I have been playing a lot of Overwatch 2 these past weeks. I’ve relearned that games with friends are some of the most enjoyable moments in video games. In between all the fun, I have been playing a game that has been in my backlog for some time. Become the most depressed teenage girl this week in Epiphany City.

Epiphany City is a puzzle game by Cameron Ladjervardi and David Elliot and was published under Big Shield Games. The game was released in April of this year for the PC and retails for $10.

Follow the story of Lily, a girl who has lost all hope in the world, as she manipulates fate and becomes a hero. The overarching narrative is that there is a menace fueling the end of the world and three flowers are the answer to stopping it.

Lily, as the developer has written, has fallen past the point of return, but in a comedic fashion. It is hard to feel for the girl when the “nothing can get worse” bit is played in a comedic fashion every turn. Lily’s mom passed away because of the cost of the surgery. It’s a sad and convincing narrative. Lily falls deeper than most people and it takes a lot to crawl out of. It should have stayed there but they added a weird comedic tag to it, which ends up feeling really superficial.

There is a supreme superhero, Superb Man, who has an angle to control the world while playing the role of the most loved superhero.

It does get really good towards the middle of the game as the theme of being a hero comes to a zenith as Lily and the antagonist exchange words about who is in fact the villain of this story. It pulled me back in.

The main mechanic is that Lily’s superpower is the ability to manipulate objects in the world. This is convenient because all of the puzzles require you to manipulate the world. The onboarding, in the beginning, does a lot to teach the player that the world can be seen in a number of different ways to solve puzzles, which helps a lot during the mid-game.

Lily can pull, push and rotate items that fit within a nice little frame. There are moments when a frame can be found and pushed onto objects that are integral to a puzzle. It adds a nice layer to the puzzle-solving experience.

A majority of the puzzles are not difficult but require an eye for environmental cues. For example, there is a snow level that requires an eye to see the sections of a door to a home. If you do not have a keen eye on occasion, then the player may just miss the puzzle.

Epiphany City is an interesting-looking game. The way that it looks really had me in an iffy position but after playing through the game it grew on me. There are lots of colors and it honestly looks pretty clean.

The soundtrack is pretty nice. Every section has a theme that fits the level quite well.

Epiphany City has its flaws but it is quite a good puzzle game that is worth your money. $10 for a clean four-hour experience where you get to laugh, cry, and are determined to beat the bad guy in their pursuit of total control. Navigation may just be a little wonky but the puzzles are where it is at. I never really felt like I was stuck on a puzzle for a significant amount of time or needed a guide.

Epiphany City is a good game for a really good price.