layton and the curious village

Since the early Brain Training releases on the DS the handheld has welcomed many puzzle games, making the quest to filter simple cash-ins from truly well-developed games a little tricky. But with Layton, it will take you less than a minute to realize that the game is far beyond the reach of all those other puzzle games. It's rather unique really.

While most of these puzzle games on the DS aren't bad perse, they often lack presentation and/or uniqueness. Some of them are straight ports from existing platforms, others are juiced up versions of free online puzzle games. Only a few actually try to go beyond and manage the look and feel of a uniquely developed game.

Layton and the Curious Village is exactly that. The very core of the game is made up of 135 puzzles. Simple riddles, action puzzles or deceptive brain teasers. A pretty varied bunch of challenges that will keep you occupied for quite a while. Once your mindset is adapted to the puzzles (for me it was around 30 puzzles in the game) it does get a little easier as you'll have learned what details to look for and what pitfalls to avoid.

The developers (Level 5) could've just slapped on some nice artwork and title boards for each puzzle and left it at that, luckily they didn't. They extended the gameplay by introducing an actual, well-developed storyline and some point and click action to actually get to the puzzles. So rather than go from puzzle to puzzle, you have to stroll around the village, gather information about mysterious events and try to uncover the location of all these puzzles. And all of that while looking for the main treasure of the game.

The storyline is quite fun and engaging, with quite a few mysteries popping up early on in the game, hiding the true secret of the village. The puzzles are challenging and fun, while the harder ones can be made a little easier through the use of hint coins. Each puzzle holds tree hints, making it a little harder to get actually stuck. These hint coins are scattered throughout the village, so random clicking can help from time to time, as to uncover some extra coins.

Puzzles can be repeated if not answered correctly, though this will reduce the amount of points you'll receive for finishing them. Some extra bonus games were also included with the game, so you'll find yourself reconstructing a painting, building a strange machine and rearranging both hotel rooms of the main characters along the way. All these extra missions will lead to bonus puzzles later on.

Not only the added storyline, but also the presentation of the game makes Layton into something special. The game features a rather bold but attractive visual style and some very impressive animated sequences illustrating the adventures of our duo. Rather than showing a few static screens and basic artwork it really makes the story come to life. The music is nice too, although it can be a bit repetitive further on in the game.

Layton is a very accomplished game, mixing engaging storytelling with impeccable presentation and good puzzle fun. It might be a bit short (even though there's a weekly free-downloadable puzzle) but apart from that it's a pretty immersive and addictive little game. If only more puzzle games were like this one, can't wait to lay my hand on the sequels.

The trailer gives you a pretty good idea of what to expect.