Meet Violet, a young, shy teenager with wonderful taste in pajamas. Violet, weary from following her parents’ orders and wishing she could just grow up already, falls asleep and finds herself in the phantasmal world that is this top-down puzzler.

Amid the dream-like artwork and mystical soundtrack, the immersive world is full of dangers and challenges sufficient to occupy your time. Each level contains a unique challenge that requires creative thinking and logic. As you learn different skills, you are able to overcome more challenges, but they also become more complex.

Violet acquires different magical abilities, such as walking on water and bursts of fire, just to name a couple. These abilities require “mana,” which you must collect in each level and use sparingly. But don’t worry too much if you accidentally waste some precious magic. If you make a fatal mistake, your moves are reversible. The game cleverly uses a time rewind mechanic that allows you to backtrack a few steps if you make an error in your puzzle solving. This helps you plan your moves and alleviates the frustration of having to start a level all over again.

This game is beautiful too look at and just as much fun to play. Some of the levels stumped me for quite some time, but luckily each area has a few different levels so you can keep playing if you get stuck on one. My only minor complaint about the game is that I wish Violet’s initial backstory, since they felt the need to include one, was a bit more compelling than frustration with her parents/desire to grow up. But maybe that is because I am past that phase in my life.

I would recommend Waking Violet to anyone interested in puzzlers. Its mechanics provide enough unique challenges to get a couple hours of mind-bending game play. That, plus the artwork and design makes this game well worth it.