Mateusz Skutnik has already helped us ring in the New Year in years past, point-and-click puzzle style, and with Where is 2015? we go on a gorgeous, subtly animated photographic journey through the months of the year, reassembling a calendar and hopping from place to place. To play, just click when the cursor changes to show you can interact with something, and click on items in your inventory to pick them up to use, or view them up close. Where is 2015? is similar to the 10 Gnomes style of interaction, where you’re exploring environments made up of beautifully detailed pictures and close-ups trying to find hidden items or mechanisms, though not every location or view has something for you to find. Just remember to look in every nook and cranny, examine your inventory, and revisit places you’ve been before!

Mateusz Skutnik’s “Where is…” games tend to be short and simple, so this longer, more involved game is a real treat no matter what time of year it is. The full colour photography is beautiful no matter what the subject matter, blending with a fantastic atmospheric soundtrack to create an immersive, thoughtful experience. Because places you can click on aren’t always obvious, you’ll spend a fair amount of time waggling your cursor over every inch of the screen when you get stuck, usually because you’ve missed a transition to a new view. Most of the puzzles you’ll encounter are either straight-forward or obviously hinted, so largely the gameplay is focused on tracking down objects and switches. It feels like a treasure hunt, with just the right amount of whimsy spun in, and taking in all the detail is both part of the charm and the challenge when it comes to finding all the items you’ll need. Remembering where you might have seen a character or place you need to return to can be tricky with all the different up-close perspectives, and having to comb through every available location for sneaky hotspots when you’re stuck may get frustrating, but with patience and a careful eye you’ll persevere. Where is 2015? is lovely, relaxing, and just a little bit magical in all the right ways, and a fine farewell to the year before.

Author: Dora