timothya's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:4.3
- Helpful Votes:1,143
- Reviews Submitted:196
- First Review:June 24, 2012
- Most Recent Review:May 18, 2025
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Can you solve an old murder case and save your sister?
Overall rating
5
/
5
7 of 9 found this review helpful
NIce Mystery
PostedNovember 7, 2017
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Full marks for the best mystery game of the year. All of the usual disclaimers - this one will be too easy for some, too difficult for others, and for me it found the just-right zone.
Pros: the writing, mentioned separately below. Great graphics, great voice acting, atmospheric music, and a jump-scare or two. The puzzles are plentiful, some quite challenging. I regret inadvertently playing the last one on Casual because it deserved better. Male POV for a welcome change. Nice bonus game with an interesting ending.
Cons: the plot is very dark, not suitable for children.
Writing: yes, a real mystery! The plot is properly convoluted and the player may wish to keep notes on relationships, because it's one slow reveal after another as the overall plot becomes apparent. Only at the last is the player character's real involvement in the story revealed. Very, very well done.
Some may find the game too easy, some too hard, but for me it was the best mystery game of the year so far.
I recommend this game!
Can you find out what's targeting young men in Paris?
Overall rating
5
/
5
17 of 18 found this review helpful
Full Value On This One
PostedOctober 27, 2017
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Best entry in the series so far. This one was puzzle packed, coherent, and with a long, wonderful bonus game. Definitely CE-worthy!
Pros: Gorgeous graphics, excellent voice acting, straightforward plot, and plenty of puzzles, some quite original and some original twists on old standbys. Certain were quite challenging, none of them impossible.
Cons: Minor, really. The villains were sketchily drawn, and the music, although quite beautiful, needed a little more variety.
Overall, a really top-notch entry with plenty of challenge for an intermediate or advanced player. Lots of game play, generous bonus. And great puzzles.
I recommend this game!
Can you break free from your nightmares in time?
Overall rating
2
/
5
10 of 13 found this review helpful
Disastrous
PostedSeptember 12, 2017
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
Will somebody please tell me what in the world I just played? Come on now, I don't mind a little mystery but this was absolutely incomprehensible. It was actually a very solid game until just before the end, where it fell apart, and all of a sudden we were through, but with what?
Pros: Beautiful graphics, adequate voice acting, rare male POV, smooth play and with one exception great puzzles. Music was the customarily excellent job done by Clean Cuts.
Cons: What happened? We were going along well and apparently the Devs ran out of interest or time. We were left with total confusion over who died, who attended the graduation. and what any of it had to do with the mysterious villains. The game just stopped. It fell apart with the gravestone slider puzzle which was utterly opaque, and once skipped - I hate skipping puzzles - once skipped led us to the denouement if you can call it that. Infuriating.
Huge potential with this game, and the player feels as if he had the rug pulled out from under his feet with the story line. I love this series, I love this developer, but this one's a loser.
I don't recommend this game.
Can you uncover the truth behind a string of strange thefts?
Overall rating
5
/
5
9 of 11 found this review helpful
We're Not In Kansas Anymore
PostedAugust 11, 2017
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
The third in the Vermillion Watch series and I'm hoping not the last.
Pros: gorgeous graphics, wonderful game design incorporating a multi-pathed solution set, smooth game play, plenty of puzzles some of which were nicely challenging, adequate to very good voice acting, writing good enough to justify a separate mention below, and a surprise ending (or is it?) that ties the three games together. This is one of those games where you linger from scene to scene to soak up the atmosphere.
Cons: not much. Certain puzzles suffered from twitchy controls, the second elephant puzzle resetting way too easily. I quit it in frustration with the solution in hand because I couldn't control the mouse finely enough to stay in the path.
