Lately I've written several times about various puzzle games, so my love for them must be plain. Often they give a sense of accomplishment that most games fall far short of, and additionally they flex the mind, honing mental skills such as careful planning and pattern recognition. A puzzle game can even be made all the better when dabs of other game genres are mixed in, such as RPG, action, or the like. One of the most popular puzzle games is Bejeweled from Pop Cap games, which has spawned countless imitators, spin-offs, and several sequels. The mechanic of moving gems to match three of a kind is easy to grasp and as such, anyone can successfully play the game. But I'm not talking about that game today; instead, I'll be talking about a spin-off game called Legend of Fae, a game heavily inspired by Bejeweled.Legend of Fae is a real time RPG in which you help the young Claudia Bernard travel around the small island of her home, searching for her Uncle Monte who mysteriously disappeared one morning. Left with only a mystical ancient lantern as her only clue, Claudia sets out and soon discovers the artifact's magical properties. The lantern not only allows her to cast magical spells, but also see the Fae creatures who have begun invading her home and the four elemental companions who accompany her on her journey. The story's unique lore keeps the player in the dark as to what is actually happening to the island, enticing you to keep playing the game to find out more about these mysterious circumstances.
Along the way, Claudia must combat numerous enemies in a very unique combat system; just like Bejeweled, you move gems around to match 3-of-a-kind. Each gem has a unique purpose, four of which provide different kinda of mana (fire, earth, wind, water), another lets Claudia progress through the level or dodge attacks, and the final helps cure Claudia of ailments such as poison, blindness, or other nasty things. If you match gems with each successive move, your combo meter goes up, increasing the effects from each set of matched gems. Once you've collected enough mana of a given type, one of your elemental friends appears, granting you the ability to cast a spell of that element. Spells will harm the enemies blocking your path, allowing to progress through each level.Additionally, there's a high level of strategy in this game. Every element is unique, and each has various abilities and different types of enemies which they are strong against. Using the right elements against the right enemies helps you defeat your enemies quickly. You can also buff Claudia before a combat by expending mana while out of combat. Finally, the ability to upgrade the lantern to hold more mana, have special abilities, and even gain different levels of spells allows for a great deal of stigmatization to the player's strategy.The Legend of Fae, by Endlessfluff games, is an amazingly unique game which combines tried-and-true elements of a puzzle game with the amazingly deep elements of an RPG. On Steam for only $9.99 USD, the game is often featured in many of Steam's sales throughout the year, and can be picked up for less. I strongly recommend the game to people who enjoy to think carefully about their moves in a game or even people just want to experience an interesting RPG.