Quern. Вечные мысли

Come for the Puzzles, Stay for the Puzzles

Quern is inspired by Myst, but you knew that or you wouldn't be here.

First thing I noticed, the environment is rather drab compared to the vibrant Myst games. But there are some moments of spectacle, and the music is very pleasant. Most of the hours on my playtime are due to leaving the game open for the ambience.

The story does just enough to pique your interest, culminating in a rather pointless final decision with no consequence.

But I play these games for the puzzles, and Quern does NOT disappoint. Banger after banger, the puzzles of Quern are creative and satisfying. I especially love how previous puzzles get re-integrated into later puzzles.

Be sure to pay VERY close attention to the environment. Several times you will find yourself stumped with no idea what to do next. There aren't seperate worlds in Quern, the entire game takes place on one island that progressively unlocks, having you criss cross back and forth until you know it like the back of your hand. Thankfully there is a map, and an option to highlight interactibles (highly recommend).

Loved it and it challenged me.

az hülye apja meg tolószékes

This game is crazy good and never ends. You think it's almost over and then you're at the half way point. Extremely good puzzles. Very Myst and Riven like, but with more inventory items. You can't fuck up or die or anything. Just pure puzzle goodness. This game is hard too.

Manages to be legitimately challenging without becoming frustrating

Compared to Myst, which this game seems to draw inspiration from, this game is appreciatively both longer and harder. It often requires pen and paper. Not too hard though, I only had to look up something once, but it was because despite looking up multiple times in the necessary area I didn't see the thing I needed to.

I like it a lot but it can be bogged down by requiring players to hunt around for what to do next.

I'm not a huge puzzle fan, so take that into account. I would say the start and the middle parts of the game were good, but it overstayed its welcome at the late stage where it became more and more difficult where I had to resort to guides to pass them despite trying my very best.

Overall I liked the music, the vibes, the ambiance, the puzzles were cute, and the story was alright. But it was a long game, the 20 hours it took me to pass felt like ages.

I would recommend

A great little atmospheric puzzle game. Some fantastic music, cool puzzle elements, and a decent smattering of world-building lore.

Even after completing the game a few times, some of the puzzles feel a bit clunky to piece the clues together. But, if you don't stop and do some workings out on paper it can end up being brute forced by guesswork. A lot of the puzzles are really good fun though, and many of them use recurring elements that you gather or improve along the way. Some of them seem a bit under-utilised, but never to the extent that it's disappointing.

My biggest gripe is the voiceovers. The letters can just be played in the background while you keep exploring, but the spirit voice that shows up partway through completely locks you down so you can't even keep moving to the next destination. Plus, a few spots in the story have voiceover "prompts" to do something or make a choice, but they come absolutely rapid-fire which can be a bit jarring for the otherwise calm and tranquil experience of the game.

I love the MYST games and this one is very similar. Very intuitive and fun.

One of the best Myst-clones I've ever played, and I've played many. It avoids a lot of the pitfalls others have fallen into, and I found it really satisfying

Great Game

Yes, this game shamelessly steals from the Myst series. But so far, it measures up well in every aspect except the narrative. The look, complexity, and most importantly, the puzzles of this world impress me. There's just not much imagination or drama in the storytelling.

Lots of ingenious puzzles, be prepared to spend sometime thinking!

Extremely similar to Myst in its conceit, this game involves the player wandering around a deserted island unraveling clues and puzzles left by a previous inhabitant.

Quern contains two main types of puzzles. One type of puzzle is strictly logical, where you encounter a device and have to figure out its rules to get past it. These are almost uniformly well-constructed and satisfyingly difficult without being unfair. (There is one sound-based puzzle that I had trouble with, though that might be the fault of my hearing more than the game.)
The other type of puzzle is a type of lock, where you need to use the correct tool in the correct location to proceed. I got stuck on a couple of these (always because I'd simply overlooked the key or the lock), and it's somewhat frustrating to repeated walk back and forth across the island trying to figure out what you haven't noticed before. Overall, though, the game is beautifully constructed and it's well worth the investment.
I should also note that I am finally playing the game some four years after originally purchasing it, because it would not run on my original computer and only a recent upgrade allowed me to play it. The game seems to be more resource-hungry than it seems like it should be.
9/10

A fantastic first person adventure game.
I've had Quern in my library for quite a few years, but I cancelled my first attempts to play because it didn't run smoothly. Now I've tried it again with a newer computer. And I'm glad I did.
What a beautiful journey this was.