Writing: very appealing steampunk setting with nods to period literature that ranged from awful puns to hilarious contrasts with the original characters. Order Zero is Oz, of course, and our Dorothy is now a bounty-hunting action heroine and Toto a sleuth hound, all in addition to the previous cast of characters such as Edgar Allen Poe and Phileas Fogg. Captain Ahab makes an appearance, as does the daughter of Captain Nemo. None of these is remotely like the original, which is part of the fun. Loved the plot, the development, the denouement.
Game Design: also merits special mention. As the previous two games, this is multi-pathed. At several points the player is left with a choice, some of which do not affect the game, some of which do, or at least the solution path. The logic flow was very complex, the zoo in particular being a work of art puzzle-wise. Some of it stretched the limits of logic, for example, how were we supposed to know how to make that collander? The trusty map was the player's only clue unless he or she wanted hit the very useful Hint button.
I just loved the game. Beside the plot, characters, and puzzles there is a sly humor that keeps it from getting overly pretentious. A secret compartment in a peg leg? Come on now, well, OK, it was pretty funny. And lots and lots of lovely puzzles. This one's a five for me. More of this, please!
I recommend this game!
Become the hero of your own chapter in Tiny Tales: Heart of the Forest.
Overall rating
5
/
5
3 of 4 found this review helpful
Not Dark At All
PostedJuly 29, 2017
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
A bright, beautiful, often silly and very different game. I was fortunate enough to beta it and aside from a title change there were significant improvements, notably in the player character. Original notes begin, "Cartoony, saccharine, Disneyesque, I hate these games," and end about a page later, "Must buy!"
What changed my mind were the gorgeous graphics and a sense that the writers had kept a light touch on it. Don't expect subtle plot twists. No scary moments, no excess violence; this would be a very good game for a young person. For experienced gamers the puzzles are on the easy side, but the HO scenes are plenty and varied.
No demons, no cutesy assistants to distract, no phony supernatural drama, just a nice, light, colorful, straightforward adventure. Well done, devs!
I recommend this game!
Can you win the battle between Darkness and Flame?
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Visual Feast
PostedJune 10, 2017
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
The bar has been raised with respect to graphics. I was delighted to be able to beta this one and was blown away by the post-apocalyptic scenery, the smoothness of motion, and the general beauty of the art.
Pros: well, yes, the graphics. The game is beautiful, imaginative, slick, and spectacular. It bears a certain resemblance in that regard (and in the dialogue) with a couple of old favorites, the Invasion series. Not, apparently, the same Dev but the same feel, and I wouldn't be too surprised to find some of the same people behind it. Voice acting adequate to good, given the awkward quality of the script (see below). Plenty of game play, interesting bonus game. Puzzles excellent, HO scenes of several different types, some even timed (there's a blast to the past). Player characters incorporate both male and female POV, as they did in the Invasion series, and it actually worked. Oh, and did I mention the graphics?
Cons: the dialogue could use a lot of work. Too often it was cringe-worthy although the actors did the best they could with the material at hand. Plot got a little thin toward the watery denouement and if you hadn't played the predecessor it seemed a little short on detail.
Overall, though, a truly remarkable visual experience. That blew me away enough for that fifth star. Well done!
I recommend this game!
He can’t be stopped. And he’s digging your grave!
Overall rating
5
/
5
24 of 25 found this review helpful
Great Writing
PostedMay 27, 2017
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Current Favorite:
Drawn®: Dark Flight ™ Collector's Edition
(48)Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I had the luck to beta this one and I knew it was going to be great. In fact, it got even better. It took a while to make it to market and the quality of the finished product shows why.
Pros: Great graphics, which we have come to expect from this developer, a really creepy atmosphere, genuine surprises, excellent voice acting. Smooth, snappy game play, certain of the puzzles quite challenging but not impossible. And solid writing with a few twists and a genuinely surprising ending. It would have been a four-star game anyway, but the writing takes it to five and a half.
Cons: one simply awful technical problem with a maze that was corrected by an update. Great maze, incidentally.
Bonus game: oh, yes, it was good! A true extra chapter, not a prequel.
