Bastion
LQ: 9.15
Recommended Age: 10+
Skills Used: Planning, Working Memory, Mathematics, Reading
Quell: Memento is a zen puzzle game where players help restore a collection of jumbled memories in an old abandoned home by completing a variety of puzzles. Each level presents a “maze” he must navigate, while achieving certain goals in the process. Objectives change throughout the levels to always provide a fresh and exciting challenge. The game provides over 150 unique puzzles of manageable – but challenging – difficulty. Quell: Memento does not contain any inappropriate content and although it can be tricky and difficult, it is not so demanding that it can’t be enjoyed by younger players. Therefore, the game is recommended for players six and older.
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Adapting and adjusting to changing conditions and expectations.
Movement in Quell: Memento is somewhat unconventional. Once the player sets the raindrop in motion, he cannot stop it at will. The raindrop will only stop moving once it hits an object or a wall. This makes traveling around the maze somewhat more challenging than if the player had complete control. Also, the raindrop can go off the edge of the screen to reach the other side. Using a little mental Flexibility, where he stretches his mind and thinks unconventionally about how to get around, is the best way to approach the unusual nature of movement in the game. Furthermore, new levels and chapters provide unique challenges. Some levels have one-time-use gates that lock immediately after they are passed through, while others need bulbs turned on to a specific color before the level can be finished. Certain levels may contain spikes that have to be avoided while maneuvering about. Sometimes the player even gets a "companion" (a second raindrop) to help reach the goal. Essentially, no two levels are the same. Which means that the player's approach to the levels should not be the same either! He will find success (and perfect scores) when he works on thinking outside of the box, for navigating the raindrop and problem solving. Changing game conditions, like needing a battery to turn on the bulbs (when it wasn't necessary in previous levels), require new or adjusted strategies in order to overcome the new problem. Sometimes the new solution will be more obvious than the next, but as a general rule, he will have more trouble making progress in the game when he fails to actively contemplate different ways to handle the ever-changing situations within Quell: Memento.
Developing a systematic approach for setting and achieving goals.
Often, a wrong move means the puzzle cannot be finished and has to be restarted. One reason is because of the unconventional nature of the raindrop's movement and how it must be cleverly navigated about the maze. Another reason for this is the gate mechanisms. A gate can only be passed through once and then locks forever, with nothing able to exit or enter. Mapping out a step by step plan for navigating through the level not only saves moves (to help him get a perfect score) but also prevents him from making moves that will get him stuck and force a restart. This forethought assists him in making meaningful moves that help him reach the level's goal. Another area of the game where Planning skills are very useful is on the "Illumination" levels that require bulbs to be lit up as a certain color before the level is won. Every time a raindrop passes over bulbs, the color of the bulbs change to match the raindrop. Forethought becomes necessary when there are two colored raindrops. The player may have lit the bulbs to blue lights as required, but if he passes over the blue bulbs with his gold raindrop, the bulbs turn gold and must be changed back with the blue raindrop. Without mentally planning out the next couple of steps (at the least) before making a move, he will have a much harder time not only finishing the level at all, but also completing it with a perfect score (based on total number of moves).
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