Strange Antiquities

Strange Antiquities is an excellent mix of subtle dread and fascinating puzzles. The core loop will have you hooked, while the setting will keep you coming back! Able to be played in short bursts or in a few sittings, it is a great addition to any library.

Despite taking place almost entirely within a single shop, Strange Antiquities draws you thoroughly into its mysterious and intriguing world. You play as the ap

Over on the other side of town from Strange Horticulture is another little shop that deals in the esoteric and unusual. Strange Antiquities has you putting down your trowel to grab your book of gemstones and magnifying glass, as an Apprentice Thaumaturge who’s probably just hoping for a few quiet days while the boss is away.

I was disappointed that Strange Antiquities didn’t fix some of my issues with the first game, but it’s still a marked improvement in gameplay complexity and depth. A perfect pick during the Halloween season, Strange Antiquities delivers on that cozy-yet-spooky Victorian vibe with the best of them. If you love mystery games, the pull will be irresistible.

Even so, the satisfaction of a fully-ticked list kept me going to the end, and I happily lingered for a few more hours to identify objects I'd missed. The highs of Strange Antiquities – and there are many – match those of anything else I've played this year, and surely put it up there with Blue Prince among the best puzzle games of 2025. It is fiendish and delightful, and hopefully, one of many more Strange games to come.

If you played Strange Horticulture, you'll know exactly what to expect from Strange Antiquities, and you're in for quite the treat. Revisiting the macabre town of Undermere is a joy, and puzzling through as you help its residents find weird and wonderful antiques imbued with mysterious powers is almost (almost!) as fun as it was with plants.

In Strange Antiquities, Bad Viking expands the rich world of Strange Horticulture – this time in an antique shop specialising in the occult. The puzzles are cryptic but rarely skull-cracking, forming an addictive gameplay loop: who knew hunting down magic antiques to solve customers’ conundrums could be so satisfying? The whole thing is cloaked in a gripping mystery narrative, which you can influence with the right (or wrong) occult oddity. And with the possibility of multiple endings, replay value is high – at least for those of you who want to see just how much strangeness is in store.

A great cozy yet creepy puzzle adventure packed with dozens of little mysteries to solve.

It's difficult to review a game like Strange Antiquities as most of the pleasure and pain it derives will depend on if you click with the style of puzzle it presents. But if you're looking for a slightly cozy, slightly dark world in which to inhabit as the nights get longer, then I'd suggest at least checking out the demo of this game to see if it works for you. If it does, there's almost no better feeling in the world than getting that eureka moment as you solve a particularly tricky puzzle.