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 reviews
    0
 
 
Status:
 
 
rainworm's Review History
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Can you stop a dangerous specter from destroying the opera?
 
Overall rating 
Liked it!
4 / 5
24 of 36 found this review helpful
Till death do us part - or not?
PostedDecember 2, 2017
Customer avatar
rainworm
fromThe last dance.....
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor 
Good
4 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Excellent
5 / 5
Level of Challenge 
OK
3 / 5
Storyline 
Good
4 / 5
A lover’s pledge will be a romantic tragedy with a love, that never died. But at the same time a play with being and seeming, for the paranormal acitivity with the ghost could well have a quite natural cause. And it starts with the uncanny: The introduction shows a station at night with a lonely man, waiting. In his hand a medaillon, with the picture of a beautiful woman. When the train comes in, the medaillon lies broken on the ground, the man is gone….
Then we are at the theatre. The star of the opera had been Andrea Belmont, who committed suicide lately. We meet her sister Julia. She intends to perform in honor of Andrea. Julia is first startled at our sight but relieved realizes, we are not a ghost. She tells us of uncanny events and accidents at the theatre. Light bulbs explode and you get a feeling of a strange presence in the room. A ghost? She has greeted us as the new master costume designer and asks for repair of her torn dress. Behind the stage we meet another staff member, Clementine. Now we ourselves experience strange things, when the mirror breaks upon her leaving the room. Next, Julia is caught in a stage mount, then we find Clementine dead in the instrument room – somebody or something is definitely after these women.
Back on the stage, we see Julia drawn high up to the catwalk by the cable winch, used for requisites. A ghost materializes beneath the puzzled director. This is not the planned performance, something has gone wrong. And that is not all: having released Julia from the cables, our escape by elevator is hampered by the ghost, we saw at the stage. He claims, Andrea would be with him.
So have this man and Andrea been lovers at their lifetime? Was he the man at the station and Andrea wouldn’t live without him? There is definitely more to that, than meets the eye.
This mixture of paranormal activity and crime unfolds fast. Puzzles and HOS are variable, some rather creative. But apart from the intro scene, the eerie atmosphere of the supernatural element in the game is missing.
I recommend this game!
+12points
24of 36voted this as helpful.
 
Overall rating 
Loved it!
5 / 5
66 of 97 found this review helpful
....and our adventure continues!
PostedNovember 22, 2017
Customer avatar
rainworm
fromForward we go, Shieldmaiden! Wonderful journey through the Norse Mythology.
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor 
Excellent
5 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Excellent
5 / 5
Level of Challenge 
Excellent
5 / 5
Storyline 
Excellent
5 / 5
It is the 2nd installment of the epic tale, where we were introduced to the world of Nordic gods and fight with humans and other creatures. In the Gathering we played as a Shield Maiden and met our companions: the Skald, the Seer and the Huntress.
With the four stags, the four of us will continue our adventure. The balance between the nine worlds is threatened as the four stags are missing. The world tree Yggdrasil is not only the base for the nine worlds but also home of the four stags (Dvalinn, Duraþrór, Duneyrr, and Dáinn), who are grooming it. So our task will be to restore order and bring them back.
It seems, Odin himself calls on us at the beginning óf the game and we prepare for the battle, one by one seeking our weapons for the battle. In HOS the seer, the huntress and the skald are equipped to fight a fire spitting beast. Then we are ready to seek the four stags and bring them back to Yggdrasil, so that they groom the holy tree again.
Our first station will be at the Elves realm (Alfheim). It is under attack of the Dwarves. We can help an Elf, who is threatened by a robot. When we enter the Elves’ world, we are not welcome at first and have to overcome obstacles on the way to the fair lady Freya, their queen, who got tired of Asgard, where she stayed before and came back to seek rest and peace. In Alfheim we will find one of the missing stags but it will be a long way till we may fulfill our task.
From the very beginning of this game, we enter a strange new game world, where nearly every step is a mini game or a puzzle and many variable HOS give a helpful hand. With Elves and Dwarves we leave the realm of humans and enter other homeworlds of the Norse mythology. There is no fast unfolding of a plot but more an overcoming of impediments on the way to find and bring back the stags. The mythological background is well shown. Our first station, Alfheim, is the world of the Light Elves, minor gods of nature and fertility. Their knowledge of magic may help or hinder humans. We should finally find help here and go on into other worlds.
I recommend this game!
+35points
66of 97voted this as helpful.
 
