rainworm's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:4.5
- Helpful Votes:5,106
- Reviews Submitted:133
- First Review:October 4, 2012
- Most Recent Review:October 20, 2018
- Featured reviews0
Status:
A dangerous spirit has returned from the past!
Overall rating
5
/
5
39 of 57 found this review helpful
Some doctors are a plague….
PostedOctober 14, 2017
rainworm
fromAnother look through the glasses - enjoy, what I see!
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
A voice from the middle ages: ‘somebody as ruthless as me’ cannot be destroyed by mere fire ….’ The burning man at the stake is Moro, accused of practicing black magic and he promises to come back, stronger than ever.
We receive a call from our friend Olivia. She is unsure about an artifact, which shall be part of her new exhibition on a plague doctor in the middle ages at the museum. Arriving there, we witness a strange fight between a man on the balcony and his ghostly attacker. The man is thrown into the thicket below. It is Kevin, working with Olivia, he can warn us of Moro before turns to stone. With the help of our special glasses, we may look into the past and see, what happened before Olivia called us and we hurried to the place.
In the museum we have to master one barrier after the other, but we find hints: there is Kevin’s note, saying, he cannot help the feeling of being watched by the figurine of Moro. The glasses reveal: Kevin accidentally dropped an urn and out of the broken vessel, Moro materializes. Kevin is immediately attacked and lands, where we found him. Later in the game we will learn more about Moro. But first this old sorcerer has put obstacles in our way. The first hall is guarded by two knights, who won’t grant you passage. Cleverly you may use a cannon, to blow them up. In the hall, Moro has frozen the fountain, doors to other halls are locked and Olivia is nowhere to be seen.
Moro was a plague doctor in the middle ages and accused of practicing black magic. When burning at the stake, he sealed away his spirit in his amulet. So now Moro’s spirit has returned, but the amulet is not complete. The crystals, part of the amulet, have been taken out to prevent his return. He needs them back – and we have to prevent it!
Full of challenging mini games, variable HOS and special effects the game enfolds the plot at fast pace. Moro is dangerous, as he can turn those to stone, who look him in the eye. When you come near a crystal, he materializes and is coming up…
In addition to a suspenseful gameplay, we have many collectibles, the useful collectible-indicator and of course, we may choose difficulty for the puzzles. The extras offer a replay of HOS and mini games/puzzles.
We receive a call from our friend Olivia. She is unsure about an artifact, which shall be part of her new exhibition on a plague doctor in the middle ages at the museum. Arriving there, we witness a strange fight between a man on the balcony and his ghostly attacker. The man is thrown into the thicket below. It is Kevin, working with Olivia, he can warn us of Moro before turns to stone. With the help of our special glasses, we may look into the past and see, what happened before Olivia called us and we hurried to the place.
In the museum we have to master one barrier after the other, but we find hints: there is Kevin’s note, saying, he cannot help the feeling of being watched by the figurine of Moro. The glasses reveal: Kevin accidentally dropped an urn and out of the broken vessel, Moro materializes. Kevin is immediately attacked and lands, where we found him. Later in the game we will learn more about Moro. But first this old sorcerer has put obstacles in our way. The first hall is guarded by two knights, who won’t grant you passage. Cleverly you may use a cannon, to blow them up. In the hall, Moro has frozen the fountain, doors to other halls are locked and Olivia is nowhere to be seen.
Moro was a plague doctor in the middle ages and accused of practicing black magic. When burning at the stake, he sealed away his spirit in his amulet. So now Moro’s spirit has returned, but the amulet is not complete. The crystals, part of the amulet, have been taken out to prevent his return. He needs them back – and we have to prevent it!
Full of challenging mini games, variable HOS and special effects the game enfolds the plot at fast pace. Moro is dangerous, as he can turn those to stone, who look him in the eye. When you come near a crystal, he materializes and is coming up…
In addition to a suspenseful gameplay, we have many collectibles, the useful collectible-indicator and of course, we may choose difficulty for the puzzles. The extras offer a replay of HOS and mini games/puzzles.
I recommend this game!
Can you stop history from repeating itself?
Overall rating
5
/
5
26 of 45 found this review helpful
Sometimes the past can be crucial for present events!