Positives:
- The overall atmosphere is great.
- The puzzles are varied, not illogical and are usually fun to solve.
- They mostly are also not too difficult (I was able to crack everything without help - although it really took a while in some places).

Negatives
- Some puzzles, especially in the Deep Underground, were quite annoying and time-consuming.
- Sometimes there was a lot of running back and forth - luckily you can run quickly.
- The music wasn't really my cup of tea. Not as atmospheric as in other games. It felt really repetitiv as it plays constantly and changes the track when you get to different places. As you are running back and fourth quite often, you always get to hear the same bits of music over and and over. The soundtrack could have either be more ambient-like or the music just comes on whenever you make progress, for example. That would have been much better imo.

I'm looking forward to Dimhaven and hope that the developers pay more attention to a balanced performance this time.

Extremely well done. Puzzles are logical and make sense, and they did a good job making areas interesting by going back to some of the same places previously visited to find new things later as the game progresses. A lot packed into a somewhat compact area.

Was so confused for the first few hours until something just clicked...

I think this game might be the closest any developer has ever gotten to capturing the essence of what made Myst so good. Quern is a fantastic puzzle game that I recommend anyone wanting to test their skills should play. No two puzzles are the same and some of them will really push you to your limits. Highly recommend.

fun and good game

Quern is an incredibly atmospheric, challenging, escape-room type game. It is set up like an escape room on purpose--a character in the game has set up a linear collection of puzzles for you solve, revealing bits of story as you reach new areas and go deeper into the world. If I could play an escape room like this IRL I would be over the moon--it's so cool! And the puzzles are really fun to solve. The music is really cool too--I actually listen to the soundtrack on its own all the time. It can be a little overbearing in a few rooms, though, so if I was taking extra long to solve a specific puzzle or needed more concentration, I would turn the volume down or pull my headphones off for a spell.

Personally, I don't think the endings are obviously split into a "good" ending and a "bad" ending, even if it seems like the game favors one over the other. It's really up to you what you think is the better choice.

I recommend immediately turning on the setting that makes the objects you can interact with sparkle--otherwise you might end up pixel hunting a bit. The puzzles can be difficult, but the game gives you all the information you need to solve them (no moon logic). There were a few times early on that I got impatient and looked up hints, but if I had just been a little more patient, and wandered around looking for clues again, I don't think I would have needed any hints. (Except one time I had the right solution, but mirror-image... I would never have figured that out on my own...) That being said, you should play the game however feels right to you. If finding the solutions on your own is oh-so-satisfying, then be patient, and play the game in small chunks so you don't get overwhelmed or frustrated. If getting stuck on a puzzle makes you put a game down forever, then look up hints when you need to! Because the game is definitely worth playing through to the end.

EDIT

I thought of one more thing! If you have two monitors, it's easier to screenshot clues that you're working from and open them on your second monitor than to use the in-game photo feature. You could also take pictures of them with your phone.

Decent puzzle game, somewhat similar to The Room 2 and The Room 3.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Very nice, remembers to MYST

Really Cool puzzles. I love the way It loops in on itself

Good game, poor ending, poor performance optimization.

I was only able to get 100fps at any given point in this game which is kind of wild for a game from 2016. My 4070 and i9 setup should not have any issues running this and it struggles at many points.

The puzzles in this were a lot of fun and pretty reasonably contained in size, where games like myst or riven can feel like a lot more of a pixel finder comparatively. You get a nice feature which allows you to create particles around interactables which goes a long way for games like this which paint them into the scenes very well.

The movement mechanics and puzzle interaction was usually pretty good and intuitive, with logic helping in figuring out what most of them were without outside help.

The largest downsides to this game is the audio mixing, which is extremely loud for certain ambient sounds like boards creaking or chasm echoes(? not sure what this sound is actually called it just feels large), and the ending. I felt the entire game had a somewhat interesting plot but the ending shoehorns you into the "good" ending with guilt but never provides a great reason to that good ending. Maybe if there was some form of post portal scene that shows the consequences of your choice I'd care more but as of now it felt like a massive lack of reward for finishing the game.

Solid puzzle game. No extreme leaps of logic.

You want to buy it? You must really like puzzles
If you want a quick game, or to finish it on a weekend, this is not for you, this game requieres to be patient, some puzzles are very hard, sometimes you will need to be looking all over the place for a missing piece, it can be frustrating, but if you like old school hard puzzles that are a real challenge, this is for you

Sometimes you will need to use a papaer, or some external means to help you with the puzzles, this can be bad or good depending on your taste, for me it was kind of a nostalgic experience that I enjoyed.

