LEAVES - The Return

LEAVES - The Return
N/A
Metacritic
85
Steam
72.942
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$0.49
Release date
14 March 2017
Developers
Steam reviews score
Total
85 (275 votes)

Mononino and the Treefruities fared well without you - until another disaster scattered the leaves of their home tree. Once more, take on the journey and challenging puzzles along the way.

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LEAVES - The Return system requirements

Minimum:

  • OS: Windows XP SP2 or better
  • Processor: 2Ghz Pentium T4200
  • Memory: 1 GB RAM
  • DirectX: Version 9.0c
  • Storage: 500 MB available space

Recommended:

Recommended requirements are not yet specified.
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Lord Levan
Lord Levan

I liked this game.

If you are fond of indie or point and click games this product is for you. You will find lots of puzzles to solve and riddles to settle. During several hours you wont be bored, the rich gameplay throws you in the magic world of Leaves.

This game reminds me famous Samorost 3

Recommend to every indie game lover

Here you can check First look and first part of the gameplay
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iWpWy2EH6o

KanekinRose
KanekinRose

This game is absolutely amazing and I highly recomend it if you are interested in puzzle games that will have you tinkering and thinking.

I also recorded the gameplay since I found that it was such an amazing game and concept I wanted to record it for others to view as well.

Here is the video link and I hope you enjoy the game as much as I did.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDAg5_NGITk

Fadey_Fade
Fadey_Fade

I purchased the first game and am halfway through the challenging puzzles. So when this second part came out I just had to buy it. Both the games are very well thought out and have beautiful artistic graphics. They certainly keep you both amused and baffled at the same time. I dont normaly play puzzle games but the artistic work with these games are just outstanding and very pleasing to the eye.

Watch me play
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v93eCVHUzs

cleverdolphin
cleverdolphin

A worthy successor to the first Leaves. If you liked it, you will be entertained by this one, although this successor borrows heavily from its big brother.

Awesomehylian
Awesomehylian

This game was just what I would have wanted from a sequel to Leaves: The Journey. The puzzles kept the same vibe while also being entirely different, and I enjoyed seeing new and familiar inhabitants! I personally felt that this game was a good amount more difficult than the first game, as it seemed like more puzzles did not get hint boards or really anything that I'd consider an obviously helpful tip. To that end, my only real complaint is with the "crossword" puzzle. It was pretty big, and to expect that based on trial and error is a little heavy handed in my opinion.

I also don't know if it's a bug or something, but in both Leaves: The Journey and Leaves: The Return, No matter how many inhabitants I found - even when using the glass on literally every screen - I never get the Professor achievement. Perhaps I'll have to go back and manually count how many I find, but I'm about 90/10 that I should have gotten those achievements.

One more sad point, though not a complaint, is that the inhabitants did not assemble for the growing of the leaves like they did in the first game. I thought that was really sweet and nice, and was looking forward to that again when I reached the end of this sequel.

Snus
Snus

A sequel to LEAVES - The Journey which reuses a lot of content and has the same drawbacks as the original: clunky UI, a lot of unnesessary travelling (why can't you just travel to already visited locations via the map which is in the game?), and some pretty boring puzzles like the crossword with numbers that require only patience, not wits.

Overall, the game is not bad, but it's not great either. You can get it on sale along with The Journey, but I don't think this 3 hr game is worth it's full price.

anarchristy
anarchristy

Fabulous! puzzles are whacky and whimsical for the most part. artwork is a visual panolpy of joy. music to dream to.
i liked that the help button (esc. key) requires a little puzzle to open and that the help is not direct and overt. i liked the different rhythms to the puzzles, some were quirky and easy, others were tedious, some goofy and fun, you get the idea. i liked that it mirrored Leaves (I) somewhat but differed in key areas. Having felt the vibe of Leaves did help direct some of the reasoning some of the puzzles seemed to require while other bits were neat and new - I found some solutions eloquent in that they informed each other in novel ways.
Overall, most everything from Daedalic is exceptional in my experience. I enjoy the simplicity of game play, the fantastic visual environment, and the variety or logic and reasoning required.

PageWraith
PageWraith

Still a good game, different puzzles. If you bought the first one then you will be dissapointed with this sequel. They just copied a lot from the first game and used a couple of photos when they should have been creating a whole new experience. Still fun, just not as much.