PostedOctober 7, 2017
rainworm
fromAlways wonder, why this is Fear for Sale - fear, yes. But for sale?
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Slip into Emma Robert’s shoes again and start off to your 11th investigation for Fear for Sale magazine. It will bring you to Alaska, to the construction site of a new hotel, where ghost sightings have brought the project at risk. At the cablecar the station master is not encouraging. Stating, he had always warned, to build at a cursed place, he leaves but you may look for usable items make it to the construction site. In the company office near the station, you find more information: a short videoclip, made by construction workers, shows something ‘ghostly’. Workers also found an old diary, written by a man named Norm, with a comment by his girlfriend Olivia, dated from 1912, the year, when the old mining town Whitefall burnt to ashes. Another report shades light on the paranormal activities: it began with lights in the mountains, then tools disappeared, people heard strange whispers, in the end some claimed to have seen ghosts. With rumors, the place were cursed, the project is now in danger of not being realized. The cablecar fails on the way to the construction site, so you have to swing down into the forest with a rope made of old clothes. First thing you find: a man in a pit, covered by branches. He needs help, water. You are in the middle of the woods, a path, with an old cart withering beneath, leads further into the forest and small lake. There a ghostly woman forms out of the mist and warns you ‘to stop it, or all will die’. With some water from the lake, the man in the pit recovers, asks for your name and introduces himself - Norm. On his way to his girlfriend Olivia, somebody had pushed him into this pit. Norm, Olivia – the diary, which told the story of the two lovers. With Norm’s help, you can note some landmarks and find your way to the near town: Whitefall. And Whitefall looks old but not burnt down to ashes. So you have landed in the past! You jumped just into the time period, in which Norm and Olivia lived in Whitefall.
Seems, you are about to find out the origin of the paranormal activities of your time in Whitefall! You will wander through the town, talk to the inhabitants and find out more about the past events and their impact.
When you find the diary with Norm’s and Olivia’s lovestory, you as well are equipped with an amulet, to ban ghosts. It works as the now well known device, found in many games: solve a mini game, then the ghost appears and speaks to you. The mini game can be skipped.
Puzzles and mini games are quite easy but entertaining. They are well implanted in the gameplay, you achieve goals by solving them. HOS are variable, not too many in the demo.
Seems, you are about to find out the origin of the paranormal activities of your time in Whitefall! You will wander through the town, talk to the inhabitants and find out more about the past events and their impact.
When you find the diary with Norm’s and Olivia’s lovestory, you as well are equipped with an amulet, to ban ghosts. It works as the now well known device, found in many games: solve a mini game, then the ghost appears and speaks to you. The mini game can be skipped.
Puzzles and mini games are quite easy but entertaining. They are well implanted in the gameplay, you achieve goals by solving them. HOS are variable, not too many in the demo.
I recommend this game!
Can you save the mayor’s wife in time?
Overall rating
3
/
5
33 of 65 found this review helpful
The good old show must go on.......
PostedOctober 5, 2017
rainworm
fromOldies but Goodies? Not really!
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Again a Puppet Show, and as always, we enter a strange world, populated with humans but even more mechanic dolls.
We play as a private detective, asked for help by the mayor of Mudcreek, who complains about unexplainable horror “sweeping through” his town and above all, his missing wife. As the mayor, he prefers discretion and won’t ask the police for assistance. So you start off to solve this case of a disappeared wife.
You shall meet Richard Rives at his estate. But there you are attacked by some strange figure, who vanishes with a poof into thin air, when you defend yourself. He had tried to get hold of something another unusual puppet, chained to the well, is holding in a hand. When finally meeting Richard, he seems a bit strange, too. But he tells you, what you need. His wife had asked him for a large sum of money some days ago, wouldn’t tell him, what she needed it for and when he said no, she stormed out of the house in tears. Since then, she hasn’t been seen. The conversation is interrupted by an attack on Richard by a man, wearing a plague mask. Overpowering and unmasking him, he turns out to be the missing wife, Rosalind. We learn, she is very ill and we have to help him cure her in his laboratory. All the mechanical dolls, we’ve seen so far, are created by Richard, who made them as city servants. The laboratory is – what else - guarded by a mechanical doll. A big sign at the door says: STASIS POD – we hopefully learn more about the full meaning of this later. For now, the place seems to serve more as a repair shop than as a location for curing people. Apparently his wife didn’t share her thoughts with him, so he needs to know more about his wife’s illness and asks for her diary, which will uncover, that she had some strange cold for months. No doctor seemed able to help, so she took the initiative and wrote to a clinic. They were prepared to take her in, provided, she paid them a large sum of money. She had already received a mechanic bracelet and should have met ‘Agent 26’ tonight for further negotiations.
