Puzzle games are an acquired taste, personally. They have grown on me, especially if they have as great a premise as this week’s game. This week, I am a gecko that is fairly good at solving monolithic puzzles (as long as the game loads them properly).

This week is Gecko Gods!

Gecko Gods is a puzzle adventure game from Inresin and Super Rare Games. The game was released on the PC, Switch, and PS5 on April 16th and retails for $18.

Huge shoutout to the developer and the publisher for the key! I really appreciate it!

As far as I know, geckos climb and eat bugs, but this is not the case for the gecko in Gecko Gods. Separated from your gecko friends, or something, you end up stranded on a seemingly deserted, ancient archipelago. Ruins of an ancient, reptile worshipping, civilzation lay before you. It is quickly understood that it is a sort of destiny for your little gecko-ness to explore these ruins, solve puzzles, and follow the path laid out for you to ascend to gecko godhood. On your little journey, you will discover the importance that geckos had in the everyday life of the archipelago civilization through wall art and the monolithic structures they created for them.

An archipelago means the civilization relies on boating for transportation, and the starting area of Gecko Gods provides a perfect onboarding experience. The game immediately tells the player that there will be puzzles and that they will have to solve them. I played with an Xbox controller, and it was a breeze to understand the limited skill set of an ordinary, but apparent, godsent gecko.

Skittering about is the most basic movement that the godly gecko has. It can also “eep,” eat bugs, jump, sprint, dash, climb on practically every possible surface, and figure out puzzles ranging from simple to relatively ridiculous. The movement is relatively simple, making it easy to master in just a few minutes. Each of the islands of the archipelago have their own set of bugs and artifacts to collect to check the boxes of “minor stuff to do.” It is an inevitability that you will visit all of the islands in the game as curiosity always takes hold, and it does not take much time to investigate and 100% a smaller island.

There are pots to smash for a currency that you can use to customize your little gecko guy, which is a nice little addition to the game.

The camera is glued to the little guy’s back and can sometimes get in the way, floundering in tight spaces, making it incredibly difficult to navigate certain areas. Once you get to either the Volcano Temple or the Temple of the Dead, it is time to enjoy the main meat of Gecko Gods.

The puzzles are where Gecko Gods shine. This gecko-worshipping civilization absolutely loved pulley systems, pressure plates, and hand-crank-like switches. After the player docks their gecko-sized boat at one on an island, it’s time to get to work. Usually, in the center of the larger islands, there is a gauntlet of four in-depth puzzles to take care of before moving on to another island. A nice tidbit of information with vague hints on how to solve each puzzle is given to the player, along with a snapshot of where to go to enter, and off you go.

Gecko Gods is all about freedom and exploration, which sometimes is an issue when the player really needs some sort of guidance.

The initial puzzles are quite easy, but when you move towards the latter half of the game, there are light puzzles that need a specific angle, slider puzzles that are deceivingly difficult, and a 3-step wire puzzle that, if you do not enter the puzzle the correct way, will confuse the hell out of the player. There was a moment in the Temple of the Dead where I was trying to complete a slider puzzle, but one of the pieces just did not load in, wasting almost an hour of in-game time. Needless to say, I frustratingly put Gecko Gods down for the day.

The vibe of Gecko Gods is more “at your own pace.” There is no danger; nothing is going to destroy the beautiful view of the sun, stars, and the ruins of an ancient gecko-worshipping civilization. I forgot how nice cell-shaded games can look. Being under a shady tree, with the leaves’ shadows fluttering in the tropical wind, is really relaxing. The shimmering sea and the clear night skies are a joy to look at. The temples themselves are filled with little details that justify their names. The Temple of the Dead is underground (mostly), and the Volcano Temple has a little red food coloring, indicating lava.

Audio design is worth checking out. I ADORE the little “eep” sound that the gecko makes. Jasmin Cooper’s soundtrack nails the tropical-vacation vibe. Wind instruments and percussion take center stage, especially when sailing, which really evokes a sense of wonder and exploration.

Geck Gods was an enjoyable experience. Island hopping to eat some bugs and collect artifacts was fun, and venturing into a Temple provides a more difficult approach to the already easy puzzles. The game looks great. There were multiple times that I hung out and just enjoyed the view, especially the night sky, and just listened to the world around me. I managed to roll credits in about 3.5 hours and was satisfied with what I played. The camera was getting really wonky at times, which ended up totally frustrating me, and there were moments when aspects of the game wouldn’t load, and I would have to quit out and boot the game back up. All in all, Gecko Gods is a really solid experience.

7/10