Islands of Insight | Tips to get started
Islands of Insight by Lunarch Studios is a whopper of a puzzler, with over 10,000 puzzles to test you, it can seem daunting at first, and one you may want some tips to help you navigate through its early hours. We’ve played through this behemoth of a puzzler and come up with some key Islands of Insight tips to help you get cracking.
Islands of Insight | Tips to get started
Don’t be afraid to leave a puzzle for later
It’s not unsurprising to feel compelled to solve every puzzle that Island of Insights throws at you. It can feel like a mini gauntlet has been through down between the game and your own grey matter. However, with over 10,000 puzzles to solve, fixating on a specific one is not the way to go, or indeed enjoy the experience of Islands of Insights to its fullest. If you can’t solve something, come back to it later, there will be plenty of other puzzles to get stuck into that you can enjoy instead. You can always come back later if you want.
Get the Movement upgrades
The biggest piece of advice, at least initially, is to follow the main story, at the very least until you get the first two main movement upgrades. The first is a double jump, the second grants you the ability to fly. Most of the game’s puzzles, particularly in the central hub area will be locked behind movement upgrades and won’t be accessible so don’t be afraid to follow the main path initially to unlock these cool traversal mechanics.
Know what puzzle types you’re looking for in each area
Different areas in Islands of Insight will focus on different puzzles. Some will introduce new puzzles to add to your collection whereas others will concentrate on certain areas too. Knowing the types of puzzles in an area, means you know what to look out for when travelling around the area, meaning you’re more likely to spot, and then solve them at a quicker pace.
Switch between 1st and 3rd person perspective
Whilst you can do most of the puzzles in Islands of Insight from a 3rd person perspective, switching to a 1st person perspective can help solve certain puzzles much easier. The Armillary Rings puzzle for example is an early puzzle that is much easier to solve with direct viewpoint afforded from a 1st person perspective, so feel free to mix it up depending on the puzzle you’re trying to solve.
Check for bonus Mirabilis conditions
Each area will have a key condition to unlock the Mirabilis of that Enclave. However, there will also be extra conditions, which if met, will reward you with additional Mirabilis to add to your collection. It’s always worth noting what these are when you visit a new Enclave as you can work towards these in parallel with your main goal to get more Mirabilis as you explore. So keep an eye on these bonus conditions.
Use the map to find where Mirabilis are
Incidentally, whilst you’re on the hunt for Mirabilis themselves, another useful tip is to use the Map. It will highlight Mirabilis you have missed along your travels, and will also point you in the right direction to more Enclaves to explore to build up your Mirabilis collection. So if you’re stumped on where to go next, simply open up your Map for a clue.
Wait until later to explore greyed-out sections
Greyed-out areas of the map are areas that haven’t yet been activated due to where you are in the main quest, and because of that, they will contain a lot of locked puzzles that require you to beat certain Enclaves. There will still be a few things to do there if you’re desperate to explore something new, but you’ll find way more puzzles and Mirabilis in the areas you’ve already got coloured in on the Map