This is a awesome game for puzzles, the design is really good, everything comes full circle, everything is connected, and I really like it, many times you will be at a place you feel it was over, and then you will have new things to discover, it's hard but it´s also rewarding.

You spend most of your time on a kind of circular map, and there is obviously backtracking, but the map is easy to navigate, you will visit the same places over and over, but everything keeps changing.

The story was okay, a moral dilemma of sorts, not the most complex stuff, but the level design is the best, you can se they put a lot of love and effort into it

Chef's Kiss

This game was EXACTLY what I was looking for in a mystery game. So puzzling. So unique and still derivative. The story was great. The gameplay was smooth. The visuals were shiny and pleasing. And the voice acting. THE VOICE ACTING. That was some phenomenal work. I really believe they both need more work in voice acting (if they don't have it already) cause they were GREAT.

Overall, I really, really enjoyed this game and I highly recommend it to other puzzlers like me.

A beautiful and intriguing game for lovers of puzzle-story rich games such as Myst, The House of DaVinci, and The Room. Playing through the game takes a decent amount of time (It took me 11.6 hours), so it's work the money. There are varying degrees of challenges, from quite simple to fairly difficult. I admit I cheated and read a walkthrough for a puzzle or two, but probably wouldn't have if I'd had a notepad nearby and taken the time to work things out myself. I played on my MacBook Pro with M3 Max chip with 36g memory...it ran beautifully.

Great adventure/puzzle game. Nothing too hard that I had to look up hints, but I had to think and revisit areas. Very fun.

Very well done, puzzles are challenging but fair so far. Enjoying it a lot.

Really solid Myst-like puzzler. There were only a couple points where I got really frustrated, otherwise it was good clean fun.

The story/writing felt a bit weak at times, but that's a minor issue. The main point of the game is the puzzles, and the puzzles are really very good.

This was my first playthrough of a Myst-style puzzle game, and overall I was satisfied. If it's on sale, give it a shot.

+Pros, -Cons, and ~Notes

+ You can probably complete the game without outside help (I did), but I did make use of in-game hints...

~ ...although most of the hints tell you things you probably already know.

+ The puzzles are generally fair to the player, and you are given all the tools and knowledge to solve them whether you realize it or not.

~ There isn't really a difficulty ramp in the game. In fact, one of the first real puzzles (the block sliding puzzle) is one of the hardest in the game.

- Certain puzzles have too many moving parts and are probably more effective to randomly press buttons to find the solution, but they don't take too long.

+ The notebook is a unique feature that helps you avoid outside note-taking...

- ...but the melody repeat puzzle basically requires you to write it down IRL.

- I wish it was a little longer. You can reach the ending in 10 hours if you don't make some of the dumb mistakes I made.

- Most of the puzzle mechanics seem underutilized. Some of them show up a few times but most get forgotten...

+ ...however the mechanics that are used many times tie into the story in a delightful way.

+ The story is fine and unintrustive to enjoying the game...

- ...but there is one long, unskippable cutscene.

~ There's a lot of walking/running between locations, but you can go between most places in under a minute.

+ The secret achievements are not too hard to get. Once you find one of them, you basically know how to get the other two.

good puzzle game

Lots of puzzles.

It's a must for "difficult" puzzle lovers. The world in which you evolve looks big at first but is actually reasonably sized, so there is not too much going back and force, there si sime though...

It's truly not always obvious what to do next or where to go. There are hints but they are kind of random.

Some of the puzzles are simply excellent, several involve multiple steps, it can make things very challenging.

Without a walkthrough this will feel direly difficult at times.

Would I recommend the game, wholeheartedly, It's a must for those that love these kinds of puzzle adventures.

If you like Myst, Riven The Room etc then get this , you'll love it. Just don't expect it to be a breeze...

The puzzles were fun and occasionally challenging. The atmosphere is excellent and the music is good.

Satisfying Myst-Like.

Sound puzzles partially offset by visual info or inventory hints... except one near end game which (far as I can tell) was audible only; would like to see that with optional subtitles for accessibility.

I'm an old fan of Myst games. This one follows them in a very similar style. Very well done and nice quality.

This is a great puzzle game in the tradition of Myst. The puzzles are well developed. There's a strong sense of direction, which I like, as the game guides you along the path of solving the challenges without giving away the solutions.

Kinda Myst / Riven like, it's ok. However the puzzles are convoluted & don't feel 'real' in the world. Whereas Myst & Riven the puzzles feel natural and more believable & understandable, I had to rely on a walkthrough to help me get un-lost which from convoluted puzzles that break the flow enjoyment.

