Solodev Sam Agten has announced Stip, a deceptively simple number puzzle game where rules are discovered, puzzles misbehave, and looking too closely may be a mistake. The Metroidbrainia puzzle game will release on Steam later this year.

Stip is the Dutch word for “dot”

There is more than meets the eye in Stip. On the surface, it’s a simple puzzle game, but you’ll unlock the dark secrets of the narrative layer by layer as you progress.

“Hi there! Please, come in and enjoy our number puzzles. Use the constraints to assign the correct numbers. Assign, undo, deduce, repeat. Please refrain from touching anything else. There are more puzzles for you, that way. Please ignore any odd behaviour, we’ll have that looked at. You are doing great!” ​
​- Stip

Stip is a number puzzle game with a simple, but striking visual style. The player uses a set of constraints to determine which numbers go in a series of dots. These constraints are not always clear, however. Players will experiment, assign, undo, and deduce to decipher their meaning.

Stip’s number puzzles are laid out in maze-like rooms that hide secrets of their own. Players will use items and environmental clues to peel away layers and find even more secrets, off-kilter puzzles, and even hidden puzzle rules that can grant an edge in further exploration.

Puzzles will start to misbehave. Stip will entice you, flatter you, and shower you with random facts about numbers, if only to keep your eyes facing forward. Look at the puzzles, please, and ignore the fraying edges.

Key Features

• Number Puzzle Goodness: Do you want to sit down and play some relaxing number puzzles? Stip can be that game for you. Find comfort in some quick deductions and dopamine-inducing special effects.
• An Intricate Puzzle Box: Stip’s puzzles are laid out in rooms that have their own puzzles. Use items, manipulate the environment, and look for hidden clues to uncover more secrets.
• Rule Discovery: Players will need to think laterally by deducing constraints, finding hidden puzzle rules that give them an edge, and pulling on threads that the game wants to keep from them.
• The puzzles are evil: Stip is a virus, a parasite that craves your attention. It’ll offer new mechanics to keep you engaged, increase your score, and provide motivational confetti to keep you from looking too closely and to encourage you to keep solving puzzles.
• Transmedia Clues: Keep an eye on social media, trailers, real-life events, store pages, andpress releases, as they may contain hidden codes to unlock more secrets.

Take a look at the trailer below for Stip and tell us what you think. Does this sound like the type of game you will enjoy?