It will be you, who will meet this agent instead of Rosalind.
This strange world of mechanic dolls, their creators and victims may bear some fascination, only I see more open questions, than clues to a case so far. The game is well crafted with all, your eyes want to see. In front of the house, we won’t just have to do a HOS or a puzzle, we get an action scene and have to defend ourselves. So we stumble at fast pace into this puppet universe with an ominous mayor, his even more ominous wife and many puppets, created by our client.
Features as HOS and puzzles are so-so, nothing unusual but not boring either. But you have to participate in the fascination, these games bear for their public, to like this game.
We play as a private detective, asked for help by the mayor of Mudcreek, who complains about unexplainable horror “sweeping through” his town and above all, his missing wife. As the mayor, he prefers discretion and won’t ask the police for assistance. So you start off to solve this case of a disappeared wife.
You shall meet Richard Rives at his estate. But there you are attacked by some strange figure, who vanishes with a poof into thin air, when you defend yourself. He had tried to get hold of something another unusual puppet, chained to the well, is holding in a hand. When finally meeting Richard, he seems a bit strange, too. But he tells you, what you need. His wife had asked him for a large sum of money some days ago, wouldn’t tell him, what she needed it for and when he said no, she stormed out of the house in tears. Since then, she hasn’t been seen. The conversation is interrupted by an attack on Richard by a man, wearing a plague mask. Overpowering and unmasking him, he turns out to be the missing wife, Rosalind. We learn, she is very ill and we have to help him cure her in his laboratory. All the mechanical dolls, we’ve seen so far, are created by Richard, who made them as city servants. The laboratory is – what else - guarded by a mechanical doll. A big sign at the door says: STASIS POD – we hopefully learn more about the full meaning of this later. For now, the place seems to serve more as a repair shop than as a location for curing people. Apparently his wife didn’t share her thoughts with him, so he needs to know more about his wife’s illness and asks for her diary, which will uncover, that she had some strange cold for months. No doctor seemed able to help, so she took the initiative and wrote to a clinic. They were prepared to take her in, provided, she paid them a large sum of money. She had already received a mechanic bracelet and should have met ‘Agent 26’ tonight for further negotiations.
It will be you, who will meet this agent instead of Rosalind.
This strange world of mechanic dolls, their creators and victims may bear some fascination, only I see more open questions, than clues to a case so far. The game is well crafted with all, your eyes want to see. In front of the house, we won’t just have to do a HOS or a puzzle, we get an action scene and have to defend ourselves. So we stumble at fast pace into this puppet universe with an ominous mayor, his even more ominous wife and many puppets, created by our client.
Features as HOS and puzzles are so-so, nothing unusual but not boring either. But you have to participate in the fascination, these games bear for their public, to like this game.
I don't recommend this game.
Can you uncover the secrets hidden in the Alexander Valentine Hotel?
Overall rating
4
/
5
34 of 53 found this review helpful
Have a nice day with the ghost seekers
PostedSeptember 30, 2017
rainworm
fromWould love to meet PATRICK - if he gets on your nerves, just remove the battery!
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
One day ahead of Halloween month Octobre, Elephant has invited us to a paranormal TV show. Shooting will take place at a special location: the Alexander Valentine Hotel.
