Befuddle Quest 3: Love is a Four-Legged Word

We Need More Spike Puzzles by Sam
A spike trap puzzle where there are some spikes that turn on and off, and you need to move through them at the right moment, and also flip some switches to lower some spikes. I think this is the first real action/timing type puzzle in the series so far that requires some quick reflexes, so it's a nice change of pace. It's a decent challenge to start, but strangely lacking in sound effects though.


The Great Cube by narcodis
You are inside a "cube" shaped maze where there are 5 floors and each floor is has 4 x 4 rooms. Each room has some staircases that go up and down, and you have to navigate your way around to collect items to get past objects and get to the exit. You need to pay attention to the layout of the mazes to help you find the route to the various items you need. Luckily each floor has a different visual theme, and a big number on the side to tell you which floor you're on. It's a nice twist on a simple item collecting puzzle and it was fun.


Bottom of the Barrel by Gibmaker
This level is a game of "Snake", a mobile game that was first popularized on the old Nokia phones from about 20 years ago. You move forward automatically while being able to turn, and try to collect 50 wood, each of which adds to the length of your tail. You die if you run into the wall or your own tail. The controls feel a little unresponsive sometimes, so you have to be really careful near the edges. Luckily the game gives you a checkpoint after every 10 barrels you collect, so that you don't have to start over from the beginning if you die, which would have been frustrating. I'm glad the checkpoints were there, and so I enjoyed this well scripted mini-game.


Befuddle Quest: The Quiz Game Show by SavageInventions
You get asked a series of questions about the previous 2 Befuddle Games, and you have to get 5 correct answers in a row to proceed. Luckily I was playing all the games consecutively or I probably wouldn't know the answers.


Step on through to the other side by GameOverGamesProductions
I'm not quite sure what's happening here. Walking around is clunky and there's a mirror version of yourself on the other half of the map, but I'm not sure what it means. I thought maybe it was related to seeing obstacles in your way, but it didn't seem to matter much. I mostly just walked my way to the mirrors and levers without needing to look at the other side.


Crystal Shards by Liberty
There's not much information provided, so it was hard to find the first path. Once you find the first one, the rest become easier to find though. The objective seems to be to turn on all the crystals, and I got them all except for the broken one. I went back to get the shards, but nothing happened. I gave up at first but went back to this level later, and it turns out you have to find your way to a tablet all the way near the beginning first. A lot of time in this level is spent repeatedly poking around random walls, hoping to find an opening.


Puzzle of the Four Monsters by Fractal Advocate
This is my favourite puzzle in the game so far. You basically have to swap your character out with 4 other monsters on the map, each of which has special abilities that help you manipulate or move through the map. You have to maneuver them all to get each of them on one corner of that map, while also making sure you can get to the exit in the end. This puzzle has just the right combination of creativity and thinking power needed to solve it. I think there may be more than 1 solution too. I also liked the added touch of the Salade girl, and I wonder if rescuing her or not will affect the game later. I found a strange sense of pleasure in tormenting her at the end after the way she talked to me...


Rock n' Roll by kentona
This is an action heavy level that requires some good timing and reflexes. It basically involves moving though various paths while avoiding the moving/rotating boulders. I liked this level, and as someone who's used to action puzzles in RPGs, and have made several in my own games, the challenge was pretty fair for me. Others who are not as familiar with the engine might not be so good with the movement timing and find it difficult. I myself found it pretty enjoyable.


The Befuddling Quiz by GameOverGamesProductions
You answer a few riddles and each one gives you 8 answers to choose from. Some were pretty common and some were more obscure. Overall, it was fairly easy to pass.


Strange Room by Sam
There are several tokens scattered across the map, and you have to gather them all within 30 seconds. I got it on my first try, without much of a plan, so the timer was pretty generous. This is a pretty easy puzzle, but you do have to be move quickly.


Shop 'til you Drop! by Liberty
This is a sim game where you run a shop by making decisions on buying/selling price, and restocking inventory. It was a cool concept, but it didn't end up as fun as I hoped. You spend most of your time just waiting for customers, and if you try to read the manual or reference material, you risk missing a customer that comes to your desk. I played it for about 30+ mins and made zero progress on money, so eventually I just had to give up, but thankfully a cheat option is provided in the game.


Tigers & Tokens by Mikemc
This is basically a game of pac-man, with tigers chasing you instead of ghosts. I grabbed all the tokens, and the 4 crosses, but the level still didn't end, and I didn't see any path to the staircase. I tried again multiple times just to be sure. I had to reload the game at the picture gallery to go play the last level.


Dimensional Rift by Kazesui
The level started out alright, and seemed like it might be one with a lot of different interesting things to do. I got to the point where you're in an empty place with 3 mini-Alexes and get no explanation on what to do. There are invisible blocks, and when you get near an Alex you just get teleported around continuously. Eventually I fumbled my way to one of them by sheer dumb luck and was taken to the Realm of Courage. Here, sliding arrows act like conveyor belts, and the puzzles in the beginning were alright. Later on, you have to get through the arrows quickly before a gate closes, which was hard enough. Then you come to a big area where you have to move fast and the arrows drag you into spikes. This is where it got too frustrating and I had to give up. There is just no way to see the arrows in time to react quickly enough to avoid the spikes.


Conclusion
Overall, this game was a mixed bag of fun and frustration, mixed with a few quizzes. There were some really good levels, but also some really disappointing ones. It's nice though that there is finally a way to select which level to play, using the picture gallery a the beginning, even though some people might miss that. I look forward to playing the next entry, Beffudle Quest 4.