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Judgement: Recommended

View review on Steam

My Playtime: 3.7h (100% achievement, finished the game)
Grindy Achievement(s): No.
Optional Achievement(s): No.
Difficult Achievement(s): No.

Intro
Boxes: Lost Fragments is a puzzle game that relies on intuition. You are given a box and you need to figure out how to reach the fragment inside of it. Each box has a different mechanism and puzzle to unlock, along with a different theme.

Pros:
- Hints and skip options in case you are stuck
- Gameplay is easy to understand

Cons:
- Lights can be too bright for the eye

Specs
Intel Core i5-9300H 2.40GHz, 8GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650

Should you buy this game?
Yes.
If you enjoy puzzle games where you have to figure out what to do yourself, buy it at a sale.



In-Depth Review

Visuals
The boxes in Boxes: Lost Fragments look cool with their camera position. Each level will show the box with a light shining on it, as if it's a treasure that you need to unearth. The blurred background also helped to make the visual looks more stunning. When the boxes aren't around, the environment looks great with its distinct theme, each providing a layout with some puzzles hidden within.

Story
The story is told through cards that you can pick up on some levels. The wording that is used for it can be hard to understand since it was written by a researcher. However, the wording becomes simpler as you play, although I still don't understand the full story. It seems that the game tries to end it with either an open-ended conclusion, or maybe just a room for a sequel.

The Game
Gameplay
The early game tutorial helps you to figure out what to do with the game. There aren't many things that you need to learn, especially since you need to tinker around yourself to figure out how to solve the levels. Finding a hidden button, unlocking locked doors with keys, moving things around to open its inside—well, anything goes. You won't know whether you can do something with an object unless you try it, so there is a lot of trial and error there.

Puzzles are also abundant. They are usually told without words, although it's still easy to figure out what to do just from the presentation alone. Most of them are easy, although I admit that I skipped one of them since I couldn't figure out how to solve them. Yes, there is a skip button that can help you in case you are stuck.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3449552447

It can feel like finding a needle in a haystack sometimes—you might have to find a hidden button beneath some objects that you won't expect. These tend to be the greatest blocker for me to progress the game, although luckily, the hint button helps to figure out where they are, and you won't have to wait before you can use it again.

Length and Difficulty
There are ~20 boxes to unlock, and more levels that you can solve in the game. It took me 3.7h to finish, although I spammed a lot of the hints feature because it can be hard to figure out where some objects are. The game isn't hard if you spam the skip and hint button, although it still can be challenging to solve if you try to finish the game without it.

Issues
The light can be too bright most of the time, and the game uses it a lot.

Conclusion
As a puzzle game, Boxes: Lost Fragments does its job well. I enjoy tinkering the boxes around to figure out what to do with them. Most of the time, the clues are easy enough to figure out. Furthermore, if you get stuck, the game also does a good job of guiding you with its hints and skip puzzle button. However, the game is quite short so I'd rather recommend it at a sale.

Review posted on 24/03/2025, 09:45:00.