Your cousin Rachel is part of the paranormal TV show crew and asked you to join the team in the next investigation. Project is the old spook house, which has been subject to the news twice. First in 1927, when the owners of the mansion, the Valentine family was slaughtered, then in 1937, when it opens as hotel. Now it is abandoned, shuttered and rumor says, haunted. The crew, Rachel, four others and this time you, take the crew bus to the location. Arrived, everybody seems in good mood, camera man Paul jokes and poses as if he took a shot of all ‘before and after the haunting’. Then one after the other enter the mansion and before you can follow, the doors close shut. After some searching, the one or other HOS and mini game, you succeed in entering the house. There you find your helper: P.A.T.R.I.C.K. He introduces himself as ‘paranormal activity tracker and interactive computing kernel’. He works as a device, which uncovers ghostly activity and helps thereby finding clues and evidence. His language is quite elaborate, as well as his manners. Politely he asks for new battery, when he realizes, his powers are fading.
But now in the mansion, funtime is over and you find and investigate room after room. In the billiard parlor before the fireplace lies camera man Paul, frozen to death. On his camera you watch some footage on the possible whereabouts of the others. Across the yard, up a ladder is Bella’s room. There the next dead crew member, Dolores is waiting for you. In her backpack you find Bella’s picture, she looks exactly like Rachel. And Rachel seems alive, but taken by a paranormal force behind a shuttered wall.
But now in the mansion, funtime is over and you find and investigate room after room. In the billiard parlor before the fireplace lies camera man Paul, frozen to death. On his camera you watch some footage on the possible whereabouts of the others. Across the yard, up a ladder is Bella’s room. There the next dead crew member, Dolores is waiting for you. In her backpack you find Bella’s picture, she looks exactly like Rachel. And Rachel seems alive, but taken by a paranormal force behind a shuttered wall.
The house is cleverly constructed by the developer, you may wander or better fight your way from one area to the other, thereby uncovering piece by piece the story behind all this. PATRICK is a new form of helper or device to uncover the unseen - very creative and it adds to a humorous touch. Your way is full of mini games, puzzles and variable HOS. Puzzles and mini games are more one the easy side, though mostly entertaining. Plot unfolds with the entering of the mansion with rather good pace. It is not a very challenging game, more a creepy event at the threshold of Halloween.
I recommend this game!
Can you keep history from destroying the present?
Overall rating
5
/
5
35 of 57 found this review helpful
Swear the Hippocratic Oath again
PostedSeptember 27, 2017
rainworm
fromFrankfurt, Germany
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
After you saved the Queen from a strange illness, caused by black magic, in the first game, you are back in the kingdom and invited to the show of the Imperial Dance Theatre as a small award for your services. But again foul forces seem at work. The intro showed us Melissa, a dancer of the Dance Theatre, being accused of black magic, absolutely forbidden in the kingdom. As we later learn, this happened 20 years ago. But when we enter the theatre, we witness another woman (Amber) cursing the head of the theatre, Domenico, and poisoning him using a crystal. A green fog streams from the crystal and the man is shrouded in it. He is not dead, though in urgent need of your help. Further you need to investigate, what is going on in the theatre. Who is that woman Amber? What are her intentions and who is she connected to?
Investigating the dressing room, you find evidence, that Amber is the daughter of Melissa, who was convicted as a witch, though innocent. In a story book minigame we learn, she died after she had to leave the theatre and fell ill. Amber survived but is now obsessed with her mission for revenge. Not only has she tried to kill Domenico, but intends to destroy the Medico Order of the kingdom, who is responsible for the crusade against black magic. Her grandmother used to be a great witch and passed her talents and powers on to Amber, who now is a mighty opponent for us.
Again, a charming fantasy feast, spiced with many puzzles and HOS, all variable, puzzles with easy/hard option. As a healer, we are again equipped with the diagnostic lens and our medical kit. Both are used for repeated minigames (diagnosis with the lens, kit for medicines, ingredients are found during the game and then used with the kit)
Investigating the dressing room, you find evidence, that Amber is the daughter of Melissa, who was convicted as a witch, though innocent. In a story book minigame we learn, she died after she had to leave the theatre and fell ill. Amber survived but is now obsessed with her mission for revenge. Not only has she tried to kill Domenico, but intends to destroy the Medico Order of the kingdom, who is responsible for the crusade against black magic. Her grandmother used to be a great witch and passed her talents and powers on to Amber, who now is a mighty opponent for us.