Overall rating 
Loved it!
5 / 5
37 of 45 found this review helpful
Another fantastic dream
PostedNovember 18, 2017
Customer avatar
rainworm
fromGive in to the charme of magic in grey November
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor 
Excellent
5 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Excellent
5 / 5
Level of Challenge 
OK
3 / 5
Storyline 
Excellent
5 / 5
The dreampath leads us into fantasyland for the third time now and magic will again play a decisive role.
Playing as apprentice of court wizard Regis, we are in the realm of King Altus. A widowed king with two sons, one of which he had to banish from the kingdom for killing his elder brother. Now he has fallen under the influence of dark magic . Ill and not himself anymore, he is under the impression, Regis had attempted to murder him. He condems the wizard to death. As Regis’ appentrice you are arrested as well. From your cell you can see the execution of your master. When the executioner lifts the axe to decapitate the delinquent, a large blue bird circles low in the air over the scene and with the blade only inches away from the wizard’s neck, he simply vanishes!
Of course Regis is not guilty of a murder attempt and was framed by the same dark forces, which hold the king in their grip. You need to escape your prison and find Regis. Together you will locate the true enemy.
This is a pure fantasy game with all the features, you wish for in the genre. We have an opulent scenery, dazzling colors, a rich overall design and a fantastic story of black and white magic. As an apprentice to the magic profession, you will use glyphs to achieve the one or other goal. But fortunately the game renounces of gimmicks or gadgets. HOS are variable and creative, puzzles more on the easy side. But the plot unfolds rather fast and the story is not new but fascinating and charmingly told.
I recommend this game!
+29points
37of 45voted this as helpful.
 
Overall rating 
Loved it!
5 / 5
144 of 187 found this review helpful
Not just another walk on the graveyard!
PostedNovember 15, 2017
Customer avatar
rainworm
fromCemeteries may look peaceful at daylight....
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor 
Excellent
5 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Excellent
5 / 5
Level of Challenge 
Good
4 / 5
Storyline 
Excellent
5 / 5
Redemption from sins or mistakes for those, who have died without having been able to undo their deeds is the general theme in all games of this series. A clear structure with three restless souls to be rescued out of perdition by taking their roles in live and undo the past. Storylines are quite intriguing in all games, but this time even more excitement lays ahead, as we are not alone on our journey.
We have a companion. Karen is your best journalist, who brought us to the cemetery with news on paranormal activity there. People are frightened of noises and lights on the graveyard and even hired armed soldiers for their protection. You cannot withstand and both of you start out for the ghostly place. On the cemetery we meet its true ghostly guard, whom we free from his stone casing, in which he resided as a horseman statue. He promises to help, as Karen has sneaked into the graveyard before us and is now caught in a tomb. Trying to free her, we meet our first restless soul – Drake.
This installment offers some old and new features:
Choices: You may choose your answers or actions. Sometimes they have consequences on the further course of events
Your stress level: your stress level is measured in terms of order or chaos – interesting for real life?!
A helper: different from those, we came to know. It is a raven, who has to be resurrected as well as the ghostly guard in the horseman statue. It served as his eyes and will do so for us, to see more. More a small aid, unobstrusive
Karen and the importance of the right choice. When she sinks into a pit in the tomb and we draw her up, we helped not Karen, but the first trapped soul (Drake). Redemption for him but at the same time, saving of our companion. This two sided task goes on in Drake’s episode and reaches a peek, when we have to choose her life or the one, Drake took in his lifetime. We have to choose carefully, it certainly is of consequence here!
The game is full of mini games, most are fun but some more slowing the pace of the game. In terms of challenge, they are more easy. HOS are nothing special, but nicely integrated and you find all the items you need to go on with your tasks. As always we have this ghostly sometimes even oppressing atmosphere, which suits the theme. A highlight is our double task, not only the trapped souls need help but Karen’s and your own life are at stake.
I recommend this game!
+101points
144of 187voted this as helpful.
 
Overall rating 
Loved it!
5 / 5
73 of 102 found this review helpful
Calavera – are the dead among us?
PostedNovember 10, 2017
Customer avatar
rainworm
fromSome of the dead have not yet understood...
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor 
Excellent
5 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Excellent
5 / 5
Level of Challenge 
Good
4 / 5
Storyline 
Excellent
5 / 5
With this myth we may take part in a Mexican tradition: the Day of the Dead. This holiday focuses on family and friend gatherings for remembering all, who have died and celebrate the victory of life over death.
We play as Elena’s brother, who after some time abroad, meets with her again. Together we will celebrate the Calavera, the day of the dead on the island of Alma. After several preparations and a stormy takeover to the island, we finally reach the festival. But the unruly ride on the boat has shaken us, we have a feeling, something is not quite right at the party. Then it happens: dark figures appear – the shadow fishermen. According to legend, they are the souls of drowned fishermen, who can’t rest and come back to threaten the living.
So the day of the dead gains a macabre meaning: the dead are actually among us. We need to help Elena, who was hurt and fled to the graveyard. Soon, we get assistance of the island’s shaman. But it will not be easy to overcome the dangerous shadow fishermen.
This is a great production: atmosphere is very suiting, you get the feeling of being at the calavera festival yourself, then, when the shadows enter, the festival ends in chaos. The story or better legend of the shadow fishermen, is partly told in storybooks or via dialogues. HOS are variable and some quite creative, puzzles not very difficult in the demo – may change later in the game.
I recommend this game!
+44points
73of 102voted this as helpful.
 
