Quern: Undying Thoughts

Summary

Quern: Undying Thoughts is a first-person puzzler created by Zadbox Entertainment. The game follows the player, who has been exiled and trapped in another world by a scientist who was once trapped in the same way. In a game that holds elements from both classic science fiction and mythological tales, Quern challenges the player with a rich host of intriguing puzzles.

Assessment

Quern: Undying Thoughts is a game packed to the brim with intriguing puzzles, ranging in complexity, style, type, and intuitiveness. While the focus of the game is primarily the puzzles, there is also a slight storytelling element, pitting the player between a power-enthusiastic scientist and the spirit-guardian of the island.

Overall the game is clean. There are some pseudo-mystical elements — particularly with Gamana — but the game is very much set in its own universe with different laws of physics and dimensional hopping. There is no cussing, violence, or adult themes.

Light-o-Meter

Overall — 5 out of 7 Little Lights

• Mechanics: 6 out of 7 Little Lights

• Story: 6 out of 7 Little Lights

• Artwork: 5 out of 7 Little Lights

• Music: 5 out of 7 Little Lights

• Quality: 6 out of 7 Little Lights

• Theological Message: N/A

Age Appropriateness — Appropriate for intended audience (everyone).

Talk

Disclaimer: I thought this game was going to be a lot shorter than it was and so I thought I was going to be able to finish it in a timely manner but, er, that was not going to happen (I’m also slooooooooow as molasses in wintertime when it comes to puzzle games). So I put in a few hours, then watched a walkthrough, just to make sure nothing weird popped up in the game, storywise!

My first thought with this game is that it is a ton of fun and a great, intellectual chew. I thought the puzzles were varied and interesting enough to keep from feeling like it was the same thing over and over again. There were also a few different styles including number, music, light, and geometry puzzles — sometimes all combined together into one section or room of the game.

There was a story present, but it was pretty minimal compared to the rest of the game. The player collects letters from the scientist who stranded them in this dimension while also communicating with the island’s spirit-guardian, who pops in every so often. Both sides attempt to sway the player towards their line of thinking, which is really interesting.

The game doesn’t really have an overarching theological message. There are a few pseudo-mystical or mystical elements woven into the story, but they have no impact on the actual gameplay. The island’s crystal-based power system is presented more as “weird technology” or “new laws of physics”, rather than anything mystical or magical. The only kind of spiritualism comes from the spirit-guardian, but even that is more related to her backstory and definitely not some kind of message the game is trying to push.

Overall, I think this game is delightful and a very fun way for Christians to exercise one of the most wonderful things that God has given them: their minds!