At first glance, GNOG is a bright splash of colors and upbeat musical tones. Take a few steps further in, and you’re greeted by a whimsical point and click puzzle game, with no help, tips or directions given to you at all.
You’re given puzzle boxes (or heads) of sorts to solve. You can flip them to look at the front and back, and angle around to inspect the sides. The boxes can be opened to reveal more details inside. Almost everything can be interacted with by moving the cursor using the controller. GNOG is presented in a very colorful manner, with flashing bright lights across the screen, and clicking on many different spots on the puzzle box usually leads to them moving or changing. And they are complimented by a fantastic dynamic soundtrack which also responds to your clicks.
The lights and sounds are often the only indication that you’re making any progress through the puzzle. The solution to most, if not all, of the puzzles are rarely anything logical. You’re encouraged to play around, shifting the lights and the music, with an emphasis on taking your time and enjoying the moment. And that is my favorite part of GNOG. I never felt any urgency to complete the puzzles, instead preferring to absorb the profusion of visual and aural display. Often I would stumble upon clues and solutions taking me to the end of the puzzle just by clicking on whatever felt right at the moment. There’s definitely a sense of trial and error, but with the constant feedback from the game, I never got weary of it.
GNOG feels almost like a great toy, and like any great toy, the aim is never to be done with it, but to tinker around and make your own fun out of it. The game is also playable on PSVR, which is an absolute barrage of audio-visual artistry washing over you. And having the puzzles in a more 3D environment, as VR allows, is an even more enjoyable experience. It’s a small game, easily beatable in a single playthrough, but I wouldn’t recommend rushing through it.
GNOG is the kind of game I like to sit back and relax with after a long day at work. Sure, it asks you to use your ‘gnoggin’, however, for the most part simply paying attention to the environments and going with the flow will be enough to solve even the trickiest puzzles GNOG has to offer. And the presentation is one of the most pleasing ones I have ever seen in any video game. Just give GNOG a chance, call over a loved one to play along with you, and you’re sure to have more than just a few laughs and smiles.
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