Loki
Loki

I had difficulty playing this game on my laptop (MacBook OS 10.13.4 (17E202)), which was really disappointing. What I could play I really liked, and the graphics are amazing. I am not sure what the technical issues are. From what I could play, I would recommend it.

Lennora Gray
Lennora Gray

Love the art style. LOVE the inhabitants. Love and hate the puzzles. ;)
Reason for long play time? Achievement.

Krazedlion
Krazedlion

LEAVES - The Return has some different puzzles than the first game, but there are a lot of reused assets. It's still a an awesome puzzle adventure, but it's almost like playing more of the first game. They were great the first time around, but dang couldn't the developers come up with some other content. It would have been a lot better if all of the inhabitants weren't all the same, the end puzzle wasn't exactly the same, and a few other puzzles weren't almost indentical to LEAVES - The Journey. I'm still going to recommend, but I'd get it on sale.

valkeera
valkeera

Part two of an interesting adventure game taking place in a surrealistic world full of puzzles, that is exactly the same like the first LEAVES. The scene and the puzzles are in the same style, the gameplay, the secrets and the main goal are exactly the same. And still almost no music at all.

Emblem Parade
Emblem Parade

The sequel to LEAVES: The Journey, a difficult puzzle game superimposed on evocative dadaist art.

If you enjoyed the first one, you will definitely enjoy this, too. However, keep your expectations a bit low: the story is exactly the same, some of the core puzzles are the same, and the game engine is the same (including its awkward user interface). Really, this plays like a fan mod of the first LEAVES games more than a sequel. But this might be the wrong kind of complaint for a game focused on puzzles. And indeed you will get many more and new puzzles! So, yay!

DALCOhstangultion
DALCOhstangultion

"LEAVES - The Return," is almost exactly like its predecessor. "LEAVES - The Journey." It looks, feels, sounds, and acts just like that game. It even re-uses several settings. The puzzles, of course, are different (and a couple were even harder than the those in the earlier game) though they're of the same type. Even the length of the game is the same (7.1 hours for me to complete it with 100% Achievement -- from the previous game, I knew there was an Achievement for completing the game in one sitting, so I didn't have to replay it for that). And, like the previous game, the list price of almost $8 is therefore just a bit too high. So, I'm recommending the game only if it's on sale. Also, there's no need to worry about playing the games in order. Buy and play whichever one you can find on sale. If they're both on sale, then buy them both.

ArcaneM37
ArcaneM37

Great game. Some things are literal exact copies from the first game, but all but one ofthe puzzles are new, and they are just as challenging as the first one. Worth a play if you liked Leaves 1.

Cthulhu Girl
Cthulhu Girl

Link to Full Review

Major Pros:

    • Diverse puzzles

Minor Pros:

    • Strange hidden characters to find
    • Wordless storytelling

Major Cons:

    • Tedious movement

Minor Cons:

    • Memorization
    • Short

cassandra_strand
cassandra_strand

If you liked the first game 'LEAVES - The Journey' then you will probably love this sequel. I had mixed feelings about the first game but I think I enjoyed this one a little more.

The graphics are the same as the first game with somewhat odd looking backgrounds and characters that look somewhat like a surreal Monty Python but not nearly as comedic. The sound is minimalist. Mostly you hear little pings and clicks when you collect things or solve puzzles but there are some background noises such as wind blowing gears moving water dripping that you can hear as well. Overall the sounds are definitely not excessive. I often turn my sound off on my computer while gaming because I just can't take listening to too much game music but that's not an issue with this game so I didn't have to turn sound down or off at all. The story like the first is almost non-existent. The tree sneezes and loses all it's leaves and then you for some reason must find them.

This game felt a lot shorter than the first game. I don't know if it's because so many of the puzzles were now familiar from having done something similar in the first game or if it's actually shorter. The gameplay mechanics are essentially the same as the first but some things seem to work a little smoother. Oddly though running this game (not the first only this one) uses my GPU excessively and makes my computer run really hot. I've not experienced this with any other game I've played so I found that really weird but don't know if it's an issue with my computer or the game. The excessive heat means that for me playing through in one go for the final achievement is probably not going to happen as I had to save and quite several times for my PC to cool down. If you like achievements the game does have a few. Most will unlock naturally as you play the game and can't be missed but there are a few (such as finding all the residents or angering the treefruit) that can be missed.

