FOUNTAINS

FOUNTAINS gives you two things to learn at once. One is how to handle the enemy in front of you. The other is how the place where you found it fits into the much larger world around it. That combination gives even a short excursion a purpose. You might set out looking for a route forward and come back with a better understanding of an encounter you had been avoiding.

The premise is a hunt for the hidden Fountain of Youth. What makes that premise interesting to play is the distance between knowing your goal and knowing how to reach it. If you enjoy remembering a junction, returning to a familiar stretch and spotting a way through that you missed the first time, the exploration gives you something to look forward to between difficult fights.

This is a single-player action RPG. Pick it for an evening of finding your own way and learning fights at your own pace. The base game is available on GOG, so check which edition you are buying before choosing any additional content.

The tools you find on the way have two jobs. An ability that helps you survive an enemy can also change how you move through the world. That makes an awkward dead end worth remembering. Think back to the last stretch of ground you could see but couldn't reach. Coming back with the right tool can be more rewarding than pressing ahead, especially if you noticed something odd about the scenery on your first visit.

There's also a quieter way to hear from other players. The online message system lets people share observations inside an otherwise solitary adventure. It's a good fit for the kind of discovery you might want to hint at without drawing someone a map. If you've been looking for a game to tackle side by side with a friend, that distinction matters. Each of you explores your own world, chooses your own route and handles your own fights. Comparing what you found afterwards is part of the fun.

The overhead view makes it possible to read the space around an enemy as well as the enemy itself. When a fight gives you trouble, it helps to separate two questions. Did you miss the opening to attack, or did you run out of room to move? Exploration offers a change of pace when one encounter starts to feel like the whole game. Even a detour that ends at a familiar junction can teach you how two places connect.

For a first playthrough, leave a few mysteries alone. The world hides pieces of its story in the places you pass through, and a return trip gives those details a second chance to register. GOG lists controller support, so the same solo adventure can work at a desk or with a pad on the couch.