The Academy: The First Riddle Launches June 19th

Puzzle games are a not-so-guilty pleasure of mine. I love games that make me use my brain and require me to think and do things in unique ways. I also happen to be a Harry Potter fan, though I’m not so fond of JK Rowling herself these days. What do these things have in common? Well, a new game released by Pine Studio called The Academy: The First Riddle happens to blend both of these influences together.

According to the press release which brands the game as Professor Layton meets Hogwarts, The Academy: The First Riddle puts you in the role of Sam, a freshman at a famous yet mysterious Academy, who will be solving puzzles in a 20+ hour adventure.

The press release goes on to state – “Over the course of this roughly 20-hour adventure, fans will sink their teeth into over 200 puzzles and riddles scattered across the campus. The puzzles will guide the players through the central story of the game and the mystery looming over the school. When fans aren’t busy unraveling the school’s past, they’ll be able to engage in a host of fun activities with an array of memorable characters.”

Pine Studio’s Boris Barbir commented on the game and its influences, stating – “We’re huge fans of the Professor Layton series and its colorful puzzles. We wanted to make a game that would allow players on all platforms to experience that thrill of getting a puzzle just right.

We are big fans of Harry Potter, so the school is greatly inspired by Hogwarts, but it’s also inspired by the architecture of our city, Zagreb. Early on in development, it became clear that what we actually set off to achieve was to capture the essence of being a kid – the feeling that adventure lies around every corner.”

If this game intrigues you at all, you’ll be interested to know that The Academy: The First Riddle will be available on PC and Mac via Steam, as well as iOS and Android on June 19^th. It will be $19.99 on Steam and $9.99 on mobile devices. Additionally, the developers have plans to release on Xbox One, Playstation 4, and Nintendo Switch later this summer.

I, for one, can honestly say that I am very excited to play The Academy: The First Riddle. I love games like Professor Layton and the idea of an entire school filled with puzzles just hits all the right notes for me. It’ll be one to watch when June 19^th rolls around, that’s for certain.