Overall rating 
Loved it!
5 / 5
42 of 67 found this review helpful
In and out of reality
PostedNovember 9, 2017
Customer avatar
rainworm
fromWhat a hybrid of fantastic and realistic elements!
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor 
Excellent
5 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Excellent
5 / 5
Level of Challenge 
Good
4 / 5
Storyline 
Excellent
5 / 5
Surface – this series always treats a world outside our reality. Be it a glance into future technology, as in Virtual Detective or way apart from facts, in the world of fairytales, when we look into Lost Tales.
With Project Dawn we will not master the game as Alice or red riding hood but as a mother, seeking for her daughter, trying to free her from the grip of a ghostly boy in an abandoned town. She will enter through different portals into different realms, where former inhabitants had met their fate, helping souls to find peace.
Main story: Jennifer and her daughter Maya are moving to another town. They have been on the road for hours, now it is getting dark, a swarm of crows flies directly towards their vehicle, one of them hitting the windscreen. Next scene: the camper has crashed in front of a town (Gray Falls): You realize, Maya is missing. A police officer has arrived, she introduces herself (Nicole Riley) and after you gave her Maya’s photo, she hands you a mobile, a key and a map. You shall search the town and when you’ve found Maya, immediately leave the area. Nicole has found Maya’s cap, so she must be around.
Gray Falls has been locked up, it looks deserted, a sign near the fence saying ‘Evacuation Note’, demanding, everybody shall take only ID and money and undergo medical testing, when leaving Gray Falls. When entering, a big clown figurine comes to life suddenly, but you still think, you just must have hit your head pretty hard in the accident. So you go on with your search for Maya, overcoming obstacles, finding clues on what could have happened in this deserted place: a flyer, advertising Project Dawn at the Research Institute as “Dawn of New Humanity” is one, another is a boy in ragged clothes, sitting beside a skeleton of a nurse, claiming Maya for himself, as his new companion and scowling at the dead nurse….
Here the first substory or ‘otherworld’ begins: It is the nurse’s sad story. It leads us into a fantasy world with rules, much different from ours. Step by step we learn, the nurse had left her sick mother to earn money for treatment somewhere else. She was working for Project Dawn, when her mother died and can’t forgive herself for not being with her, when needed.
With the nurse’s story, the first interlude ends and we get a hint of Project Dawn.
We collect flowers and figurines, both easy to spot. HOS are mostly creative, puzzles not very difficult but entertaining.
I recommend this game!
+17points
42of 67voted this as helpful.
 
Can you catch a murderer that’s terrorizing a local university?
 
Overall rating 
Liked it!
4 / 5
26 of 37 found this review helpful
Sinister mysteries at your Alma Mater
PostedNovember 4, 2017
Customer avatar
rainworm
fromNot too academic.........
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor 
Good
4 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Good
4 / 5
Level of Challenge 
OK
3 / 5
Storyline 
Good
4 / 5
You shall be honored with an Award in Literature for your Dead Reckoning novels. The ceremony is to take place at Discipulus University. But instead of enjoying your stay, you stumble into a sinister mystery surrounding the death of the previous headmaster. Of course the mystery is ‘manmade’, so you need to investigate and find the culprits. Soon after our arrival, the next death occurs – one of the possible successors of the dead Prof Goldstein is lying before the office windows on the grass – dead and apparently not by accident. Security cameras show suspicious behavior of a student. And we find a hidden note of Goldstein, in which he has foreseen his murder and asks for our investigation – nothing seems quite in order at this university.
Again we have an iPad for several tasks: not only our notes and tasks are listed here, other apps let us do puzzles with it. When scenes change, not the ‘loading…’ appears but we are asked to ‘…be patient’ – not a breakthrough but a nice change to this often a bit nervy message.
HOS are variable, we learn much of the story with those storybook variations but we have the good old lists as well. Puzzles vary in both creativity and challenge. Some are very much in a ‘detective mode’: searching for hidden clues – on a table, with the suspects.
As usual for the series we have a solid crime story, not too complicated and entertaining to solve. There are no ghosts or hints at paranormal activity – so a good change for all, who love the straight forward crime mysteries.
I recommend this game!
+15points
26of 37voted this as helpful.
 
