Domestic Elementalism

The story seems simple enough at first glance, but it turns out to be a fairly tricky puzzler. Each object we find is actually four objects in one (well, two in one until we restore our personal power levels) and it takes a bit of lateral thinking or perspicuity to figure out what to do. I won't say it's a matter of reading the author's mind, since, to me at least, the puzzles seemed to make logical sense once I knew what was going on; I'd say, rather, that the puzzles are a little more challenging that what I've encountered in the last few games I've played. Perhaps it would be a little more frustrating in a parser format, given the open-ended nature of that format; or perhaps it would instead be less, given that a well-implemented parser usually provides gentle hints for close-but-not-quite solution attempts. I don't know. I do know that I did occasionally feel a little too constrained by the point-and-click interface.

The story is that we're a witch and we live in a house powered by the elements. We're back after a week away, and everything's gone screwy. Magical house maintenance, in other words; but why haas everything gone screwy, anyway? Is there something sinister at work?

Spoiler alert: no. The answer is actually kind of endearing.

Ultimately, I found this to be engaging in a fairly low-key way, very well implemented, and nicely presented. If it were breakfast, it would be a vegetarian omelette with a tall glass of orange juice to follow: some complex flavours folded together into a single package, ending with a sweet hit of freshness.