The world feels familiar like Riven, which is nice. I don't understand the narrator of why he "must make us take this page". The narrator is a bit cruel to leave so many shortcut doors locked with keys hidden in convoluted ways for no reason aside to make a puzzle game. I feel like I'm just in a maze instead of a world. i suppose I should suspend belief and enjoy the puzzles more than the narration.

World 7/10
Narration & Story 5/10
Puzzles 5/10

It was fun and challenging to solve puzzles. Storytelling / lore was good enough too.

I had a great time playing Quern. It scratches the exact itch left after having played Myst and Riven remakes. QoL features makes the gameplay much more enjoyable than both games.

I love that the Myst genre is making a come back. There are a few out there and if you want scienticif and esoteric puzzles this is a good one. Plus it's indie - support the little guy. The game is calming, so if you need to step away and just vide and solve things it's a great way to do it.

Overall I liked it. Some of the puzzles were really difficult and convoluted. I am not sure how you would ever manage to work they out (I needed help). Still it was fun even trying to work them out, gets that left brain working.

**disclaimer: I played about 4 of my 6 total hours offline, so the hours are wrong. i have more experience than shown**

I do like this game, but couldn't finish it. Why? Put simply, I don't like the puzzles. The game has a cool atmosphere, solid visual style, intriguing-enough story, a nice open world design with the potential to expand, and solid fundamentals. But its puzzles are not very fun for me personally.
You get little to no direction during your playthrough, having to basically dissect what it is you need to be doing on your own. This wouldn't be all that bad, and isn't early game, if the game didn't get so complex and open pretty quickly. Your inventory gets super full and hard to navigate really quickly, and you end up just running around the map in circles in a mundane effort to figure out what you need to do next.
While it is, at the end of the day, totally up to a person's preference, I believe that if the game had more open-ended puzzles with stronger solution direction, it would be a great game. As it stands now, though, I have a hard time recommending it and/or finishing it. I got about halfway through the game and then decided to set it down because I felt really directionless and lost, overwhelmed by my massive inventory and stupid number of 'things' to try. I also have other games I am trying to get to and will just often set down games when I am not enjoying them.
As a final verdict, this is a solid game. It has its fundamentals down and has a really nice atmosphere with a solid amount of polish. However, I can only recommend it to you if you are okay with the really 'trial and error'-ey type of puzzle games. My girlfriend loves this game and she is really smart, so she might be doing something that I don't fully understand, but I just found the puzzles to be really frustrating and mundane to complete. I am shelving the game for now, I might come back later. But as of right now, I give this game a rating of 3/5 stars: 'good, but missable'.

My notes while playing the game:

Sights/Sounds:
-Took a solid amount of configuration to get working on my steam deck,
-but runs at a solid 40 frames on medium setting
-Game looks great with impressive looking levels
-Sound design is crisp, music is there. Nothing necessarily positive or negative pertaining to sound at first glance

Gameplay:
-Basic puzzle game controls; works well
-Very little guidance within the puzzles; you must exhaust all of your options to figure out how to solve each puzzle (which can be a little exhausting but is not necessarily bad)
-Solid open world design. Nothing particularly good, but has a nice, clear, growing layout
-Solving puzzles can be frustrating during the process because of thelack of direction, but it feels pretty good when you solve it

Narrative/Story:
-The concept of being on an island with a scientist’s secrets to discover isn’t particularly creative, but is executed well
-Happy to have the voice acting

Fine Hungarian craftsmanship

Gameplay is very reminiscent of older puzzle games like Myst, which is great for learned folk but could be lots of running around aimlessly for the rest. The ambiance and graphics are great. Nothing to say other than its a great puzzle game that should be played.

I won't give out any game details but I'll talk generally. I just finished Quern, and I loved it. It felt very much like Myst and Riven which is an incredible compliment. There were a wide variety of puzzles, and game had some mechanics that enhanced the game play that even the old Myst games didn't have. I kept wanting to solve the puzzles to get further in the game. If you like exploration puzzle games like the Myst games, you need to play this game.

If you like puzzles, definitely worth a try. I've enjoyed it till the end.

A great adventure game with excellent graphics. One has to use logic and puzzle solving abilities.

I SURELY WOULD AND I HOPE YOU DO ANOTHER ONE EVEN BETTER THANK YOU ALL FOR THE FUN AND THE ADVENTURE FOR ALL OF US MARRY CHRISTMAS AND I GREAT NEW YEAR WITH YOUR LOVED FAMILIES