There are few things less cozy than a murder investigation, especially one that involves bizarre rituals and seemingly supernatural circumstances. But add nice, relaxing puzzles to the mix, and suddenly you’ve got a game that’s great to chill out to, despite mostly taking place at a crime scene. Released in mid-December, Mosaic of the Strange combines Minesweeper-inspired puzzles with a story straight out of The X-Files, making for one of the most satisfying genre mashups of the year.
Things start off grim in Mosaic of the Strange. A body is found in a locked firewatch tower with unexplainable injuries and two federal agents are sent to investigate. The case sends them across the town of Pinehaven to consult scientists, psychics, and conspiracy theories in search of some explanation for what happened there. Along the way, they pull in stories of cryptids and supernatural occurrences from history to form a picture of what actually happened to the victim.
