First Look at Sunset Hills – A Cozy Puzzle Adventure

This might be one of the best prologues I’ve ever played. Sunset Hills is a charming point-and-click adventure game where you play as Nico, on his way to reunite with a long lost friend.

This first sip dives into the demo, giving you a taste of the gameplay and what to expect from the full release.

Prefer to watch the video version? Check it out here

Story

Now the demo of this game serves as a prologue, giving you a taste of the first chapter in the game. In this chapter, you’re attempting to meet up with your former comrade, who is now managing a prominent hotel in a cozy town.

Your journey begins on the train to the town, and you’ll be greeted with a charming world bustling with interesting characters. You’ll need to make your way from the train station to the hotel, but this is not as straightforward as it seems. You’ll need to chat to different townsfolk, and help them with their problems, so that in return they’ll help you reach the hotel.

The prologue really cements the world of the game. The story is mostly task-driven, and follows a linear progression, so you need to finish off certain tasks before you can complete others.

The characters are delightful, and the dialogue is witty, and add a lot of dimension to the story.

For a first chapter, I’m really intrigued as to where the story is headed, and this demo perfectly sets up the main game.

GAMEPLAY

Sunset Hills features some traditional point-and-click gameplay. You’ll have different items and characters you can interact with, and you’ll need to work out how to solve each of the characters’ different problems.

What stands out in the gameplay is the way the point-and-click features are integrated. The game is designed in a way that the interactable objects fit seamlessly into the environment, which I’ve not seen done this flawlessly before, and there’s some interesting ways that items can be used that add a lot to the gameplay.

There’s definitely a big puzzle element to the game, which really drives the story and the gameplay. I’m not usually a massive fan of point-and-clicks because of their slower pace, but found this game to be set at a great speed, offering a range of logic-based mysteries to solve that were intriguing.

The linear gameplay did feel a little bit limiting at times, but overall the gameplay is really engaging and fun, and I can’t wait to see what more awaits in the full game.

DESIGN

The design of Sunset Hills is where this game really shines. The world environment and character design is done in a way that hits on some really great notes.

It almost feels reminiscent of a children’s cartoon, but is done in a way that elevates it, keeping the charm, but losing the childishness.

The soundscape creates a laidback atmosphere, and the entire game has a real nostalgic feel to it.

We’re only given a small slice of the game, but the design is already incredible, and I can’t wait to explore the other locations.

THE FINAL BREW

Sunset Hills has just wrapped up a successful Kickstarter, getting 192% funded, so it’s well on its way to full release, but we are yet to get a release date for this game.

Sunset Hills is a gorgeous point-and-click, puzzle adventure game, and the prologue serves as a really tasty entrée to what is already looking set to be an amazing game. We’ll be following this one closely as it develops.

Wishlist Sunset Hills here.

Until next time, stay caffeinated!