In first-person Myst-alike Looking For Fael you’re stuck in a surreal apartment maze, but you do get a Game Boy Advance SP

that’s not a Game Boy Advance SP

Image credit: ARTE

If you have experience of the London rental market, there is but one way you can react to a game – a French game, no less, the cultural product of a country where two-bed apartments apparently grow on trees – that promises to maroon you in a sprawling labyrinth of flats. “Haha, alright for some!” you chortle despairingly, after freeing yourself from the laundry basket and retrieving your trousers from the fridge. “I bet labyrinths have more than one window,” you sob, as you yet again tackle the problem of opening the front door without becoming part of the wall.

If you have have experience of the London rental market, you are probably reading this and thinking: “He’s got a front door? Such extravagance. I live in a folded umbrella.” Touché, my friend. I guess it’s just as well we have spaciously proportioned first-person puzzle adventures to console us in our time of compound elbow bruises, rising damp and preposterous financial debt. On which note, Looking For Fael seems fun.

Looking for Fael | Jeux Vidéo | Bande Annonce | ARTE

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Created by Swing Swing Submarine and published by ARTE, it’s a first-person Myst ‘em up, Witness-a-lot and/or Fez-alike (these are the developers’ own stated influences, along with 90s fantasy films) in which you wake up one day to a phone call from your mate Fael, who has gotten lost in his own apartment. Sallying forth in search of him, you discover that your own flat and its surroundings have gotten all mazey. It’s just as well you remembered your handheld-console-which-is-legally-distinct-from-the-Game-Boy-Advance-SP.

“To open all the doors and corridors, and access certain rooms, players will have to work their brains out and solve numerous mysteries, using the GameLeaf, an intriguing retro portable console to help them complete the levels,” explains the announcement release. “Each game is a piece of the puzzle that brings players closer to the truth about Fael’s disappearance.

“Experimentation is at the heart of the experience, and players will need to be very attentive and interact with the setting, as every detail is important, from photo frames to seemingly uninteresting furniture, everything can be a clue to solve a puzzle,” the release continues. “The world of the flat is full of surprises, and players will have to think outside the box to progress. As they solve Fael’s mysterious disappearance, players will also have to question the very nature of reality.”

Thinking outside the box? I only wish I had a box to think in. You’d have to pay £2500 a month for the privilege round these parts, and you’d need to bring your own lid. Anyway, you can read more of Fael’s doings on Steam. It’s out in 2025. The obvious comparison here is Blue Prince, which takes things in more of a boardgamey direction with no retro handhelds to speak of.