CLeM
Genres: Puzzle, Escape Room, Horror, Mystery, Story Rich, Atmospheric, Adventure
Release Date: 6-2-2024
Developer: Mango Protocol
Our verdict
8/10
- Difficulty: Medium
- Players: 1
- Playtime: 4–6 h
CLeM is a hand-drawn puzzle adventure from Mango Protocol set in a dim, seemingly empty house. You wake with a notebook of alchemy notes and insect sketches while a voice asks you to bring it beauty, and you craft small magic toys to reach new spots and revisit rooms you thought you had finished. It suits solo players who like a dark fairy-tale mood with their puzzles.
About 88% of its 146 Steam reviews are positive. The few written reviews describe the puzzles as thoughtful and sometimes tricky, with patience usually enough to get through, and one player found the ending genuinely moving. SteamSpy tags put mystery, exploration and psychological horror up front, with multiple endings close behind, so expect creepy rather than scary.
The complaints are small: one reviewer grew tired of the repeated feedback sound when guessing wrong, and one bought it at 60% off partly because it is short. Most finish in four to six hours. Buy it if you enjoy story-led puzzle houses with a creepy-cute look; consider waiting for a sale if price per hour matters to you.
Pros
- Crafted magic toys open up rooms you have already explored
- Creepy hand-drawn house with an alchemy and insect theme
- Multiple endings and a story players found moving
Cons
- Repeated wrong-answer sound grates when you are stuck
- Short for the full price; better value on sale
About
You awaken in a cold, dimly lit room, your senses slowly adjusting to the surroundings that, oddly, feel familiar. A strange sensation lingers in you, reminding you that something is not quite right. As you find your bearings, your attention is drawn to a peculiar item on the ground. A notebook labeled "CLeM" lies before you. As you delve into its pages, covered with intricate sketches of insects accompanied by vague symbols, you find a note containing a cryptic message: “Bring me BEAUTY.” Lost in deciphering the contents, a voice interrupts your focus.
Puzzles intertwine with exploration, weaving a unique narrative experience we call “Puzzlevania” with a shadowy story to unravel and countless challenges to overcome.
Craft magic toys to unveil hidden secrets, access unreachable spots, and reclaim items from the past as you uncover new revelations in familiar spaces.
Investigate a seemingly desolate house accompanied only by an obscure voice and a notebook full of annotations and drawings on alchemy, insects, and other creepy crawlies.
Choose your fate in this dark story of manipulation, pride, forgiveness, and redemption.
Features:
A new genre, “Puzzlevania,” intertwines puzzles and exploration. Discover hidden secrets in each room as you delve deeper into the mysteries with every crafted magical toy.
Unique and beautiful art style with hand-drawn elements.
2D graphics with 3D environmental navigation.
Challenging and diverse puzzles to solve.
An enigmatic story with a dark turn.
