Finding Sparky

Finding Sparky is what I believe to be a masterpiece in visual storytelling, with a dark tone that perfectly amplifies the themes of guilt, desperation, and what can happen when to someone when they lose everything they hold close to them. The game is primarily a side-scrolling puzzle game, with a large emphasis on telling the story of a village boy named Tom whose beloved dog has been stolen from him, going to find him with help from the ghost of someone he once knew. Between each cutscene, whether it be dialogue between Tom and a villager, descriptions of Tom's memories, or even a couple of scenes mimicking a puppet show, there are puzzles involving ghosts, and later on, cats. To progress, Tom has to "mark," or petrify, Ghosts with a weapon he picks up during the prologue. He must petrify a specific number of ghosts and leave the rest in order to "slaughter" them all before progressing; when cats start appearing in the levels, he has to have a specific number of them nearby to do so. If a Ghost is being problematic, Tom can push them away with a wooden stick that he starts the game with. There are some extra mechanics at times, but this is how it is for the bulk of the game, and…

Short and Disturbing, may not be of your tastes on terms of plot (Quite sad, had to hug my dog after finishing it). But at least the puzzles were reasonably difficult.