Overall rating 
Loved it!
5 / 5
27 of 51 found this review helpful
An adventurous wedding
PostedNovember 1, 2017
Customer avatar
rainworm
fromAnd I thought, wedding parties are......
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor 
Excellent
5 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Excellent
5 / 5
Level of Challenge 
OK
3 / 5
Storyline 
Excellent
5 / 5
You and your cousin Leo were close since childhood, now you are on your way to join him on his wedding day. But it turns out, there will be no wedding, as the castle was attacked by a Beast, now in control, so nobody can leave or enter. It is the hunter, Radford, who tells you about the attack. He mentions an exception: invited guests are allowed. This can be your way in! Radford will accompany you, his son and daughter are still inside. Not easy to get in, as the castle itself has somehow come to life and now defends itself against all intruders. But you are successful – only to learn, there is nothing, as it seems. The real enemy is not easy to unmask.
This is a charming fantasy tale with many ‘specialties’: not only the castle comes to life, we have animated candlesticks, attacking brooms and a mirror, which is our steady companion to help us see, what is behind illusions.
Puzzles are not too difficult and most of them are to be found in all games of the series. HOS are mostly lists but later in the game more variable. Collectibles and morphs are in every scene – owls and objects. A very entertaining tale over 5 chapters, a bonus chapter and many extras.
I recommend this game!
+3points
27of 51voted this as helpful.
 
Overall rating 
Loved it!
5 / 5
61 of 113 found this review helpful
A spooky journey to where it all began….
PostedOctober 25, 2017
Customer avatar
rainworm
fromMy next excursion will lead me to a haunted house......
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor 
Excellent
5 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Excellent
5 / 5
Level of Challenge 
Excellent
5 / 5
Storyline 
Excellent
5 / 5
Our only chance of getting rid of these nightmares is going back, where it all began. 30 years ago Dana explored an old abandoned house together with her little brother. Something there must have traumatized her then. Was it a ghost of those, who used to live here?
We play as Rick, the little brother of Dana, who lately fell into a coma and the only cure for her seems to uncover, what really happened so long ago in this old house. Arriving at the place, we see an old, abandoned mansion, barricaded. A flashback in the expedition of our youth shows, the house was abandoned even then and we had to break in – same as now. Step by step we will discover evidence of the former inhabitants and clues to their story. We won’t go alone, May, our niece is with us and she served for clever equipment: We have a phone with several applications, among them a memo pad. This should enable us to detect supernatural presence but also us to communicate even in tricky situations. The house is said to be haunted by ghosts of the former inhabitants, who were murdered. We learn about them by HOS variations (story books). After arriving at the house, the plot unfolds rather fast. The story is not told in a linear way but we have the flashback element to show moments of our first expedition to the house as well as events in the family, who lived and died here. Puzzles and mini games are not too difficult but not just the usual ones, HOS varied and cleverly used for background information. Colors are relatively dark, what enhances a creepy atmosphere, very suitable for exploring a haunted house!
I recommend this game!
+9points
61of 113voted this as helpful.
 
Can you find out what's targeting young men in Paris?
 
Overall rating 
Loved it!
5 / 5
27 of 39 found this review helpful
Look into my eyes – be careful, could be your last sight!
PostedOctober 19, 2017
Customer avatar
rainworm
fromGorgons have their place in Greek Mythology - Paris now has a blinding effect
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor 
Excellent
5 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Excellent
5 / 5
Level of Challenge 
Good
4 / 5
Storyline 
Excellent
5 / 5
We are in Paris, according to many ‘the city of love’. Our client is Mme Marie, who is worried about her son Julien. He recently became obsessed with a beautiful dancer at a traveling circus. He went so far, as to plan to elude with her and even stole pieces of her jewelry on that behalf. But then he was found in an alley near the circus: blind and paralyzed. And: he is not the only man, who was blinded. As there are no apparent injuries, may something paranormal be at work here? Julien is no help. We are on our own in finding clues and visit the circus. The main attraction there is the fiery chimera and the dancer in the mask, Adalinda.
We may see her, but she and her guardian trick us and trap us in the wagon. There we find out more about her: she was always with the circus and Jean-Pierre, the strong-man, became her guardian, as she had no other family. Is it Jean-Pierre, who hurts the admirers of his protégé? But no, the men had no apparent injuries. It is striking, that Adalinda always wears her mask. So is she cursed to blind the one, who looks into her eyes?
The introduction makes clear on the spot, we have the masked girl and all men, looking into her eyes, even accidentally fall blind. But she may as well be the perpetrator and a victim at the same time.
We go through a well made scenery, solving many nice, not too challenging puzzles and mini games. HOS are mostly lists, varied but nothing new. There are collectibles and the story is told in 4 chapters and the bonus. All in all an attractive addition to the Chimeras series.
I recommend this game!
+15points
27of 39voted this as helpful.
 
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