Overall: it was the writing that boosted this one out of the pack and into some really elite company. Can't say enough about the ending; actually, I can't say anything because it would be a terrible spoiler, but it was good, good, good! Even the ending to the bonus game was good. More of this, please!
I recommend this game!
Strange vines have taken over a popular National Park!
Overall rating
4
/
5
6 of 6 found this review helpful
Plenty of Puzzles, Plenty of Play
PostedMay 22, 2017
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I beta'd this game no less than twice, so there were apparently some issues in the earlier versions that the devs managed to straighten out, because game play was smooth and there was plenty of it.
Pros: Sharp graphics, quite lengthy chapters, lots of puzzles, some fairly challenging although not all for the right reasons There were some innovative means of exposition - the park interactive screen, for example.
Cons: certain puzzles - the windstorm gear puzzle comes to mind, as does the painting puzzle - were overly sensitive and the rules in the latter were neither clear nor consistent. These are more mechanical issues than conceptual.
Characters were introduced and then dropped, never to be seen again.
Characters were introduced and then dropped, never to be seen again.
Overall, though, a pretty good value for the buck in terms of game play. And for those who help beta these things: the devs do listen on a couple of details I won't share here. It makes the effort worthwhile.
I recommend this game!
Can you stop the cemetery’s dark keeper in time?
Overall rating
4
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
Embrace the Formula
PostedMay 16, 2017
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
It's Redemption Cemetery, and so the players know by now what they're getting: souls to be reclaimed from events in their unrelated past lives in separate episodes with a full-game wrapper that saves the players from the consequences of their own nosiness. The formula has remained consistent over time but the games have improved with the technology. This particular one is a solid four-star effort deficient only in the wrapping - why these particular three souls? A modern police officer beset by a madman, a 19th-century doctor whose only offense was not finding a cure to a mystery disease, and the Keeper herself, the only one of them who actually did something to deserve her unpleasant status. Why them?
Pros: great graphics, snappy game play, some nice variations on the usual puzzles which were on the easy side, and some sliding bar HO scenes that were quite fun. Atmospheric music, cut scenes not overdone for a change. Simply a nice, solid, workmanlike effort in a familiar genre.
Cons: not much original here. Voice acting adequate if a little chatty. The Scary Amusement Park was a nice riff but a terribly overdone theme, and aside from the usual macabre settings (dem bones, dem bones...) there wasn't a lot of fright value in the thing.
Bonus game: sister-to-the-rescue again, a couple of very entertaining mazes, could have used a little more exposition. Who was that awful fellow who was trying to turn little brother into a charcoal briquette, and why? We are not told, but our heroes ride off into the sunset - nice art here, by the way - in the back of a police pickup, which would result in a hundred-buck ticket in this neck of the woods.
Overall, a nice, very playable entry in a storied series. If you prefer short stories to long novels, this is the game for you. I loved it.
I recommend this game!
Can you uncover the Logan Family's terrible secret in time?
Overall rating
5
/
5
7 of 9 found this review helpful
Spooky, Solid Game
PostedApril 17, 2017
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This would have made a great Halloween game. We have a spooky castle, a possessed family, an ancestral murder or three, plenty of play, plenty of puzzles.
Pros: great environment even if we're pretty much inured to spooky castles by now. Very nice graphics if a bit dark. Lots of puzzles, some quite original. Music is appropriately scary. And someone is whispering to the player in the background.
Cons: not a lot. It's a redeem-the-ghost-souls plot and so the player does fall into a predictable pattern by the third go-around. Plot resolution is a little ambiguous - we've identified the villain but we're not sure what we actually accomplished along the way. Quite a lot of back-and-forth but the map is very useful. At times the cut scenes are annoyingly frequent. Climax was not very climactic but enough threads were unraveled to make it satisfying.
Overall, a very solid game with plenty of play and some fun puzzles. Very spooky atmosphere. I like this one.
I recommend this game!