From acclaimed indie studio KO_OP and in association with beloved game-making initiative Double Fine Presents, Gnog is a 3D puzzle game set in a tactile world of toys and secrets. Point, click, grab, poke, spin, pull, and play with uniquely charming monster heads, and explore the hidden worlds inside them from your couch, or face-to-face in stunning PlayStation VR. Filled with eye-catching designs, playful interactions, and a rich, reactive soundtrack, the hand-crafted heads come to life in your hands! Inspired by real-world toy designs, every Gnog head is a miniature world to discover. Grab a bookcase and spin it to reveal a hidden pile of coins, slide levers to navigate a damaged ship through outer space, crank a wheel to cook a stew on the stove – each playful interaction generates lively feedback and surprising consequences. Set to a relaxing and dynamic soundtrack that evolves with each level, the surreal worlds and joyful puzzles of Gnog will have you turning heads!
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Sights & Sounds
- Presentation is where the meat and potatoes of this game lie. GNOG is an audiovisual feast
- Each level depicts a puzzle resembling a robotic face that opens up as you solve its puzzles. Each of these is vibrantly colored and full of character. They actually reminded me of the unfolding Micro Machine and Mighty Max playsets from my youth (or the Littlest Pet Shops and Polly Pockets my sisters played with)
- I can only imagine how nice this would be to play in VR, but I'm sadly lacking a headset. There's a certain "tactile" feel to the puzzles that would have been enhanced in a VR setting
- The soundtrack is amazing. I wound up flipping on noise cancelling and boosting the volume so I could enjoy the tunes a bit better. The tracks start out subdued at the start of each level, but solving the level's central puzzle will net you a (heavily synthesized) vocal performance from the puzzle head and send the song into its crescendo. This was a nice reward that actually had me looking forward to solving each puzzle
- The sound effects are also superb, with every one of your actions triggering some bit of delicious ear candy
Story & Vibes
- Not sure that a narrative is the point here. It seems like you're maybe helping the character from the intro puzzle either pack or unpack, but it's not clear
- The vibes are consistently playful and exuberant as your eyes and ears experience what amounts 90-minute DMT trip (sans the seemingly life-altering revelation that turns out to be nothing important when you sober up)
Playability & Replayability
- Gameplay in GNOG consists of unlocking and completing 10 different "puzzle heads" that center around a central theme or concept. For example, one level sees you fixing a stereo by tuning and aligning it components and setting levels abstractly. Another sees you guiding a burglar through a home, stealing things from each room along the way
- Bookending these levels are the intro to start the game and a redux/epilogue of that same level at the very end
- None of the puzzles are tremendously difficult, and I was able to trial-and-error myself through all of them. Some of the achievements are well hidden, though, or may center around optional actions you may not try. A guide may be necessary to figure those out if you can't piece them together from their descriptions
- Having 100%ed the game, I think I've seen enough that I don't feel a replay is necessary
Overall Impressions & Performance
- While GNOG is a beautiful piece of interactive art, those searching for satisfying or tricky puzzles may leave a little disappointed. Any difficulty arising frome these levels comes from the ambiguity in how to approach them rather than any logical difficulty. For example, it's fairly obvious from the opening of the candy shop level that you're meant to make candy and sell it to customers. Unfortunately, I spent about 10 minutes stuck trying to sell to the customers before realizing that I needed to stock the candy behind the counter first
- To put it briefly, GNOG is a wonderful and impressive art piece, but it is only a mediocre puzzle game
- I can only comment on the non-VR version, but it ran extremely well on the Steam Deck. I really need to start playing these visually-focused games on a larger screen...
Final Verdict
- 6/10. While not bad by any stretch, GNOG simply won't satisfy those looking for brain-teasing puzzles. It will, however, make you curious about ayahuasca. Maybe look for a sale if you're interested in this trippy audiovisual toy
If you've read this far, feel free to check out my ongoing Steam Game Giveaway list here on Backloggd
- Presentation is where the meat and potatoes of this game lie. GNOG is an audiovisual feast
- Each level depicts a puzzle resembling a robotic face that opens up as you solve its puzzles. Each of these is vibrantly colored and full of character. They actually reminded me of the unfolding Micro Machine and Mighty Max playsets from my youth (or the Littlest Pet Shops and Polly Pockets my sisters played with)
- I can only imagine how nice this would be to play in VR, but I'm sadly lacking a headset. There's a certain "tactile" feel to the puzzles that would have been enhanced in a VR setting
- The soundtrack is amazing. I wound up flipping on noise cancelling and boosting the volume so I could enjoy the tunes a bit better. The tracks start out subdued at the start of each level, but solving the level's central puzzle will net you a (heavily synthesized) vocal performance from the puzzle head and send the song into its crescendo. This was a nice reward that actually had me looking forward to solving each puzzle
- The sound effects are also superb, with every one of your actions triggering some bit of delicious ear candy
Story & Vibes
- Not sure that a narrative is the point here. It seems like you're maybe helping the character from the intro puzzle either pack or unpack, but it's not clear
- The vibes are consistently playful and exuberant as your eyes and ears experience what amounts 90-minute DMT trip (sans the seemingly life-altering revelation that turns out to be nothing important when you sober up)
Playability & Replayability
- Gameplay in GNOG consists of unlocking and completing 10 different "puzzle heads" that center around a central theme or concept. For example, one level sees you fixing a stereo by tuning and aligning it components and setting levels abstractly. Another sees you guiding a burglar through a home, stealing things from each room along the way
- Bookending these levels are the intro to start the game and a redux/epilogue of that same level at the very end
- None of the puzzles are tremendously difficult, and I was able to trial-and-error myself through all of them. Some of the achievements are well hidden, though, or may center around optional actions you may not try. A guide may be necessary to figure those out if you can't piece them together from their descriptions
- Having 100%ed the game, I think I've seen enough that I don't feel a replay is necessary
Overall Impressions & Performance
- While GNOG is a beautiful piece of interactive art, those searching for satisfying or tricky puzzles may leave a little disappointed. Any difficulty arising frome these levels comes from the ambiguity in how to approach them rather than any logical difficulty. For example, it's fairly obvious from the opening of the candy shop level that you're meant to make candy and sell it to customers. Unfortunately, I spent about 10 minutes stuck trying to sell to the customers before realizing that I needed to stock the candy behind the counter first
- To put it briefly, GNOG is a wonderful and impressive art piece, but it is only a mediocre puzzle game
- I can only comment on the non-VR version, but it ran extremely well on the Steam Deck. I really need to start playing these visually-focused games on a larger screen...
Final Verdict
- 6/10. While not bad by any stretch, GNOG simply won't satisfy those looking for brain-teasing puzzles. It will, however, make you curious about ayahuasca. Maybe look for a sale if you're interested in this trippy audiovisual toy
If you've read this far, feel free to check out my ongoing Steam Game Giveaway list here on Backloggd
I like the music, particularly how reactive it is. But even with all its bright colours, it looks kind of... bland? Plus the puzzles themselves are pretty boring.
Game was clearly made for touch platforms, that said it doesn't control horribly. Some levels are more inspired than others but overall it's a nice experience with clean graphics.
very cute puzzle game. great for date night
A Delightful little puzzlebox game. Perfect way to spend an afternoon. Will come back to it one day for the relaxing casual vibes.
A concise but aesthetically pleasing puzzle game that is great for showing off VR capabilities, but not much else. It is beautiful and runs very smoothly, however there are under a dozen puzzles to play through, and each one is straightforward to complete. There is no challenge here, but this is not a bad pick if you are looking for something short with a nice vibe. Just don't purchase this for full price, wait for a steep sale instead.