Video games are all about action: shooting aliens, slaying dragons, crashing cars. But the industry’s focus on high-octane mayhem means a lot of other genres — romance, say, or comedy — are neglected. Imagine that Hollywood released nothing but Michael Bay films and you’ll have some idea of the state of video-game storytelling.

Thankfully, game designers are starting to look beyond violence and explore different kinds of challenges. The success of Nintendo’s Wii and DS has shown that games appeal to a lot of people beyond the hardcore crowd, and developers are looking for fresh ideas that will attract that newfound audience.

Nintendo has led the charge with lower-stress games like “Nintendogs” and “Brain Age.” Activision’s nonviolent “Guitar Hero” series has infiltrated the mass culture in a way that even a best-seller like “Halo 3″ could never manage. And even the most trigger-happy gamer needs a change of pace every now and then.

“Professor Layton and the Curious Village” (Nintendo, for the DS, $34.99;EU23)

In the “curious village” of St. Mystere, no one seems to be able to give a straight answer. Everyone you meet wants you to solve a puzzle — a maze here, a math problem there, and just about every other sort of brainteaser you can imagine in between.

Professor Layton and his earnest assistant Luke drive to St. Mystere to help a rich family decode the will of an enigmatic baron. The challenges begin well before the guys can even take a look at the will; you can’t even enter the town without solving a little visual puzzle. The puzzles range from easy to unexpectedly thorny, but you can buy hints that will help you crack all but the toughest nuts.

The beautiful animation, reminiscent of “The Triplets of Belleville,” is worth watching even if you’re eager to dig into the puzzles….