Cracking the Code of a Unique Puzzle Game
In case you don’t know, a cipher is a secret or disguised way of writing something – in other words, a code.
The Caesar Cipher is one of the earliest recorded uses of this, in which the great man himself developed a code when writing to his confidants in 50 BC. But throughout history, ciphers have been used in high society, and in wartime to send plans for secret operations. Nowadays, computers around the world use encrypted ciphers to secure the banks and systems that run the world.
Cipher Monk is a game about decoding ciphers, and it’s a neat little puzzle affair that could be well worth your time.
Decoding History
This is a calming, brain-teasing puzzle game. There isn’t a story, but at the start of Cipher Monk, we see an animation of a monk’s hand drawing these ciphers with a quill. Who they are or why they are doing this is never revealed, but your task is to solve 35 levels of ciphers throughout this short and intriguing game.
The motivation for solving these riddles is not clear, but that hardly matters. See, this is all about the code-breaking.
Glyphs and Grids
Cipher Monk is based on the real ciphers created by Cistercian Monks in the 13th century. They produced a series of glyphs that represent a set of numbers between 1 and 9,500. Your job is to solve 35 levels of puzzles by creating the symbols that decipher the code.
You might think, “Okay, I’ll give that a go,” but it’s a lot trickier than you might expect. There aren’t any guides or tutorials to help you along the way either, aside that is from a very small reference book that gives you some starting examples relating symbols to glyphs. For that reason alone, you may find that Cipher Monk is a tricky one to get going with.
Trial, Error, and Epiphanies
I struggled to begin, trying to work out what to do. But thankfully it’ll soon click.
You are presented with a grid and some shapes on the side, ranging from straight-line blocks to triangles and circles. What you need to do is drag and place these items in the grid to design a glyph that represents the cipher for that level. You can drag the shapes, rotate them, and place them in the correct alignment.
In the beginning, as I said, I was almost putting things in random order, trying to work out what to do from the cipher. But after a few lucky breaks, it all clicked into place, and I started to understand the logic.
I think the main problem with Cipher Monk is that you are either going to get it or you won’t. It’s like cryptic crosswords, which tend to divide people based on whether they understand how to complete them or not. I did get a grasp on it, eventually, but others might give up quite early on if it doesn’t compute.
In fact, after completing the 35 levels, I really wanted more to do. Sadly, just as I felt I was warming up, Cipher Monk was over, and it felt like it could well have built in more levels quite easily.
The visuals, apart from the nicely animated, hand-drawn introduction, are quite simple. The game uses pleasant colours with a calming effect; something that all puzzle games should aspire to. The UI itself is simple and easy to use, even though it doesn’t offer much in terms of instructions.
The sound is very simple as well, with a minimalist soundtrack underneath that is calming, yet haunting at the same time, fitting in well with the vibe of the game.
A Short but Sweet Code-Breaking Challenge
I like taking in puzzle games on the Xbox. They are a nice distraction and a sidebar from the epic RPGs and complex shooter or strategy games that litter my game library. They should always be challenging and offer that quick, accessible gameplay that allows the player to step away, and then come back after a big think.
Cipher Monk is a good puzzler and different in its approach, but it certainly needs some early explanation to get you started. And then, once in the groove, you’ll probably want more content in order to be fully satisfied.
Your Links
No Timers, No Pressure – Cipher Monk is Just Medieval Maths – https://www.thexboxhub.com/no-timers-no-pressure-cipher-monk-is-just-medieval-maths/
Buy Cipher Monk, Optimised for Series X|S – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/Cipher-Monk/9P9L5RWRND1K
Or take in the Xbox One edition – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/cipher-monk-xbox-one/9NF5GCPTW0LL/0010
There’s also an Xbox Bundle – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/cipher-monk-xbox-bundle/9NDMBCCJ3PWN/0010
Or one that allows for play on PC too – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/cipher-monk-xbox-windows-bundle/9NMDLP8VHV83/0010
