Twin Peaks

Take one part X-Files and one part Professor Layton and throw them into a container, shake well to make sure that the art style resembles neither of those two things and you may get something resembling Puzzle Agent.  The avatar is Nelson Tether's an officer and the only person employed at the Puzzle Research Division for the FBI.  Keep in mind this is also a world that sees fit to have a Vegetable Crimes unit as well, so what Nelson does for a living isn't really that odd.

The crux of the game is less about the story, even though it is rather enjoyable and humorous in the same vein that almost all TellTale games fall into, and more on the puzzles that are scattered throughout the world.  Unfortunately, puzzles can be unbalanced as some are based on luck, some on memorization, and some based on things in the real world (which the player might have never encountered). The game balances this fairly well with the included hint system that and when used enough on any given puzzle, the game normally ends up just directly telling the player what the answer is. 

It isn't really like there is a ton of competition for best adventure game each year, and when there is it is probably always going to be TellTale games fighting for that prize against another one of their titles.  Oddly there aren't a lot of games like this, none if you ignore any of the Layton games, so this is a no brainer for anyone who enjoys this sub-genre.  While this isn't going to scratch that itch for a new Sam and Max or Tales of Monkey Island, it ends up being better than nothing which is what we are getting at the moment.

Not As Good As: Professor Layton
Also Try: Sam and Max Seasons 1~3
Wait For It: The next season of Monkey Island

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