Again, a charming fantasy feast, spiced with many puzzles and HOS, all variable, puzzles with easy/hard option. As a healer, we are again equipped with the diagnostic lens and our medical kit. Both are used for repeated minigames (diagnosis with the lens, kit for medicines, ingredients are found during the game and then used with the kit)
I recommend this game!
Can you stop a ghost bride and save the city?
Overall rating
3
/
5
12 of 21 found this review helpful
Deadly - not only the dowry
PostedSeptember 23, 2017
rainworm
fromWhy always a device - is the detective not fit to find clues on his own?
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
A Deadly Dowry is the 8th adventure in the Grim Façade series. Our role is that of the detective, who comes to the aid of good old Lestrade. He asked for assistance in a murder case, where normal police investigation methods wouldn’t bring results. There have been mysterious murders in town and the only clue is an observation of several people, who saw a suspicious person next to the crime scenes: a ghost bride. So the suspect to the murders is a woman, who lies dead in her coffin in the family crypt. It is Amanda Aquille, who belonged to an old family of the town. They used to be rich, but lost their assets with MonsieurAchille’s gambling habit. Another mystery: after a murder, always the picture of the next victim lies in Amandas coffin.
So, if there is some truth to the rumor of a bride being the criminal, is Amanda really dead or still alive?
At the cemetery we may be witness to a ghostly appearance: a skeleton, dressed in bridal clothes sweeps over the place near Amanda Aquille’s crypt and freezes the undertaker in an ice block. He was one, who took money from the widow Achille for the funeral. The next victim is the doctor. Coincidence? We know, he wanted payment for his services. As it seems, the ghost bride is hunting down, all, who took money from the family.
So, if there is some truth to the rumor of a bride being the criminal, is Amanda really dead or still alive?
At the cemetery we may be witness to a ghostly appearance: a skeleton, dressed in bridal clothes sweeps over the place near Amanda Aquille’s crypt and freezes the undertaker in an ice block. He was one, who took money from the widow Achille for the funeral. The next victim is the doctor. Coincidence? We know, he wanted payment for his services. As it seems, the ghost bride is hunting down, all, who took money from the family.
In the course of the game we get the special device for finding memory fragments. These stand for past events, that are now reveiled for your eyes. When it first came into the series, it had a certain charm, only now it feels a bit like ‘same procedure as in every game’. Other special effects:the bride’s performance after using the device, she sweeps through the scenery, dense wisps of fog around her. The ragged cat is placed somewhere in the scene but vanishes together with the ghost after ‘the show’.
Puzzles are nothing special, not overall easy, but nothing new. HOS are mostly lists, several combined with dialogue or combination to find elements. Pace could be faster. The use of the device takes much of it. There is no real suspense in this game, very soon it is clear, there is a restless spirit, seeking revenge for the wrong, that has been done during her lifetime.
I don't recommend this game.
Antiques from Rosen's Workshop are coming to life!
Overall rating
4
/
5
35 of 49 found this review helpful
Beware of old toys
PostedSeptember 21, 2017
rainworm
fromA restless spirit - why do we need a robot bird to help us?
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
We are shown a small town, a workshop, where people are manufacturing toys. A young man lays last hand on a well crafted puppet, when an attacker moves up and stabs him. He is dead, but the doll’s eyes begin to glow.
200 years later: the actual keepers of Rosen’s antique shop are Thomas and Emma Larsson. At an expedition in the shop’s showroom, Thomas presents an automatic puppet to the audience, which was a groundbreaking invention at the time, it was made. Suddenly the doll comes to life and Thomas seems to be obsessed with the spirit, that was set free. His wife Laura calls Miss Gale for help, as her husband acts strangely since the event, apparently believing he is his ancestor Finn Rosen. This is not the only problem. All antiques and toys, purchased in the shop, are coming to life and scare their new owners.
We play as Miss Gale, the detective. Our task: investigate, what is behind the restless spirit that has now taken possession of Thomas. At the Larsson’s house we witness Thomas’ strange behavior. Emma shows us the rooms, the place, where Thomas works. Very soon we are equipped with a helper, a robotic bird. It is not just delegated to us, we need to mount it ourselves, later it has to be updated with new parts, needed for the task. The nature of this helper goes with the restless spirit, present in the old automatic puppet.