The puzzles felt easier. I don't know if it was because they were so similar to the ones I'd already played in the first game or if they really were easier. This was in some ways both good and bad. Many of the puzzles felt more like playing a casual puzzle game and didn't require much effort or thought, they usually were pretty straightforward in terms of figuring out what you needed to do. The first game had quite a few puzzles that were quite difficult to figure out not because the puzzle was necessarily overly difficult but because you don't understand what you are supposed to do. This game didn't seem to have much of that same issue. There were maybe 2-3 puzzles that I felt I needed help with only because I was short on time while playing and didn't want to take the extra time to try and figure out the more complex parts... I know, lazy. The biggest difference is that after having seen the solution to these it made total sense what I was supposed to do whereas the first game when I did that still didn't help me figure out what I was supposed to have done. I would guess some people will be disappointed with this game because the puzzle difficulty really seems to have gotten a little easier but I think most people who enjoy puzzle games will find it pleasant enough...I still wouldn't call this and adventure though.

I played through in about 6 hours which at full price makes this about $1.32/hr of gameplay. That's a little higher than I prefer but I got this on a great deal in a Daedalic bundle. If you want to buy it I'd wait for a sale and if possible buy it in a bundle with other games you want from Daedalic. I don't recommend buying it at full price. If your not that into puzzle games don't buy it all.

CindyK_JA
CindyK_JA

This second Leaves game is just as delightful as the first. While the structure/objectives are the same, the scenery and puzzles are different and it is a very nice way to continue enjoying the world of Leaves. If you are a fan of whimsical puzzles, you should not miss this one!

maria.k0
maria.k0

Definitely worse than the first part, for me. There's more going back and forth between locations, especially with the bird puzzle- you have to type in paths over and over again to go back to certain places which is very annoying and unnecessary. I had a feeling that some of the puzzles were not very well hinted, rather - go try everything 1000 times until you figure this out or watch YT for help. The inside-game hint puzzle (i mean hints were you filled one puzzle and your "prize" is a hint, not hints in options menu) is worse than the first part. And the ending is exactly the same, which is nice but also not really? I feel very annoyed and like I wasted time.

contrivable
contrivable

"Leaves - The Return" is a worthy sequel to "Leaves - The Journey". We have again a nice point-and-click adventure with original graphics and okay sound design. You are collecting hints in order to solve puzzles mostly to allow access to new locations. Navigation has improved over the first game, i. e. it is more intuitive but still somewhat unreliable. The map still cannot be used for fast travel.

+ okay, original graphics
+ eerie atmosphere
+ puzzles
0 basically no story

The map is provided early in the game and should allow you to travel directly to rooms you already visited - any visited room will not be locked again later in the game.

"Leaves - The Return" is again a simple, not too short puzzler and often on offer for a hefty discount. Recommended.

DisasterMo
DisasterMo

This is a nice little (emphasis on that last word, btw) puzzle game. While it can be a bit tedious at times (like having to run around the entire map again for the last puzzle), I do find it quiet enjoyable.

While some things are clearly copied/left in from the first game, the puzzles have undoubtably improved (this time around I didn't have to brute-force anything! Wohoo!), so I cannot not recommend this game.

nuszi555
nuszi555

Nope, that's not the way to go. This is just a ripoff of the first part. Zero story, much more linear with a lot of backtracking, studded with idiotic puzzles, of which many of are "copy this pattern" ones.

Abomination72
Abomination72

Like the first installment of Leaves, this is a small puzzle game about a tree who lost its leaves. Again :)

Could as well copy the review from the previous game since this is just about the same game. Same style of graphics, same world. Even the exact same 'habitants'.

They did change up the environments a bit of course. You'd recognize a few scenes from the previous game but most of it is new. And so are the puzzles.

As with the previoius game, these puzzles include finding combinations of symbols or colors, sliding and rotation puzzles, finding clues spread out the gameworld and a little bit of pixel hunting although, again, not as obnoxious as in some other games of this genre.

Finished this in yet another long evening session and, like leaves 1, really enjoy it.

Lord Churn
Lord Churn

A fantastic sequel to "LEAVES - The Journey"!

Didn't take too long to complete, but I enjoyed the overall experience as I returned to a familiar world and took on harder challenges than its predecessor. Daedalic Entertainment make brilliant puzzle games!

