Game Over: Follow the meaning

Follow the meaning is a point-and-click puzzler that’s described as short, strange, and satisfying — and it certainly is! I’m glad one of my late-night Steam browsing sessions led me to this little gem from HiKing Mind Studio. Across my two-hour playthrough, I’ve helped cats find their way home, deceived a bouncer into letting me enter a club, met three-eyed folks who are shunned by society, and even briefly found myself transported to another dimension.

The game places you in the shoes of detective Paul Trilby, who is mysteriously summoned via letter to meet Dr. Susie at the local psychiatric hospital, as she’s concerned by the questionable actions occurring there. However, getting to the hospital isn’t simple due to a newly built barrier known as The Wall, an initiative to “protect” residents from three-eyed individuals. As such, you’ll need to take various detours to answer Dr. Susie’s call for help.

Story-wise, Follow the meaning gives vague pieces that eventually fit a bigger picture that’s revealed by the end. It’s definitely one of those titles that has its story built into small moments, requiring you to pay attention to offhand remarks from characters you run into and environmental clues. Honestly, for a good portion of the playthrough, I found the narrative much more confusing than the actual puzzles themselves, but the mysterious vibes were definitely intentional.

While I don’t want to spoil anything, I will say I formulated a theory about 3/4ths of the way in and was happy when it was proven right. What was slightly disappointing, however, was the pacing in the last portion of the game, as the rushed ending left me a little more confused than I’d like. That said, for a title with such a short runtime, I was delighted by its worldbuilding, but that also left me wishing that I could explore more of this strange and whimsical world.

Despite the fraught social climate in Follow the meaning, the chill point-and-click gameplay paired with the beautifully hand-drawn areas and soft piano tunes makes it a rather relaxing experience. The initial puzzles I found myself faced with included needing to find worms for a fisherman, an axe to cut down a tree, and a distraction for a cute (but dangerous) guard doggo. It’s not all about finding items, though. I also needed to line up the pieces of a scrambled drawing and play with light to make myself look taller. These challenges were pretty easy to solve, getting me used to the fact that interactable objects in this world blend in quite well (often sending me clicking all over) and thinking out of the box is encouraged.

In terms of difficulty, the puzzles ramp up in a satisfying way that’s not too overwhelming. One did leave me stumped for a good while, as I had trouble selecting the correct symbols in an otherworldly dimension. Another had me lost in a maze, which was especially embarrassing because the game gave me a map that functioned as a cheat sheet of sorts — but I am directionally challenged in games and real life, so mazes will always be my kryptonite.

By the end of my playthrough of Follow the meaning, I had 53% of the achievements earned, and the one I was most sad about not completing was finding all the cats hidden throughout each area. This is a fun little side quest you get when you meet a character in her house and discover all her cats have gone missing, and every time you find one, you can check back into her home and see them lounging there. It’s surprisingly a hard achievement to complete; I thought I was being extremely thorough, but I ended up missing Biscuit and Luna, so I’ll have to jump back in for a second try.

If you’re looking for a short, enjoyable puzzler with a good story, I think you’d have a fun time with Follow the meaning. It manages to be relaxing and cosy in its gameplay yet strange and sometimes sinister when it comes to its world and story. For a bite-sized adventure, it’s a memorable one and replay value is definitely there, especially if you miss all the cats like I did.