an old feel-y, noir-y, spy action-y opening credit scene, which was right up my alley. But don’t just glance through the neat looking imagery, they are as part of the game as the novel is. It’s a different kind of game, it’s not something you pick up and just turn on, you need to get involved in this. You are controlling it, your brain is solving this. This one of those few games that I have played and actually took a notebook out and wrote down notes. I wrote down notes to help me solve this damn game.

Without revealing too much of the story, you start the game and it seems like you’re following the story of Anna (play it and you’ll find out what I mean by “seems like”) who wakes up in a mysterious island where everything looks like it came from an old spy movie Hollywood set. You’ve got this novel and you use it as the map to navigate through the island.

But as hard as these puzzles are (some are relatively easy) they challenge you and keep you interested (hell if I’ll let an iOS game beat me). Like the previous game I reviewed Monument Valley it’s a puzzle, but of a different breed. While Monument Valley is a visual puzzle, you can really blaze through the chapters with just simple trial and error. This game won’t let you. You need to think clearly, you need to analyze words, you need to remember things. You can’t actually just keep swiping away like a monkey, you’ve got to do it for real.

And not only do you need to play the game for you, you’ve got to do physical things too, like actually standing up and going to the closest mirror and reading text from the mirror, or having to lay the device you’re playing on flat… And all this this is what I quite liked about Device 6. It had good aesthetics (I’m a sucker for dark dark noir), it had the mystery, it was unique, it was challenging enough and it was satisfying to finish.

*how many times did i say noir?