More games like Quern?

[momycat5]

I compare every game to Quern, and of all the games I've played, I would say that this is the best escape/puzzle type game I have every played, even better than Myst/Riven/Myst III. Those were good, though! As was Obduction. But I feel like there aren't a whole lot of games even close. Eyes of Aura, Escape World Dilemma, Aporia, and The Room were good, but not great like Quern. There is an internet escape game by Neutral called Elements that probably has the most interesting puzzles of all internet based escape games. But if yall have any suggestions, plz comment here. I would love another one like Quern.

[DonaldM75]

I've not yet completed Quern since I just started it this week. But, as much as I enjoy it, I have to disagree. The MYST series is more than a game. It is an entire story. What is so great about MYST is that the story unfolds with each game, and within each game. The concept of entire ages being accessed through linking books that describe them is ingenious. One of the best concepts ever. If you haven't done so, I'd highly recommend reading the three Myst novels. They provide even more depth to the story. Myst would make a fabulous TV series!

[momycat5]

Originally posted by DonaldM75:

I've not yet completed Quern since I just started it this week. But, as much as I enjoy it, I have to disagree. The MYST series is more than a game. It is an entire story. What is so great about MYST is that the story unfolds with each game, and within each game. The concept of entire ages being accessed through linking books that describe them is ingenious. One of the best concepts ever. If you haven't done so, I'd highly recommend reading the three Myst novels. They provide even more depth to the story. Myst would make a fabulous TV series!

Yeah I know what you mean DonaldM75. I should have said that I enjoyed Quern better than the others. But my question remains, what other games like Quern can I play? Are there any that you liked that are similar to Quern?

[hume13]

Not similar to Quern, but if you love puzzles than try "The witness".

[SF]

Having just finished Quern, I'd say that it built admirably on Myst's bones. Myst's story is much better, but Quern's puzzles are better. Myst has this tendency of "once you finish an area/puzzle you don't really ever go back". I appreciated how layered the beginning of Quern was, making me go back to the telescope and alchemy over and over. The second half felt much more Myst-like.

Try "The Room" series if you're looking for more games like this. (Four installments so far!)
Eyes of Ara is...tangentially related. more pixel-hunty.

[Songbird]

If you would like exploring a world solving largely self-contained puzzles, some of which rely on figuring out a symbol "language" and others of which require carefully observing the world and the environment or thinking outside of the box, I have to also highly recommend The Witness. Note that there is basically nothing in the way of story in this game; you are just on an island with many puzzles left for you to solve for the sake of enjoying the act of solving them.

If you enjoy the exploration and discovery aspect of the game and want a game where you discover the story and objectives as you go, with much of the puzzles being in how to progress through the environment and with answers that may be hidden elsewhere, you may enjoy Outer Wilds. I absolutely loved my experience with this game and figuring it out bit by bit. However, it does require you to grow comfortable with zero-G concepts (e.g. moving in three dimensions and not naturally deaccelerating in any direction) and platforming using a jetpack, which can be a barrier for some pure puzzle gamers.

[josealb77]

The Talos Prnciple.
Is THE BEST game in this genre. May not be as pure enigma typo as Quern, It's more like Portal series... but, man, the beautifullness of the skies, the ambient in the "open" world, visually has no competitor. Portal feels like too much imprisioned in a factory, thats not beautiful. And the controls in The Talos Principle are refined until perfection.

For me The Talos Principle is the reference in this kind of games. But I'm still enjoying Quern as hell. There's no point on confronting eache other. I'm enjoying both. Both are my kind of videogames.

The las one I tried was "MIND Path to Thalamus". Is not so good. It's more amateur,,, I didn't liked too much... but it's this kind of games.

Just to tell about them: Cogs (Pure puzzle solving), Opus Magnus (Alquimia), Security Hole (more about tridimensional and spatial intelligence).

[siskax07]

If it is puzzle games with exploration (and no narrative) you're interested in, I can highly recommend 'The witness' and all the 'Rhem' games.

[BBQ]

A bit late, but if you like Quern and it's puzzles, you might be interested in Haven Moon too.
Felt a lot like Myst.