I bought them on sale, but would pay full price due to the fun I had!

thomsedavi
thomsedavi

This sequel seemed much easier than the original, although I'm not sure if this is just due to being more familiar with the style of puzzles. I completed it in less than half the time of the original, and didn't need to look up any hints.
Given that most of this game seems to be recycled from the original game, I feel like more time could have been spent on creating new content.
The new puzzles were fun though, I just wouldn't recommend this game at full price - wait for it to be heavily discounted, or in a bundle with the original game.

Allieissa
Allieissa

Doesn't give you any controls. No hints on wtf the puzzles are supposed to do. No keys to follow. You just end up clinking aimlessly. Menus pop up sometimes but not others and u have no clue how to call them back. Stupidest game ever

Maëllin
Maëllin

There's a beautiful song that is sung every day
When the wind and the leaves play together,
And I hear the sweet notes as I wander along,
From my low cottage home to the heather.

And I fain would express the sweet sentiment there,
The sweet songs of love and devotion,
When the wind sighs to stay but must go on its way
On its journey to the land and the ocean.

planetblues
planetblues

Love the surreal style and the wonderfully imagined world. Puzzles are nicely varied, sometimes a real challenge, one or two felt obscure and frustrating, but overall a very immersive and entertaining experience. Really enjoyed both `Journey' and `Return' and on sale they were an absolute bargain. Thank you to the developers, I'll happily buy a sequel at full price it ever gets made.

Puzzlemental
Puzzlemental

Very pretty and immersive game with challenging puzzles that have a good logical progression. The music and sound effects add dimension to the characters. The story line is simple, but there are leaves and inhabitants to collect. The intuitive approach to the puzzles could be difficult but there is a hint system and other players willing to help you along.

mendel
mendel

Solid short puzzle game.

Very similar to the first one, and just as good. The inhabitants are the same, the puzzles are mostly new.
It took 3 hours for a no-help playthrough in one sitting (all achievements) with a friend.

Recommended.

RugenSky
RugenSky

Good little game. It is quiet walking around and finding the clues to solve each of the puzzles. Some of the puzzles you can work hard on a find the solution without the clues, but it is just as satisfying. Still love the little bell when you find a leaf.

Prof.Vaharrak
Prof.Vaharrak

Prof.Vaharrak's Curator Group - Almost 30 years of gaming experience at your service

Part 2 of the Journey series, a very good point-and-click puzzle adventure that doesn't overstay it's welcome at about 3 hours length, with a surreal aesthetic and puzzles designed to be challenging yet not impossible with a handful of clues laying about.

Reminded me of Botanicula and Machinarium.

DeadDow
DeadDow

Well that sure happened. What you see in the trailer is what you get in the game, so if you don't like the look of the trailer don't get the game. *Shrug*

jessicabk
jessicabk

A successful sequel which is as fun as the previous one. It added a few more difficult puzzles which is challenging. Again, the graphics are cute and lovely. Great game!

spencerplewe
spencerplewe

Continuing the same formula of the original, the most crucial ingredient of supplying plenty more original clues and puzzles is at least included as well.

Bendijo
Bendijo

The puzzles here ran the gamut. The starting ones were extremely easy, but the quickly turned to essays in memorization. Plan on having screenshots of clues given up next to the game to solve about half the puzzles. One, out-of-nowhere, involved a number crossword that was much harder than the puzzles before it. And at least for me, too tough to be fun.

In many places, a poor understanding of puzzle conventions made this less fun than it could have been. Lack of feedback and lack of explanation turned puzzles that would have been enjoyable into hair-pulling annoyances. As an example... a spot-the-differences puzzle didn't say that's what it was, and also gave no feedback. So, at some point, this just became an exercise of clicking on every pixel and hoping it would end soon (I couldn't even spot a third of the differences). Worth the money if it is cheap!

RowdyOne
RowdyOne

I found this one a touch easier than the first, but no less enjoyable. The cuteness is still there, the puzzles are a little less obvious in their solutions, and one of the leaves was a little harder for me to spot, but it's still a great little game, especially if you're into puzzles.

Fennec Fox
Fennec Fox

Cute and whimsical, like the first Leaves. Finding the inhabitants is still a high point and the entire world is beautifully crafted. There is a lot of backtracking so this is best for gamers with patience who don't mind a non-linear path and some confusion. If you like the art-style shown you will no doubt enjoy this little world.

Stripedhorse
Stripedhorse

Just like the first "Leaves" this game is also lovely. Puzzles are challenging, artwork is in a style I very much enjoy and music is relaxing. Thanks.

