Puzzle Spy International caught sneaking out on Steam

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Demo also available for sixties-style adventure with "thinky" puzzles on Windows, Mac and Linux

Fictional spies may be best known for unique gadgets that help them avoid detection or get out of scrapes, but of course any real spy will tell you their most vital tool is their brain. Which is precisely what players will need to complete the many challenges in Puzzle Spy International, the newly released sixties-style adventure from husband-and-wife developer Travel-Friendly Cake.

Agent Epsilon is one of the titular British company's top spies, thanks primarily to her proficiency in solving word puzzles. Her latest assignment sees her pursuing a "ring of diamond thieves" whose heists suggest an even more nefarious plan at work. As luck would have it, they conveniently leave behind a trail of "cryptic puzzles" for her to follow. To stay on their tail, you will need to "chat with (or chat up!) suspicious contacts" in conversation, as well as "decode cryptograms, decipher clues and deduce answers [through] wordplay and logic puzzles" if you're to successfully foil the thieves' "world-threatening plot." Along the way, you'll also get to "rendezvous with informants ... communicate with HQ on a compact phone, and even defuse a bomb."

Described as a "1960s spy adventure full of thinky puzzles," Puzzle Spy International is a point-and-click adventure with a hand-drawn, "retro mid-century modern visual style and a jazzy spy-music score" that'll have you feeling like Emma Peel in no time. At times it will play out like a traditional visual novel, with choice-based dialogue driving the story forward, including some "optional flirting" if you wish. (A spy must use all their wiles, after all.) At other times it will feel much like other modern deduction adventures as you begin piecing together clues to an investigation that will take you to various different countries throughout Europe and around the world. 

In between, however, this game will be filled with eleven different types of "substantial"  wordplay and logic challenges, each with its own set of rules that will have you either clicking and dragging objects and words into their correct spaces or even typing in text directly. If that sounds imposing, rest assured that a "comprehensive hint and answer-checking system ensures that agents of all skill levels will be able to complete the missions." And while this is a single-player game, the developers encourage a group play experience, as "tackling the puzzles with a friend or three is a lot of fun," resulting in a play time that can range anywhere from three to seven hours in total.

The full version of Puzzle Spy International is available now on Steam for Windows, Mac and Linux. If you'd rather dip a toe in espionage waters before diving in, a demo can be downloaded from Steam as well, or played directly in your browser on itch.io.

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