[~ K a g u r a ~]

If you have a cell phone (and most people do) there are a group of 5 Myst / Quern-like games on there called "XON". They cost a couple dollars each, but they are worth the money. They are the only Myst-like game on cellphones that successfully captures the spirit of the genre. While I feel The Room is a "better" game, "XON" is an actual puzzle game that requires understanding the environment and how to manipulate mechanisms within it. It's not just a "learn what to slide, pull, and tap on" game like The Room series is (although the VR version of The Room is absolutely brilliant and I must recommend).

Speaking of VR, if you have VR, there are soooo many avenues open to you. VR is where games like Myst always wanted to exist in the first place, and you can find many options open to you on Steam VR. I won't go into details since I'm unsure if you have VR, but if you do, be sure to check out the new Myst remake. It's now VR compatible, and it looks breathtaking regardless of whether you're on a Quest 2, Vive, or Index.

If you don't have VR, be sure to grab it. If you have the money, go for a Valve Index. A Vive would also suffice. Don't be lured in by the Oculus' low price point. It fails to manage itself in the same way the Valve devices do, and it's under the control of Facebook (which, of course, puts you at the mercy of the "Zuckerberg" model Cyberdyne android. Don't be fooled, he is actually a Terminator in disguise!).

Hope that helps =)

~Julia

[FlangEG]

I know I'm quite late but if you want a game similar to Quern, get Obduction, Layers of Fear, or Observer Redux.

Fun Facts;

Obduction was produced by many of the same people who did Myst and Riven. Robyn miller hemself did the music.

The voice for Detective Daniel Lazarski in Observer is Rutger Hauer who is also known for acting as Roy Batty in Blade Runner 1982, Lazarski is even modeled after Hauer.

[momycat5]

Originally posted by Songbird:

If you would like exploring a world solving largely self-contained puzzles, some of which rely on figuring out a symbol "language" and others of which require carefully observing the world and the environment or thinking outside of the box, I have to also highly recommend The Witness. Note that there is basically nothing in the way of story in this game; you are just on an island with many puzzles left for you to solve for the sake of enjoying the act of solving them.

If you enjoy the exploration and discovery aspect of the game and want a game where you discover the story and objectives as you go, with much of the puzzles being in how to progress through the environment and with answers that may be hidden elsewhere, you may enjoy Outer Wilds. I absolutely loved my experience with this game and figuring it out bit by bit. However, it does require you to grow comfortable with zero-G concepts (e.g. moving in three dimensions and not naturally deaccelerating in any direction) and platforming using a jetpack, which can be a barrier for some pure puzzle gamers.

Thank you for the suggestions! I've seen people talk about the Witness and Outer Wilds, so maybe they are worth it.

[momycat5]

Originally posted by josealb77:

The Talos Prnciple.
Is THE BEST game in this genre. May not be as pure enigma typo as Quern, It's more like Portal series... but, man, the beautifullness of the skies, the ambient in the "open" world, visually has no competitor. Portal feels like too much imprisioned in a factory, thats not beautiful. And the controls in The Talos Principle are refined until perfection.

For me The Talos Principle is the reference in this kind of games. But I'm still enjoying Quern as hell. There's no point on confronting eache other. I'm enjoying both. Both are my kind of videogames.

The las one I tried was "MIND Path to Thalamus". Is not so good. It's more amateur,,, I didn't liked too much... but it's this kind of games.

Just to tell about them: Cogs (Pure puzzle solving), Opus Magnus (Alquimia), Security Hole (more about tridimensional and spatial intelligence).

I actually did play Talos Principle and completed it twice. I loved it!!! Very good puzzle type game. The story was a bit silly though. Anyone who likes puzzle games needs to play Talos P. It's a certain type of puzzle though, more like problem solving and engineering solutions. Quern was kind of like that too. Escape the Room type puzzles are kind of different. I enjoyed both!

[momycat5]

Ok thank you everyone for the suggestions!

[GamesForTheMind]

The two Aura games. You can get “Fate of the Ages” on here and “The Sacred Rings” as an Amazon download. Both games run fine on my Win 10 machine without having to tweak.

The remake of The 7th Guest is a good puzzler too.

[kemalure]

If you like this genre because of puzzles, make sure you check out the Rhem series. I am sure I played all the Myst-like games out there, and in terms of creative and difficult puzzles nothing comes close to Rhem games (including Quern and Riven). All four Rhem games are available on Steam and each one offers 20+ hours of gameplay full of mind-bending puzzles.

However, if you like these games because of story and graphics then you might want to look at other games. Rhem games have almost no story and visual design is very minimal.