Kkami
Kkami

Interesting puzzles that require observation, logic and thinking out of the box - only one actually required moving keys faster / in a particular way ( the sun one) . The rest of them I enjoyed, as you can actually work them out given the clues. If you liked the first Leaves game you will like this one and vice versa. It is a slow, thinking game. And yes it does seem to get the PC hot but switching it off for a bit or changing to a lower resolution helped me.

jgarthcl
jgarthcl

Wow!

If you liked or loved the first LEAVES, then you owe it to yourself to run, not walk, out and buy this game. The graphics are lovely (strange surrealist sculptures and art), the music and SFX are....well, okay, they're merely adequate, but the gameplay and puzzles are wonderful (there was only one I needed to go to a walkthrough to get me started, and even then it was worth a forehead slap and an "Of course!").

As an overall package, this is a puzzle-game with fun gameplay and phenomenal aesthetics. My only quibble (and it is a small one) is that the achievement for beating the game in one sitting is just not realistic for a first time player, unless you literally have four or so hours to just sit down and play without quitting (you could follow a walkthrough every step of the way, but what fun is that?!?!). I intend to snag the achievement some free evening in the future now that I've finished the game, as I suspect that having beaten the game once I can probably do it again in 2 hours or so.

Highly recommended!!

carial1969
carial1969

I worked for days on a puzzle. I finally solved it, and then it didn't give me the red bean. Well, can't continue to go on without the red bean. I'm totally insane with anger. Just kick me in the teeth next time, I'll feel better.

tumptyteapot
tumptyteapot

Lovely, a good balance of tricky puzzles with great aha moments. Beautifully animated with lots of endearing characters.

Gory Tundra
Gory Tundra

This is a really fun point and click puzzle game. It is also really easy to complete and if you struggle with any part of the game, you can always get a guide to help you complete a puzzle. The art style and imagination that went into this game is just insanely awesome!! I would recommend this game to everyone. LOVED IT!!

Detective
Detective

There is a game breaking bug in this game at the Hanoi puzzle that the developer has never addressed, in spite of repeated requests. For this reason alone i will not recommend unfortunately

VerdentViolet
VerdentViolet

This installation of the Leaves series was a real puzzler. It has the same dreamy / surreal-esque art work as the first game, but this one has more layers of puzzles. Have fun with it!

Drunkerella
Drunkerella

This is just a lazy reskin of the first terrible game. Entire backgrounds, animations and gameplay aspects are reused for this game! The dev seems to take pleasure in using the most annoying ambient sounds (like loon calls or bass hum) for screens where you're sitting there solving a puzzle for a long time. Lastly, it wouldn't be a Leaves game without bugs. This time it's during the tedious "five rings" puzzle, which you have to intentionally mess up and redo again to solve the bug! Joy!

Why did I play this if I disliked the first Leaves game so much? I hate having unplayed games in my library, so here I am. The only good thing about LEAVES: The Return is that it is shorter than its predecessor.

Fox Baldur
Fox Baldur

Just like the first game this one is full of bugs which bring you to the point where you have to restart the game. In one puzzle a piece was so buggy that it turned white and I couldn't move it anymore. I recommend to save just after and/or before every puzzle. But on different save files, because they can be buggy aswell. I had to restart the game several times. Also I never found out why I am doing what I am doing. It's like they had ideas for puzzles and wantrd to put them into something like a story. A lot of puzzles are the same as in the first game, so I was even more annoyed. Okay, I got the games for 0.49 € each but I would say it's not worth it.

Petr Stránský
Petr Stránský

Exactly the same as LEAVES – The Journey. It's basically an expansion pack.
Nothing was improved, not even the slow and clumsy UI.

Bladedfanfighter
Bladedfanfighter

Just as engaging as the first LEAVES game, with a lot less general aggravation- and that's despite my power going out part way through and having to start over from scratch. When I'm not even mad that I just lost a half-hour's progress, I'd say it's a pretty fun game.

