My Beautiful Faraway: a quiet, aching little puzzle dream worth getting lost in

You wake up somewhere half-remembered, a dreamlike nowhere full of strange people stuck in their own regrets, and the only way through is to wander, listen and piece things together. My Beautiful Faraway, Please Don't Be Cruel To Me is a melancholic first-person puzzle adventure from a solo dev. It's all walking, reading, talking and solving, with early-2000s visuals in a cozy 4:3 frame, seven characters with their own stories, 10+ puzzles and mini-games, and multiple endings to chase.

The puzzles are the real highlight. They're clever and satisfying, the kind that seem perfectly tuned to the way your brain works once they click. The atmosphere and the handcrafted soundtrack carry everything else. It looks spooky, but it isn't a horror game, with no jumpscares and nothing timed. It's just heavy, a story about death, loss and regret that's the kind you'll keep thinking about after the credits.

A few rough edges: some puzzles get a bit obtuse (keep a notepad nearby), the first chapter's design is the weakest stretch, and there's a bug where a progress flag can go missing. Expect about 3 hours for a first run and 6+ to see everything. One heads-up on themes: it deals with death, suicide, abuse, substance use and prostitution, all handled through the story rather than shown or played out, so go in knowing it's a heavy one.