Game: Havsala: Into the Soul Palace
Genre: Adventure, Indie, RPG, Strategy
System: Steam (Windows, SteamOS, Linux)
Developers | Publishers: Ubik Studios, Stratera Games | Stratera Games, Rogue Duck Interactive
Steam Deck: Playable
Controller Support: Yes
Price: US $11.99 | UK £9.29 | EU € 9,99
Release Date: June 21st, 2022
No review code was used; I purchased the game myself.
Havsala: Into the Soul Palace is a 2026 puzzle game, developed by Ubik Studios, Stratera Games, and released by Stratera Games and Rogue Duck Interactive.
Premise
Havsala: Into the Soul Palace transports us into Phryne’s Soul Palace, a woman who loved herself and life. She wanted to live forever, in a way, so she built a sanctuary in her own soul, where she would go to remember herself throughout her reincarnations. As we wander around Phryne’s Soul Palace, we have to examine all the clues, investigate every nook and cranny in order to gather all the clues left behind by the previous reincarnations of a single soul, solve the puzzles, and unravel the mystery.
Gameplay
The premise of Havsala: Into the Soul Palace sounds a bit like an escape room, and true, every time we complete a chapter of the mystery, a new area is unlocked. The story is convoluted and requires patience and attention to detail. We have a notebook in-game where we can review clues we’ve collected, and to get through all the puzzles, we’ll need that notebook a lot.
As I said, we need to investigate the room fully – it means that we will collect some items to use later and read all the books we find. The puzzles are challenging and unique, more so than in many puzzle games of this type. They require concentration and attention to detail, especially when reading the books in the room. We’ll need to note down specific dates, symbols, and even astronomical data to solve some of them.
Havsala: Into the Soul Palace features beautiful hand-drawn artwork, an original soundtrack, and fully voiced narration. The game has Steam achievements, but no Trading cards yet. There are basic audio and video settings. It took me about an hour and a half to do a complete playthrough.
Conclusion
Havsala: Into the Soul Palace is my favorite kind of game – we have puzzles and beautiful artwork, and some very challenging puzzles to solve, and a lot of reading to do. If you like those kinds of games, you will probably enjoy Havsala: Into the Soul Palace as well.
Final Verdict: I Like it a Lot. 
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