Schu
Schu

Meh rating, not a hard no but not a yes either. The problem I have with the sequel is that the issues from the first game are still here and ready to annoy you along the way. Transition-arrows leading from one screen to another again disappear, trying to open the inventory while solving a puzzle can and *will* exit the puzzle, etc. On top of that, the last (and probably the most annoying) puzzle is recycled from the first game. I haven't encountered the infamous bug others mentioned but that was probably just my luck. The map is still there and still pretty much useless. I enjoyed some of the puzzles, the number kriss-kross was fun to do, but overall the game was nothing special. If you did enjoy the first one, leave it at that, and if you didn't you won't get luckier with this one.

melfid
melfid

I bought Leaves: The Journey and its sequel The Return because they had very good discounts. I liked the puzzles and how the games don't really explain much and you have to understand what is what by yourself. The puzzles weren't all easy but they weren't very difficult either, which made the game more enjoyable. The graphics were fantastic, I loved the designs and the art style. It's a very good and fun puzzle game.

Tetsuo
Tetsuo

I bought both this and Leaves - The Journey for a few dollars each, I like adventure games and hidden object games. The Leaves series is right up my alley, I love these games! The puzzles are difficult and rewarding, the art is beautiful, these games are well designed, IMO. If they make more of these games, I will buy every one. If you like good, original puzzles and enjoy a good point and click adventure game, I strongly recommend you give these games a play through.

Danchekker
Danchekker

Good second take for this game saga. Not so many differences than the previous chapter. Some nice puzzle additions.

DoctorLeft
DoctorLeft

I think this game improves on the first in having better puzzles and less backtracking. There are some additional bits of text to help new players with the basics of navigation that the first game did not have.

A lot of the same cons have returned. There's still a lot of excessive clicking, tough not as much as the first game. The worst aspect of this game, just like the first, is the technical performance. There is no way in the options to limit the frame rate. If you have a modern-ish graphics that card that means several hundred or low four digit FPS. If you've got an older or less cooling-efficient machine I wouldn't suggest launching it.

landofozgirl
landofozgirl

Cute game. I liked the first one better. This one had some puzzles that did not seem intuitive to my way of thinking. I struggled in the cave with multiple sections and needed to look at a walkthrough. My two issues (minor) were that you had to keep entering the sequences to move through the maze and that you had to keep opening the inventory to use the magnifying glass. Neither are significant. Worth playing.

Son of a submariner
Son of a submariner

Unfortunately just as the first game: Unbelievably beautiful, unbelievably illogical, frustrating mechanics, infuriating logic.

ExultantAbyss
ExultantAbyss

More difficult and surreal than its predecessor. I enjoyed it but I needed to look up a few hints for this one, so it was less enjoyable than the first game.

(6)bdog homes
(6)bdog homes

About as much fun as the first one, so if you can get it on sale for $0.50, then I would absolutely recommend it.

Firebull
Firebull

Love it as much as the first one. The maze section did slow the flow whenever you had to go through it. But apart from that and one color puzzle that just wasn't my thing, this was great.

Meowish
Meowish

A nice little puzzle game presented in Surrealism art style. Kinda reminds me of Botanica or Samorost by Amanita. But they do have their own art style here and the puzzles are pretty nice in difficulty (bout level 5~6). Basically you have to spot or find the clues and use the clues to solve the puzzles, so it's more on the spotting than solving most of the time, like those hidden object games.

This is the 2nd game, a sequel, with some of the ideas and art work reused from the 1st game. The difficulty is actually easier in this one because we have encountered the puzzles before in the 1st series, we know how to solve them right away... which kinda spoil the fun imo... wish they actually put more thoughts into the making and do less recycle stuffs...

0x0000000000000000
0x0000000000000000

- still no frame rate cap in-game (like previous game, watch out for overheating gpu)
- nonsensical story
+ new and returning (old) puzzles need thinking
+ unique environments & surreal graphics
+ ambient bg music/ sound

* buy this on the next sale, worth the 4 hours of out-of-the-box thinking

HannahBug
HannahBug

This game suffers the same issues as the first. There are some unique puzzles, but most of them are stupid hard to solve. Like "open a guide or die" hard. It does look a bit nicer in my opinion and the paths aren't quite as long and windy, which is cool. It feels a bit more put together map-wise. There's pretty much no story whatsoever, same as the first

Stranger
Stranger

Beautiful, as it's predecessor, fun puzzles. Practically no down side to it (it could maybe be a bit longer, but...).

𝐎𝐌𝐍𝟏𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐍
𝐎𝐌𝐍𝟏𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐍

MY RATING: 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 ✘ ✘ ✘ 7 / 10

The sequel to LEAVES – The Journey and again the Treefruities are in trouble...

.. why does the tree have to sneeze and lose its leaves again?

