If you have any experience of the London rental market, there is only one way you can react to a game – a French game, no less, the product of a country where two-bedroom flats apparently grow on trees – that promises to abandon you in a sprawling maze of apartments. “Haha, okay for some!” you sneer helplessly, having freed yourself from the laundry basket and retrieved your trousers from the fridge. “I bet mazes have more than one window,” you sob, as you once again grapple with the problem of opening the front door without becoming part of the wall.
If you’ve ever experienced the London rental market, you’re probably reading this thinking, “It’s got a front door? How extravagant. I live in a folded umbrella.” Touché, my friend. I suppose it’s a good thing we have spaciously proportioned first-person puzzle adventures to console us in this time of elbow bruises, rising damp and absurd financial debt. On that score, Looking For Fael sounds like fun.
Watch on YouTube
Created by Swing Swing Submarine and published by ARTE, this is a first-person Myst 'em up, Witness-a-lot and/or Fez-alike (the developers' own stated influences, as well as 90s fantasy films) in which you wake up one day to a phone call from your friend Fael, who has gotten lost in his own apartment. As you go looking for him, you discover that your own apartment and its surroundings have become a maze. Good thing you remember your handheld console, which is legally separate from the Game Boy Advance SP.
“To open all the doors and corridors, and access some rooms, players will have to use their brains and solve many mysteries, using the GameLeaf, an intriguing retro portable console that will help them complete the levels,” explains the press release. “Each game is a piece of the puzzle that brings players closer to the truth about Fael’s disappearance.”
“Experimentation is at the heart of the experience, and players will need to pay close attention and interact with the setting, as every detail matters, from picture frames to seemingly uninteresting furniture, everything can be a clue to solving a puzzle,” the statement continues. “The world of the apartment is full of surprises, and players will need to think outside the box to progress. As they solve Fael’s mysterious disappearance, players will also need to question the very nature of reality.”
Thinking outside the box? I just wish I had a box to think in. You'd have to pay £2,500 a month for the privilege of visiting these parts, and you'd have to bring your own lid. Anyway, you can read more about Fael's activities on Steam . The game will be released in 2025. The obvious comparison here is Blue Prince, which takes a more board game-like direction, without any retro handheld consoles to speak of.