In the middle of the Christmas craze with all the AAA titles coming out at the same time, I found myself playing with a nice little puzzle/platformer game, called Archibald’s Adventures.

The game is simple: leave the room through the “EXIT” door. To do that you must avoid traps, transport crates, push buttons and use your brain.

The puzzle aspect of the game is spot on: the fundamental rules of the game’s world are simple, yet they can be combined to present interesting challenges. It’s not uncommon to look at the room and go “How am I supposed to do this?". Then after closer inspection of the game element comes the epiphany and when the plan works, one feels very clever. (And rightly so.)

The classic platformer sequences are a bit wonky, thanks to the control scheme which feels over-simplified for a veteran Mario player. Sprinting, jumping and climbing are performed automatically and while this mechanic is often convenient, it can also feel as I’m not in control.

So the game is fun, has bitesized missions (to kill five minutes or an hour), a not-too-easy-not-too-hard difficulty (with video walkthroughs helping out if necessary) and a very friendly price tag.