As in the first part, this challenging point & click puzzle game takes place in a, but this time different, surreal and artistically designed world.

Again on the search for the lost leaves, there are quite a few new and again quite challenging puzzles to solve.
In this part I had the feeling that there is more back and forth than in the first part. But I could also be wrong.

Again, the line between “it's fun” and “it's frustrating” is pretty narrow.
Overall, I found the game to be much shorter, but maybe it's also because you know how and what you have to do, which wasn't always very clear in the first part.

I would also still recommend working with screenshots, since the UI hasn't changed and the reference to the puzzle sometimes disappears after opening or looking at it.

If you're looking for a challenging puzzle game, this is it, and retailing for under $1, it's definitely a bargain. However, the game is not recommended for everyone else.

I couldn't find any bugs during my playthrough. But since it's mentioned in some other reviews and depending on the bug it probably wasn't possible to continue or play through it, I wanted to mention it briefly.

If you're undecided about the game, I recommend reading through some of the other reviews, especially the negative ones. They often give a good clue as to why the game might not be fun for you.


MY PROS AND CONS:

✅ fantastic look
✅ great sound / soundscape
✅ Variety of different puzzles
✅ one of the most beautiful credits out there
✅ easy achievements

❌ lots of backtracking
❌ spartan menu
❌ terrible UI


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Fatty
Fatty

Simple yet challenging. Leaves you entirely on your own to figure each puzzle/solution and progression on your own.
Can be frustrating at times.
Got it as part of an daedalic artist bundle for super cheap.

coffeefroggy
coffeefroggy

As the sequel to Leaves-The Journey, you are back to help the Treefruities collect their leaves after their beloved tree has once again been stripped of them. Unlike most sequels with games, The Return didn't seem to lose any of the charm, magic, or intrigue the first game held. Keeping with its mildly creepy and fantastical theme, this game hosts many delightful puzzles that anyone who enjoys point-and-click games will love. As with the first game, some of the challenges and puzzles can be a bit annoyingly time consuming but are all fairly easy enough to figure out.

memi
memi

Nice little puzzle game as was number one. These games are very relaxing and the level of difficulty is by times challenging but never undoable. Some of the puzzles in this game were (almost) the same as in the first installment, which is a pity. If you can get this game discounted/free as part of a bundle I'd definitely recommended installing it.

oldladygreybun
oldladygreybun

Quite a good little PnC puzzle game. But it was more fun the first hour or two, and got a bit tedious towards the end of the game. Mainly because of the very long distances you have to travel back and forth, and confusing pathways. Stylewise visually it reminded me a bit of Samorost, but Samorost I found more enjoyable - as each main area was more self-contained, and avoided all that boring back-and-forth.

The in-game map helps, and there's a Tips function in main menu also (behind a quite simple puzzle lock). But WHY can't you just go to wherever you want to get to by clicking on the map (after having discovered each location first, at least). The puzzles are set up so that almost all need the clue-boards you pick up or acquire by solving other puzzles along the way. But some of those clues are a loooong way away from where you need to use them, and crop up in jumbled order. And there are many different ways of moving between scenes (with multiple options in most scenes - left and/or right and/or down and/or through a gateway and/or via a elevator, ladder, sliding pole, door, window, through a maze,... ). After a while it got really confusing to have to remember so many different and specific entries and exits. All-in-all made getting around rather a chore, which made me quite tired of the game by the end.

I also found it tedious after a while that using the spyglass (magnifier) was so cumbersome (click on the dangling ball to open inventory, click on spyglass to select, drag it down into main screen to use) - and it would automatically disappear after use, so you'd have to repeat the sequence for each scene. Oufffff. Why couldn't it have been direct-access on a letter key (like the M for map) or direct-select from right margin, or something...

So unfortunatly, I'm not as happy with this game as I could have been. Which is disappointing. Because this is the kind of game I usually like. A lot. And the artwork/visuals and imagination gone into this was good.

This review is a straight-after impression on finalising. I'll let it rest for a couple of days, and see if that changes this first impression... Maybe I'm just a bit tired and fed up right now ;-)

Nathaly
Nathaly

It's hard to say that The Return is a good sequel, since there isn't really any story. But I don't mean that in a negative way.
From the look, the music and how the puzzles are, it fit well with the first part. Not much has changed.
Even though this part is good and can be recommended, I liked the first part more. I understood the puzzles better in the first part.