HOS are variable, often combined with mini-games. Puzzles are in part surprising: beside the ‘usual’ ones, there is for example a ‘park the car’ game. You have to manoever a van into a parking lot on a screen. There are collectables and morphing objects. Following the series theme, the story is about a spirit, finding no rest, and the old doll has in a way taken in the soul of his maker.
There are pros and cons for me with this game. The story is not uninteresting, pace is quite fast, we have much to do. A con is the helper. I feel, the game would have much improved without it.
200 years later: the actual keepers of Rosen’s antique shop are Thomas and Emma Larsson. At an expedition in the shop’s showroom, Thomas presents an automatic puppet to the audience, which was a groundbreaking invention at the time, it was made. Suddenly the doll comes to life and Thomas seems to be obsessed with the spirit, that was set free. His wife Laura calls Miss Gale for help, as her husband acts strangely since the event, apparently believing he is his ancestor Finn Rosen. This is not the only problem. All antiques and toys, purchased in the shop, are coming to life and scare their new owners.
We play as Miss Gale, the detective. Our task: investigate, what is behind the restless spirit that has now taken possession of Thomas. At the Larsson’s house we witness Thomas’ strange behavior. Emma shows us the rooms, the place, where Thomas works. Very soon we are equipped with a helper, a robotic bird. It is not just delegated to us, we need to mount it ourselves, later it has to be updated with new parts, needed for the task. The nature of this helper goes with the restless spirit, present in the old automatic puppet.
HOS are variable, often combined with mini-games. Puzzles are in part surprising: beside the ‘usual’ ones, there is for example a ‘park the car’ game. You have to manoever a van into a parking lot on a screen. There are collectables and morphing objects. Following the series theme, the story is about a spirit, finding no rest, and the old doll has in a way taken in the soul of his maker.
There are pros and cons for me with this game. The story is not uninteresting, pace is quite fast, we have much to do. A con is the helper. I feel, the game would have much improved without it.
I recommend this game!
Can you defeat dangerous creatures and find your grandfather in time?
Overall rating
5
/
5
31 of 54 found this review helpful
Grandpas's Secret
PostedSeptember 16, 2017
rainworm
fromFrankfurt, Germany
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
You and your grandfather have been very close since your early childhood. One day, a visitor called, they argued and then grandpa was just gone – you never heard of him again. Now, 20 years later, you’ve received a mysterious message: somebody offers information on his whereabouts, you shall meet him at Four Winds station at 10:30. Incredulous but curious you hurry there. On arrival the place is empty but at 10:30 sharp a rogue looking swordsman stands there all of a sudden, you haven’t seen him enter. Harold, as he introduces himself, knows not only your name, but informs you, your grandfather is alive, somewhere and will take care of you, as you are in danger.
And this seems true: Mysterious glyphs have appeared on the walls and a dark alien creature wavers over the swordsman. “This is a nightcaller. They draw strength from the glyphs” – with this your strange journey begins. Even on the train, you could jump on for escape, the nightcallers attack. But you can defend yourself. Harold gave you his glowing sword, he used to fight the dark creature, insisting on leaving him and boarding the incoming train.
Succeeding in stopping and leaving the train, you master the tunnel and reach the next metro station. Here the mystery just goes on. Again a phone call, again the caller knows your name, tells you, that a car has been sent for you to bring you to your grandfather.
So you end up in Wellsprings, where you really meet him. But he won’t explain, just mention, there is another world with hostile creatures and we need to close the portal to this realm, which he and some comrades opened years ago.
You will find the book, the portal and go further in this adventure.
As part of a series, where we meet the supernatural, we fight against an otherworldly force. We don’t use an amulet but a sword to eliminate glyphs, which nourish it. Using a device to eliminate signs and thereby an opponent, is not new. Though this might be held against it, the game is otherwise well designed and offers many creative minigames and HO scenes on your way. All of those are perfectly embedded into the plot, you always search and find just the items, you need. Partly you’ll get them in a HOS or you have to master a puzzle to achieve your goal. Pace is excellent. And if you think, when reaching the portal, the way is clear and you know, how this will end – there is another surprising twist.
