Hint 1
An important first step is to find a way to toggle the light off without the moth being stuck against a wall. Note that the snow is not actually needed for any buttons, so don't worry about making it unrecoverable.
Hint 2
Once you've found an answer to the first hint, you might encounter an issue where you accidently attract the moth too early. Is there another similar location you could use to toggle that would not have this issue? Note that the moth being stuck against a wall is a problem when you need to push it but could be fine if you just want to turn the light off briefly for an intermediate step.
No worries, it seems you need to enable “Prefer Markdown input where available” in profile settings for it to actually work, I’ll edit my post to include that part.
Hint 1
As you probably already suspect, the small gap down and to the left of where the block starts is the key here. If you could get the block down one tile, you could use this space to push it to the right, though you'll still need to be on the upper floor to drop into this space. If the lizard needs to stay on the floor above, what could you use to move the block?
Hint 2
You also need to get the moth into the tile one below the button, but the lizard needs to drop on a specific tile to free the block. What else could you use that would keep the lizard on the upper floor? This will also leave you in the right configuration to get the block free.
Hint 1
It is hard to get past the right flower even with it lowered because of the corner, but what makes turning corners an issue in the first place? Is there something you could do to make corners a nonissue?
Hint 2
The light usually stops you from turning corners. In other levels, you sometimes balance the light on a flower or platform to get around this restriction, though the layout of the buttons prevents that here. What else could you do to get your light out of the way?
Hint 3
If you are having trouble with the setup, consider the different ways you could use the two moths. How could a flying moth help?
These hints are pretty small and focused on the concept, so let me know if there is a specific part of the setup you’d like help with.
Hint 1
Note that despite there being an extra platform next to the button, there isn't actually enough space to push (or lure) an object onto it horizontally, so you will need an upwards push to get anything onto it.
Hint 2
Pushing something onto the button while on the upper floor would require getting a block away from the left platform, which doesn't seem feasible without dropping down. Is there anything you could do from the bottom floor instead?
It happens any time the lizard and light would otherwise end the move with a gap between them. For example, if you try to move while the light is stuck against a corner, the light can’t move so the lizard would end up stretching the chain an extra tile. This results in the light toggling and the player snapping back to the tile they started on. If you try the same setup where the light is stuck against the corner but something is blocking the player from moving (like a wall), that won’t cause a toggle because the lizard can’t travel far enough to form a gap. Let me know if there is a specific example where you’re curious why a toggle does/doesn’t work.
On a more serious note, I was imagining it as the lizard choosing to carry a light to stay warm, though even that was a bit of an afterthought. I started with the “dragging object that attracts other objects” mechanic, then settled on the light + moth theme since I liked the mechanical twist that followed naturally from it. Then I just needed a small creature that I thought would be easy to draw in low resolution from a top-down perspective.
Almost missed this but here are a few hints if you still need them!
Hint 1
The corners on the bottom floor of the level make it easy to get stuck. Is there anything you can do to allow your character more mobility? If you're stuck, it might help to revisit the first level of the previous area.
Hint 2
There aren't enough blocks to reach the button from above and space is pretty limited on the lower level. It might help to take note of which tiles you can drop blocks on and still have them be pushable afterwards.
Hint 3
If you're having trouble pushing a block to the button without getting yourself trapped, consider how having two blocks might allow you to extend your range.
I did want a slight difficulty drop between Variety and Bloom for pacing reasons, though it seems it ended up a lot more drastic than I intended. I think some of the main factors are:
Variety having no new mechanics means there aren’t really any tutorial levels
The levels in the bottom row of Variety are intentionally placed early so you have the chance to try them before other levels where you are more likely to accidentally stumble into the interactions
Some of the later levels were just put there because they didn’t fit anywhere else
I was having some trouble writing hints for this one, let me know if there is still a specific part you’d like help with.
Hint 1
Corners prevent you from pulling the light to get it directly behind you and pushing the light doesn't actually change where it is relative to your position. Is there another way you could change where you are relative to the light?
Hint 2
You need a way to trigger the flower rising from the other side of the web. There is only one object that allows this, though getting it to happen at the right time is tricky. How could you use the leftover object to control when the flower rises?
Hint 1
It sounds like you have the right idea above the bottom path, you could use it to get back to the right side if you approach it with the light behind you.
Hint 2
You'll need to find a way to turn yourself around on the platform in the middle of the level, but there isn't much space to work with. Normally, you get to the other side of your light by circling around it. Is there a different way you could accomplish this that requires less space?
