Creaks review - a darkly surreal puzzle game

PC (version tested) PS4, Switch, Xbox, Apple Arcade; Amanita Design
The Czech studio best known for point-and-click adventures Samorost and Machinarium brings its idiosyncratic genius to the puzzle platformer

In the Kafkaesque opening to Creaks, a young man finds a mysterious door leading from his tiny cluttered bedsit to a surreal subterranean kingdom threatened by a giant monster. He must now work his way through a succession of cryptic escape rooms, each inhabited by strange enemies with predictable patrol patterns. Robotic dogs run at you if you get too close, but always return to their beds; weird jellyfish creatures float left and right, but always head upwards if they encounter a barrier; dark, spiky-haired figures mimic your every move, unless blocked by furniture.

From the very beginning, we're in familiar game-design territory. Once you figure out each creatures' behaviours, they can be manipulated into pressing floor pads or hitting switches that bring down barriers or turn on lights that freeze any foe caught in the beam. There are buttons and levers for you, too, all of which modify the play-space to aid your escape. Mostly, you're figuring out the correct sequence, trapping one enemy here in order to activate a sliding door over there, with an emphasis on planning and logistics rather than running or jumping.