Solvers are initially presented with a seemingly random list of clues. Doing a quick search of some of these, they'll quickly find that most of these have some sort of fantasy element to them, signaling that these relate to video games. After filling out a few clues, it will be clear that the clues are sorted alphabetically by answer - this will help solve some of the more ambiguous clues. The numbers provided also indicate which specific video games these come from.
| Enumeration | Game |
|---|---|
| (10) | Bloodborne |
| (7) | Cuphead |
| (4 5 2) | Dark Souls II |
| (5 4) | Elden Ring |
| (3 6 2 5 5 2 3 7) | Legend of Zelda: TotK |
| (4 6 1) | Mass Effect 3 |
| (3 6 9) | Old School Runescape |
| (3 3 3 4 2 3 5) | Ori and the Will of the Wisps |
| (7 5 3 6) | Pokemon Sword and Shield |
| (11 1) | Psychonauts 2 |
| (3 2 7) | Sea of Thieves |
| (7 6) | Stardew Valley |
| Clue | Answer | Game |
|---|---|---|
| Replenishing structure blocked by a bear | Baur's Reach Spirit Well | Ori and the Will of the Wisps |
| Forbidden hunter tool creating loud forceful sounds | Beast Roar | Bloodborne |
| Aggressive dwarves protect this bell | Belfry Luna | Dark Souls II |
| Half Medusa Half Mermaid giant sea monster | Cala Maria | Cuphead |
| This place has a Rat Problem | Community Center | Stardew Valley |
| Heavenly building used to activate two powerful runes | Divine Tower of East Atlus | Elden Ring |
| Swamp land with dragon bones | Dragon Bone Mire | Legend of Zelda: TotK |
| Potential Princess Sightings near by two imposing mountains | Dueling Peaks | Legend of Zelda: TotK |
| A royalty's large eight legged arachnid pet | Duke's Dear Freja | Dark Souls II |
| Bird assassin located at a church | Eileen the Crow | Bloodborne |
| She and her five children roar loudly | Elder Dragon Greyoll | Elden Ring |
| Exchange crystals for hearts in this bunker | Emergency Shelter | Legend of Zelda: TotK |
| Armed with hand-me-down tools, restore this barren land | Farm | Stardew Valley |
| Climb lighthouse to his brain | Ford Cruller | Psychonauts 2 |
| Detonate this shard to split some light | Fracture Spirit Shard | Ori and the Will of the Wisps |
| Climb tower filled with madness | Frenzy Flaming Tower | Elden Ring |
| Find a Scary Face here | Galar Mine No. 1 | Pokemon Sword and Shield |
| Cave to catch baggy clothed pocket monster | Galar Mine No. 2 | Pokemon Sword and Shield |
| Armor of loyal labyrinth watchers | Graveguard Set | Bloodborne |
| Rewire both risk and money here | Hollis Classroom | Psychonauts 2 |
| Sanctuary for numerous dissidents, marginal people, and fringe dwellers | Horizon | Mass Effect 3 |
| Magic releasing a maddening shriek which drives people insane | Howl of Shabriri | Elden Ring |
| Doctor's medical gel formula delivery location | Huerta Memorial Hospital | Mass Effect 3 |
| Statue of this magnificent king | King Rada I | Old School Runescape |
| Lost and Found items here | Mayor's Manor | Stardew Valley |
| 120 floors of rocks, treasures, and enemies | Mines | Stardew Valley |
| Haven for outlaws due to its meager resources | Nubian Expanse | Mass Effect 3 |
| Report to the head honcho's grand office | Office of the Grand Head | Psychonauts 2 |
| Journey through this haunted train | Phantom Express | Cuphead |
| Third time meeting this porcine, greedy shop keeper | Porkrind | Cuphead |
| Mission recovering artifact for a particle-rifle weapon | Priority: Eden Prime | Mass Effect 3 |
| Weather controlling rival to the champion | Raihan | Pokemon Sword and Shield |
| Remains of killer whale hidden within this reef | Reaper's Hideout | Sea of Thieves |
| Cleanest sea fort occupied by phantoms | Royal Crest Fortress | Sea of Thieves |
| Newlywed equipped with a colorful parasol | Sally Stageplay | Cuphead |
| Investigate Cerberus's new secret lab | Sanctum | Mass Effect 3 |
| Borrow some marine desert transportation here | Sand-Seal Rental Shop | Legend of Zelda: TotK |
| Island with a shark shrine | Shark Bait Cove | Sea of Thieves |
| Water filled shrine littered with shipwreck debris | Shrine of Flooded Embrace | Sea of Thieves |
| One million souls open this gate | Shrine of Winter | Dark Souls II |
| Sword made of light ability | Spirit Edge | Ori and the Will of the Wisps |
| Student of sorcery needing some runes | Thops | Elden Ring |
| Sage of Water item that provides a hefty shield | Vow of Sidon | Legend of Zelda: TotK |
| Help pyromancers subdue this animated storm | Wintertodt | Old School Runescape |
| Small child alone with a tiny music box | Young Yharnam Girl | Bloodborne |
After obtaining most or all of the clues, solvers can look towards the flavor text to get an idea of what the next step is. One key observation is that the flavor text is organized in a strange fashion. The rows are made up of 3, 4, 5, and 6 words. This hints that the number of words in the clue is important. After sorting by video game, notice that each game always has one clue of each word count (starting from 5). By plotting these on their respective video game maps, each of the games will spell out a single letter. Reorder the letters by video game release year, from 2012 to 2023, and you will get the clue phrase GIANT SPARROW.
A search of this with regards to video games reveals that this is a video game developer, who happens to have released a game called What Remains of Edith Finch, leading to the answer of FINCH.
Authors' Notes
I got my original inspiration for this puzzle from Old School Runescape's clue scrolls, where you get sent around the game talking to various NPCs and completing different tasks. While I haven't played all of these games myself, I tried to include games from a wide variety of different genres so that parts of this puzzle could appeal to different audiences.
The first draft of this puzzle had a lot of more mysterious clues, which could possibly hint at different places in multiple games, but that turned out to be extremely frustrating for the solvers and “I have no idea what to do” moments. I know there was quite a lot of clue fill and googling in the end, but I hope you enjoyed learning about the lore and geography of different games!