Hint 3
You've likely seen that flowers can't lift a stack of objects. Is there a way you could use that to reorient yourself?
First, I’ll just state the concept of the puzzle (if anyone is struggling with this part and wants less direct hints, let me know):
Concept
You can get both moths to pass over their respective buttons at the same time, letting the gate open just long enough for the moth at the bottom to move out of the way.
Setup Hint 1
First we need to make sure we can get the gate open at all. The moth on the left needs to travel farther, so what could we use to slow the moth on the right down?
Setup Hint 2
We also need to make sure the third moth is able to see our light. No matter which direction we approach from, there will always be at least one moth that sees it too early. What could we do to make it so this isn't an issue?
Setup Hint 3
We have a lot more options if we set things up with the light off, but we still need a way to turn the light back on once we're in position. There's a wall sticking out above where the moths are, but it is a little too far away. How could the extra snow block help?
Here are a few hints to get you started, these are mainly about getting the concept but let me know if you’d like help with the setup after:
Hint 1
Unlike in Glimpse, there aren't any gates that can be used to interrupt a moth after it starts moving. If you can't stop them from getting stuck, what other approach could you take?
Hint 2
Note that the two moths in the top portion of the level are directly across from each other, watching the same row of tiles. What does this let you do?
Hint 3
Do you need the gate at the bottom of the screen to stay open, or is there a way opening it for only a moment could still be useful? If you are having trouble getting it to open at all, the snow could be useful as a way to manipulate timing.
Hint 1
You're very close to the solution! Normally, the red flower gate blocks the moth from being able to see your light. Is there a way you could get the gate to close again right after the moth see your light?
Solution
What happens if you melt the snow at the same time the moth starts moving? If you are having trouble getting the positioning right, try pulling the light diagonally.
Really sorry to hear this happened! You can go to brave://flags/ and set “Enable Ephemeral Storage” to Disabled and it shouldn’t delete your saves anymore.
These hints are assuming you’re stuck near the end, but let if know if you (or anyone else seeing this) need help getting to the block on the left.
Hint 1
You need to get the moth stuck against the bottom row back up, but there is nowhere to toggle the light on the upper part of the level. Is there anywhere you could push it up from? Note that this can't be done in a single step!
Hint 2
The gap in the lower-middle portion of the level could let you push the moth upwards, though you'll need a way to get it to move into the tile directly above you.
Hint 3
After toggling your light on, be careful not to let the moth immediately see it! Once the moth is adjacent to the light, your only options will be to move into the row above (which attracts the moth in that row and gets it stuck) or retreat back into the gap. Note that the walls on the sides of the gap are different - how could you take advantage of that to avoid this issue?
Hint 1
This puzzle is mainly about getting the first moth out of the way. Regardless of how you are attract it, you'll end up pushing it back a bit, so try to get it to travel as far as you can with the light.
Hint 2
It might be worth revisiting Line of Sight (the first puzzle from this area). A similar method can be used to pull the moth further than you'd be able to otherwise. From there, you should be able to reach the second moth and can use a similar strategy to reach the exit.
Spoiler
You can use the top part of the level to turn around, that way pushing the block at the bottom won't trap you.
Also, don’t be afraid to skip ahead to the next set if you get stuck, puzzles at the start of a new set are usually easier than the last puzzles from the one before it.
Hint 1
Putting the snow on the right will always result in it melting when you try to reach the end of the puzzle. You can push the snow left, the only issue is that it gets too close to the snow at the bottom. Is there anything you use to manipulate how the light moves?
Hint 2
Normally, moving while the light is diagonal from the player will also pull it diagonally. What would happen if something is in the way, and how could that be used to your advantage?
That should be right, the tricky part is making sure your body doesn’t get in the way and block one of the moths from seeing the light. Let me know if you’d like a hint!
You should know everything you need to solve The Wall, though Glimpse has an interaction you likely haven’t seen yet. Here are some hints, let me know if you’d like additional ones!
Glimpse
Hint 1
As you've seen, a moth that sees your light will continue moving until they reach it. Is there anything you can do to make it stop seeing your light before it reaches you?
The Wall
Hint 1
Pushing rows of snow to the right slowly destroys snow in the neighboring rows. Is there anything you can do to split the rows up so that this isn't an issue?
