So we come to that lovely autumnal time of year again. Trees shed maroon flora, whilst critters hibernate for the winter. Most furry animals tend to hide away with stacks of sustenance, but the unique 'gamer' opts to whittle those winter hours away with the latest iteration of Level-5's sublime Professor Layton franchise. This year sees the third instalment hit UK shores – The Lost Future – and it'll surprise no-one to learn that the Fukuoka-based studio has served up yet another must-buy adventure title.

With Layton's ever-growing popularity in the mainstream, we won't be surprised if many who end up buying The Lost Future haven't played any previous entries in the canon. For said gamers, let's re-cap the basic premise of the games. You assume the role of the eponymous, puzzle-mastering professor and his faithful sidekick, Luke Triton. The bare bones of the gameplay involves nothing more than solving a series of ingenious riddles (over 165 to be found in the game).

Though that by itself might be enough to warrant a purchase, the game is strung together by an engrossing story, mixing wit, mystery and some gorgeous hand-drawn design. It may be said the story on offer in The Lost Future could well be the strongest the series has offered up yet. We won't spoil too much, but the game begins with Layton and Luke receiving a strange letter supposedly sent back in time from ten years into the future, which sees a desperate London in dire times. Could it be linked to the highly-publicised demonstration of the world's first working 'time machine' that went horribly awry a week earlier? It's up to Layton to solve the mystery, with the help of some familiar faces – both in present and future forms.

Great Scott!

Obviously it wouldn't be a Layton game without a selection of side-games to complement the main story. The mix on offer in The Lost Future, regrettably, pales in comparison to the addictive minigames found in previous titles, but are still nice in themselves as distractions from the relentless puzzle-solving. The best of the bunch is the tricky toy car game, where you have to guide a dinky automobile through several courses, picking up every item and reaching the goal, using only a limited selection of directional tiles that steer the car. The picture book game involves you collecting stickers throughout the main game to complete a number of light and fluffy children's stories. We completionists can only be obliged to conquer this, though it's hardly taxing. Finally, the parrot minigame requires you to draw perches in the right place to make sure your pet parrot bounds to safety at the end of each course. It's a bit of a slow-burner, and while it can get pretty tough, it's not really a patch on the majority of the puzzles the main game holds.

The meat of the game stays faithful to previous iterations. Hint coins are still plentiful for the times you just can't get your head around a puzzle, but an extra feature comes in the form of 'Super Hints'. If you're still stumped after three hints, you can spend two more coins on a virtually answer-providing 'Super hint'. Take note, some of the puzzles in The Lost Future are among the hardest to be found in any of the games, so rather than making it less of a challenge, the more generous hint system is at times a godsend. Fans will be pleased to know there's still a wealth of bonus content to be unlocked after you've finished the main game, whilst weekly downloadable puzzles also make a welcome return.

If the message isn't clear enough yet, Professor Layton and the Lost Future is a completely worthy entry in an exceptional franchise. Level-5's impressive production skills have crafted yet another gorgeous game world filled with fascinating characters and superb voice work. While the game boasts potentially the strongest storyline yet, a couple of below-excellent minigames and a handful of obtuse puzzles (though no more than its predecessors) just about stops The Lost Future from becoming an unequivocal peak in the series.

Still, fans of Layton owe it to themselves to pick up this gem. Level-5 continues to exceed expectations with this series that shows no signs of losing appeal. Keep them coming, Nintendo.