Due to the overwhelmingly positive reviews, I tried this a few months ago and didn't get into it. Recently, I made myself get beyond the beginning -- not that it's bad; it just didn't grab me right away -- and Song of the Phoenix is now one of my favorites. So, so fun and original!
Maybe if I'd played this game first, I'd think it was fine. But I played Brain Challenge and Brainiversity first and those games reduce this one to something clunky and boring. If you want something to train your brain, don't bother with this one.
I got this game cheap on a super sale and found it to be quite the little jewel. It's not extremely challenging, but it's consistently fun and it's lighter in tone: no demons, ghosts, murders, abandoned asylums, etc.
If you want a great game for you and your kids, this is it. Again, you're not going to strain your brain on any of the puzzles, but they are all good fun!
I always like to play the games on advanced or hardcore, because in my mind, I've just spent money on this so I want it to last me. Why would I want a hint button to tell me what to do when I paid six bucks for the mystery?
That being said, this is probably THE hardest HOG game I've ever played. I can't tell if that's because it's genuinely challenging, or because it specifically stumps me for some reason, but man! I have NEVER had to use the hint button so many times. I even had to downgrade from advanced to medium so I could even USE the hint button, and I don't do that. I feel that's a waste of my money, but with this game, I just wouldn't have progressed without it.
Normally that would irk me a lot more, but this game is so spectacular and original, that I didn't mind the absolutely dumbfounding "next steps."
Being a fan of horror, I prefer the HOGs that are more along the lines of, "you are trapped in an asylum with the ghost of the pirate who murdered your twin brother who was also a werewolf!" variety. However, when I play those for too long, I get a little...weird. So it's nice to find a game like this one that is just as fun, but without a mean bone in its body. I'd still recommend the Awakening series FIRST, but Robin's Quest is definitely worth the price.
This game is a ton of fun. However, everytime you do something wrong, it tells you, "That only works in the movies." That's the only thing it ever tells you. It's maddening. especially when you're trying to do something that is actually right, you just didn't click it in the exact place, and then, "That only works in the movies." It drove me nuts and I'm not sure why the developers didn't program in a few more lines. Because you find yourself wanting to shout things like, "Oh yeah, City of Fog? A crowbar only works on a boarded door in the movies? A match only works on a candle in the movies?"
So go in expecting this and it won't drive you up a wall the way it did me.
A new breed of virus has spread throughout the City of Oxford. You must search the city for a missing girl who holds the key to stopping the global epidemic!
If you don't mind the dark, apocalyptic stuff, you are going to love this game! It's creative, it's unpredictable, and it's the perfect amount of non-linear: the solutions aren't SO leftfield, that they don't make any sense (which frustrates me), but they also aren't too obvious and that makes the game last longer and more challenging.
One more thing: the soundtrack is one of the best HOGs scores I've heard. Usually, I have to mute the music on these games, because it's so repetitive or irritating. I really felt like the music added to the experience of this game.
This is such a fun, original HOG; it's probably one of the more creative I've ever played. That being said, it's also easily the most disturbing, which is saying something in a genre rife with cemeteries, ghosts, murders, demons, and wacky asylums. Be forewarned!
For those of you who don't like too many HOS, this game may be for you. It is ALL mini-puzzles and you rarely get any direction on how or what. Most of them are fairly simply to figure out on your own with some tinkering, but I prefer when the game comes right out and tells me what the goal is. Also, I like HOS. I like the perfect blend of HOS with adventure, so I missed the HOS. However, what truly drags this game down is the ABYSMAL storyline and the ridiculous and abrupt ending. For something so atmospheric and cool, it's like the designers weren't sure how to end it, so they just wrapped it up without any rhyme or reason. Still, I'd recommend the game. I would wait and get it at a very reduced rate, but it's still fun enough.
Usually I can blaze through these pretty quickly, but this one felt meatier than HOGs normally do. It's also very cool being underwater and seeing whales swimming by or sharks overhead. A very fun game!