Hint 2
There isn't enough room to push snow from the bottom half of the screen to the top half (or vice versa). In other words, trying to push up or down isn't helpful and only pushing right will melt too much snow before you reach the buttons. What options does that leave you with?
Hint 1
You have the right idea. Take note of the geometry of the left side of the puzzle when looking for safe tiles to leave snow on, there's one that is easy to miss.
Hint 2
Revisiting Sort from the Snow area might help.
Feel free to ask for help here! If you want to include spoilers, you can use this format to make it less likely that other players will accidently see them (if it isn’t working, make sure “Prefer Markdown input where available” is enabled in your profile settings):
It shouldn’t rely on anything that you haven’t been exposed to by that point, though there are a lot of potential sticking points. Is there a specific part you’re stuck on?
That’s a tough one to give hints for, I think the best method for solving it is to consider what constraints you have (noting that these constraints aren’t always true but work here due to the simple geometry of the puzzle). This should significantly reduce your options.
Constraint 1
Pushing snow to the right will result in your light being directly to your left when the move is complete. This means that when you push a snow block, any block that was directly above or below it before the move will be destroyed when the move ends.
Constraint 2
Trying to push a snow block vertically requires two rows of space above/below it. Otherwise, trying to get in position to push the block will move your light directly diagonal to the block, destroying it. This means there is no way to move snow between the top and bottom halves of the puzzle; you can only push snow into the top or bottom row, which is not very helpful.
Implications
Consider just the bottom two rows. Each row has 4 blocks of snow that need to travel at least 5 tiles to reach a button. From constraint 2, we know there is no way to bring new snow into these two rows. From constraint 1, we know that each push to the right will consume any vertically adjacent snow. 10 pushes are required to get snow to each button, but we only have 8 available - we need to find a way to split up the rows or we will always run out of resources.
Hopefully that helps without giving too much away, let me know if you want any more pointers!
It doesn’t sound like you missed any important techniques from the earlier sets. Are there any specific levels in Variety that you’d like hints for? I also want to note that the layout for that set is a bit odd, I think a lot of the easier puzzles ended up in the row above the start position.
I’m having trouble figuring out the cause of this. I might just add a way to unlock all levels, it wouldn’t help with actually tracking progress but at least everything would be accessible.
You’re definitely on the right track, hope this helps!
Hint
Based on the screenshot, it looks like you've already figured out a way to navigate with the pumpkins while not attaching to them. If you're having trouble getting them to end up where you want (or having them get stuck against walls), it's probably due to parity. Take note of how much you need to move the pumpkins to avoid attaching and toy with the setup accordingly (there is a bit of freedom in how you do this part).
This one is intentionally a bit of a jump in difficulty since it is where the game starts using more of the tricks from the original Shackle.
Spike:
Hint 1
You probably already know this, but make sure you aren't pushing anything against the wall at the start.
Hint 2
There is no way to push an object along the bottom of the level with only an attached light source.
Hint 3
The flower is the key to the level, how might destroying it be helpful? It might help to skip ahead to the next couple levels or revisit the fourth level set in Shackle.
Hint 4
If you're having trouble with the setup, I'd recommend moving the crate towards the top of the level so it is out of the way and getting both of the loose pumpkins in the same row as the button so you can move around more easily.
Thanks for making this topic, I probably should’ve set something like this up from the start. Just as a general tip for anyone struggling, I would strongly recommend trying the original Shackle first if you haven’t already. It has a significantly gentler difficulty curve and it should help with getting used to how the ball and chain move. If you want to get back to Shack-o’-Lantern quickly, the first 6 level sets in Shackle should cover all of the mechanics you need.
Lighting:
Hint 1
As you've probably seen, there is no way to navigate through the 2x2 region on the left side of the puzzle with just the attached pumpkin.
Hint 2
Note that the structure at the bottom of the puzzle is a very similar 2x2 and will also be impossible to get through without another light source.
Hint 3
Pushing a pumpkin into the 2x2 on the left leaves it in an awkward spot. What further steps can you take to be able to push it to the left?
Hint 4
The passage on the right of the puzzle would allow you to enter the 2x2 from the left, but it is too long to go through moving forwards and the corner prevents you from entering backwards. Is there anywhere you could put a pumpkin to make this tunnel usable? You might run into trouble getting back to the start of the level after setting everything up, but you should have an extra pumpkin to help.
That’s a really fun idea. The original Shackle needed the current behavior for a few levels, though I do think having tangled objects work more like snake segments would work well with the light mechanics.
