Thank you Snapbreak for sending us a review code!

In Boxes: Lost Fragments you’re a legendary thief who gets contracted to break into a mysterious puzzle box. Before you know it, the doors behind you get bolted shut and now you’re trapped inside. To open this initial box and others throughout the game, you’ll have to rotate it and zoom into the various sides to unlock mechanisms and open hatches to collect the required pieces within. Sometimes the collectibles are used as-is, while others need to be further investigated to reveal their hidden treasures.

Many of the boxes have a note with them which reveals the story about an inventor and his creation who became too dangerous and needed to be sealed away. Some of the puzzle boxes have items near them that need to be manipulated for clues and important pieces. Be sure to look at and touch everything.

The mansion you’re locked into has multiple escape-room like levels that can be broken out of by inserting gadgets collected from the puzzle boxes within. Aside from buttons, levers, and sliding doors, you’ll often come across sliding puzzles and other mini-games to complete. If there is a pattern or number/letter combination to decipher you’ll often find the solution nearby so keep your eyes peeled for clues.

Graphically, this game gorgeous and I love the intricacy of the puzzles. I wish I could see something like them in action in person. There’s plenty of fire and colorful eye candy to behold as well. While this title is playable on the Steam Deck, I recommend playing it on a bigger screen so you can spot out areas to interact with easier.

While you’re solving the puzzles you’ll be treated to some ambient sounds that may trick you into thinking that you’re making progress. The sound effects of pieces coming together, gears turning, and other events happening are spot on and very believable.

I found the difficulty level to be reasonably challenging. I like how there is a hint feature to point you in the right direction if you get stuck. There are some walkthrough videos online as well, but some of them are out of date due to a recent update that changed a few of the puzzles/mini-games. The logic puzzles can be tricky at times and those too can be skipped if desired. I encountered a glitch where you have to keep your soldier out of reach from an axe-wielding knight and we both wound up on the same board space. In this instance, I had to skip the logic puzzle to progress in solving the puzzle box. Thankfully, by doing so I wasn’t disqualified from any of the twelve Steam achievements available.

Morally, Boxes: Lost Fragments is pretty family-friendly. The only violence is from game pieces attacking themselves. There are references to Egyptian, Greek, Norse, and Aztec gods. I didn’t see any Christianity-themed puzzle boxes.

The $14.99 asking price is reasonable and I have seen this game on sale already. You can expect to be wearing your thinking cap for over five hours. If you enjoy puzzle or escape-room type games, you’ll want to add Boxes: Lost Fragments to your Steam wish list.