Alien Geoguessr Meets Sherlock Holmes in This Captivating Steam Mystery

I love Geoguessr. I’ve played it on and off for years, starting back when it used to be browser-only and free-to-play. As a Brit, my favorite maps have always been the UK-only ones, but I am also partial to a no-moving, no-zooming challenge, where you essentially have to identify the location solely from a photo.

Locator: The Search for Abigail Lidari, developed by Empty Exhibit, is essentially that, but there is no chance whatsoever that you’ll already recognize the place you’re looking at. Furthermore, the map you must use to pinpoint the exact location is much more detailed, showing things like plants, individual walkways, lanes used for sailing, and more. I played the game’s demo build for Gamescom remotely before heading out to the event, and it was the perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

That’s because Locator is a game about finding a lost astronaut, the titular Abigail Lidari, as she explores an alien planet. Using photos she’s taken on her journey, you must identify exactly where she took them from clues both in the photo itself, and also in previous photos that you’ve successfully pinpointed.

Not only that, but you also have plenty of Abigail’s notes to refer to, which offer more clues, some of them vital. For example, certain photos show various constellations, and her notes separate constellations into the northern and southern hemispheres. Another note she found details the routes a long-lost race known as the Farran would take to practice their sailing. Abigail followed the same routes, but crashed due south of where the photo was taken, so you need to cross-reference various maps and photos to identify the exact location.

Once you’ve placed three locations correctly, the game will verify and unlock some more photos and clues for you to work out. If you’ve placed three pins and the game hasn’t told you it’s correct, then that means at least one of your selections is wrong. If you’re stuck, there’s also a hint system, and trust me, you’re going to get stuck. You’ll feel like a genius when you nail a set of three locations on the first try, but equally, no matter how confident you were, when a location is deemed to be wrong, you’ll be utterly baffled.

Locator: The Search for Abigail Lidari is part geography, part puzzle, and it’s a mind-bender at the best of times. It has a fascinating sci-fi story about black holes and discovering how they work, all while finding out what happened to the Farran, and ultimately finding Abigail. This isn’t an intense game, but it is a serene, inquisitive one that will give your brain a satisfying workout.