And this seems true: Mysterious glyphs have appeared on the walls and a dark alien creature wavers over the swordsman. “This is a nightcaller. They draw strength from the glyphs” – with this your strange journey begins. Even on the train, you could jump on for escape, the nightcallers attack. But you can defend yourself. Harold gave you his glowing sword, he used to fight the dark creature, insisting on leaving him and boarding the incoming train.
Succeeding in stopping and leaving the train, you master the tunnel and reach the next metro station. Here the mystery just goes on. Again a phone call, again the caller knows your name, tells you, that a car has been sent for you to bring you to your grandfather.
So you end up in Wellsprings, where you really meet him. But he won’t explain, just mention, there is another world with hostile creatures and we need to close the portal to this realm, which he and some comrades opened years ago.
You will find the book, the portal and go further in this adventure.
As part of a series, where we meet the supernatural, we fight against an otherworldly force. We don’t use an amulet but a sword to eliminate glyphs, which nourish it. Using a device to eliminate signs and thereby an opponent, is not new. Though this might be held against it, the game is otherwise well designed and offers many creative minigames and HO scenes on your way. All of those are perfectly embedded into the plot, you always search and find just the items, you need. Partly you’ll get them in a HOS or you have to master a puzzle to achieve your goal. Pace is excellent. And if you think, when reaching the portal, the way is clear and you know, how this will end – there is another surprising twist.
I recommend this game!
Can you delve into a dangerous past and escape in time?
Overall rating
5
/
5
51 of 78 found this review helpful
‘Drive carefully..’ through this thrilling game, as a killer is after you!
PostedSeptember 14, 2017
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
In the introductory movie we see a group of children around some rocks. One boy has climbed the biggest and the others applaud him. In his attempt to climb down, he loses his grip, falls and dies. The other children leave him in awe – had this been a dare, gone wrong?
The initial game scene shows us in a car, radio casts the weather report, predicting thunderstorms and heavy rain. Already a hard rain has started, another car appears out of the mist – and we have an accident. Next we see a doctor in a hospital telling a man, that his wife suffers from a serious concussion combined with amnesia. She may leave for home but should rest for some time to overcome the memory loss. The man promises to bring her to their farmhouse, in the quiet and lonely countryside.
This turns out to be the house, we saw at the end of the introduction, a dark building in a wide landscape with nothing but wilderness around.
We play as the alleged wife, alleged, as we have no idea, this would be our husband. First we just believe, it is the concussion but slowly we realize, something is wrong: we find prove, he is not who he pretends to be. He left us in our room to help him make the house safe for the coming storm. When he is outside, we leave it, to look around. Piece by piece we find little things, hinting at the big ‘something is wrong here’. First, a wedding photo and ID-card - you realize, you don’t remember the wedding, nor the name on the card. Down in the hall you find a bag, on it stitched another female name, the same, you saw before on a sign plate, hefted on a coat in the closet.
When confronting your ‘husband’ with these peculiarities, he doesn’t give answers but seems angry and sends you back´ to your room. You will go on with your discovery tour and end up in the basement. There he suddenly reappears and closes the trap door, imprisoning you. He mumbles, your behavior is much more difficult than that of the others. The others? In the basement we finally realize, there is not just something wrong, but this man is about to kill us.
An ominous atmosphere underlines the suspense of the player’s being practically a prisoner in a lonely house with some man, threatening his life. Flashbacks to the origin of all this make the story easily understandable, but that doesn’t hurt. We know the facts and are off to our fight back a killer.
A very well made game with mostly multilayered HOS, several not too difficult puzzles and minigames in the demo. Most impressing the ghostly appearances of a boy and the laid out pieces to find by the player to slowly but surely detect what his role is in this.
The initial game scene shows us in a car, radio casts the weather report, predicting thunderstorms and heavy rain. Already a hard rain has started, another car appears out of the mist – and we have an accident. Next we see a doctor in a hospital telling a man, that his wife suffers from a serious concussion combined with amnesia. She may leave for home but should rest for some time to overcome the memory loss. The man promises to bring her to their farmhouse, in the quiet and lonely countryside.
This turns out to be the house, we saw at the end of the introduction, a dark building in a wide landscape with nothing but wilderness around.
We play as the alleged wife, alleged, as we have no idea, this would be our husband. First we just believe, it is the concussion but slowly we realize, something is wrong: we find prove, he is not who he pretends to be. He left us in our room to help him make the house safe for the coming storm. When he is outside, we leave it, to look around. Piece by piece we find little things, hinting at the big ‘something is wrong here’. First, a wedding photo and ID-card - you realize, you don’t remember the wedding, nor the name on the card. Down in the hall you find a bag, on it stitched another female name, the same, you saw before on a sign plate, hefted on a coat in the closet.
When confronting your ‘husband’ with these peculiarities, he doesn’t give answers but seems angry and sends you back´ to your room. You will go on with your discovery tour and end up in the basement. There he suddenly reappears and closes the trap door, imprisoning you. He mumbles, your behavior is much more difficult than that of the others. The others? In the basement we finally realize, there is not just something wrong, but this man is about to kill us.
An ominous atmosphere underlines the suspense of the player’s being practically a prisoner in a lonely house with some man, threatening his life. Flashbacks to the origin of all this make the story easily understandable, but that doesn’t hurt. We know the facts and are off to our fight back a killer.
A very well made game with mostly multilayered HOS, several not too difficult puzzles and minigames in the demo. Most impressing the ghostly appearances of a boy and the laid out pieces to find by the player to slowly but surely detect what his role is in this.
I recommend this game!
Snow, Ice and the deadly wind blowing from the Frozen Mountains! The Lost Lands have been overtaken by ice in the middle of summer!
Overall rating
5
/
5
49 of 78 found this review helpful
A New Mission in the Lost Lands
PostedSeptember 12, 2017
rainworm
fromFrankfurt, Germany
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
The epic saga of the Lost Lands will have a new chapter with the Ice Spell. We’ll meet with our well-known characters Maroon and Susan again.
In a prologue, we see the opening of a closed vault in an ice desert, a man opens a chest with an artifact: a decorated horn. The next scene shows a historical museum, where the janitor accidentally activates an ancient mechanism and - as enchanted - blows into the horn and wakes an ice monter somewhere. Camera switches to Susan: she is watching the news:”…. there has been noted paranormal activity in the historical museum……”, she leaves the room and arrives in a pit in the valley of the keepers.
Her first task: get to Maroon’s hut. Maroon’s world is snowy though trees and flowers hint at summer season. He has left her a message, a fur, his key and a ladder to get out of the pit.
At the hut Susan learns, Maroon has already left for the frozen mountains, where something seems to be freezing the valley. He is off to find the source of this cataclysm. Susan’s way to meet him leads as in former games through portals, to be opened by runes, she will meet another former companion, Folnur. He has again the task of bringing Susan to Maroon, as in their adventure with the four Horsemen.
The scenery at and in Maroon’s hut is the same as in that game of the series, sort of ‘homecoming’ for those, who played it. In a way the Ice Spell shows itself as a successive chapter of the four horsemen.
At the hut Susan learns, Maroon has already left for the frozen mountains, where something seems to be freezing the valley. He is off to find the source of this cataclysm. Susan’s way to meet him leads as in former games through portals, to be opened by runes, she will meet another former companion, Folnur. He has again the task of bringing Susan to Maroon, as in their adventure with the four Horsemen.
The scenery at and in Maroon’s hut is the same as in that game of the series, sort of ‘homecoming’ for those, who played it. In a way the Ice Spell shows itself as a successive chapter of the four horsemen.
But 5BN has learned and brings forward the known active HO Scenes but throws in more and advanced puzzles and minigames. So Susan cannot just take her ladder but has to solve a nice minigame to use it, on her way to the hut, she has to avoid enchanted wolves. All HOS and puzzles are well embedded in the story, pace is good, collectables and morphing objects are in every scene. Story is, as usual, an adventure to restore the equilibrium of the worlds.
We get everything we’ve become used to in the series: Atmosphere, scenery, characters, but we get more challenging features as well with this game.
I recommend this game!