laurakay76's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.6
- Helpful Votes:723
- Reviews Submitted:158
- First Review:November 16, 2011
- Most Recent Review:August 21, 2025
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Chronicles of Albian: The Magic Convention
The Fairy Godmother, Gwendolyn, needs you to repair and upgrade Albian Castle for the Convention of Magic Masters!
Overall rating
4
/
5
It's just pleasant :)
PostedJune 24, 2020
laurakay76
fromLehigh Valley, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This game is adorable. It's beautifully rendered, the music is pleasing, the characters are delightful. The story is simplistic but that's honestly okay - even for someone like me, who regards the story as super important in most games, it's good to take a break from complicated storylines and just relax. You solve HOP scenes to earn cash by finding required items, earn more cash by solving minigames in between, and then use your hard-earned money to restore a beautiful castle for the legendary Fairy Godmother. It's cute and fun!
The only reason I didn't give it a full five stars is because of how TINY everything seems on my computer. It's not unbearable, I can still play it, but it's not something I can do in one sitting because I need to be kinder to my eyes. But that is my only complaint. This is a lovely game and I'll look forward to trying the sequel too!
I recommend this game!
A mysterious birthday gift uncovers a sinister kidnapping plot!
Overall rating
3
/
5
5 of 5 found this review helpful
Well, it was better than Crimson Hollow
PostedJune 19, 2020
laurakay76
fromLehigh Valley, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Anna Gray is back and, as her father says, once again a magnet for trouble. Her beloved daughter Alice, the title character from the previous game Guest From the Future, is kidnapped on her sixth birthday, but it takes a while before Anna figures out who took her and why.
The storyline was pretty good. There are two villains, of a sort, and the motivations of one are really understandable once they're known. The other, not so much. The puzzles are decently challenging, although a couple I found frustrating and had to skip. The whole game took me around three hours. I liked Guest From the Future better, but this was worth playing.
My primary issue with Crimson Hollow, which was the last Grim Tales game I played, was that I didn't even slightly like Dorian; they've improved him here, changing his voice actor and removing the slimy qualities of his personality. Now he just seems like a normal guy. I can't say the same for Alice, whose voice acting is strange and kind of slow. She sounds like Peppa Pig for some reason - neither Anna nor Dorian speak with a British accent, so why does their daughter? Richard is back, and I generally enjoy him, but I thought he was a bit underused in this game. I was pleased by the brief nod to Detectives United, with which I'm a lot more familiar than this series.
On the whole, it's a decent installment to the series, so fans of the Grim Tales will want to check it out.
I recommend this game!
Enjoy Pinecreek Hills at its awesome best. Have a truly sensational summer vacation helping Rangers run an exciting national park.
Overall rating
2
/
5
2 of 3 found this review helpful
Deeply disappointing
PostedJune 9, 2020
laurakay76
fromLehigh Valley, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
All the rave reviews made me think I should try this one after my attempt at playing the first game in the series left me disappointed. I don't know what game you all were playing, because this was not fun at all. I do appreciate that the full screen game really was full screen this time, but the items were still so small that the junk piles were a chore. The visuals were well done and the music was pleasant, so there's that.
The mini-games were mostly okay. *Mostly.* What killed it for me was the mini-game to crack a phone's PIN code. The very last clue made no sense. Apparently, the developers think that Mars has one moon and owls have one eyeball. After that I just gave up and uninstalled the game - I never even finished the demo, because if solving the puzzles involves getting the answers wrong, it's just going to annoy me senseless. I'll be giving this series a hard pass from now on.
I don't recommend this game.
Vacation Adventures: Park Ranger
Work as a Park Ranger in a beautiful National Park!
Overall rating
3
/
5
It's okay.
PostedJune 7, 2020
laurakay76
fromLehigh Valley, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
I figured I'd try this, since BFG is offering it free in the Play Apart Together campaign (you guys rock), and it's... well, it's pretty much exactly what it claims to be. Hidden objects galore, with lots of extra items to find like lost and found items and pieces of recycling.
My main issue with the game is that it is NOT full screen. The options screen may claim that it is, but it only took up about one-third of my laptop screen. As a result, everything is super small and I have to sit here basically with a magnifying glass in order to have a chance of finding everything. It's especially hard to find carved shapes, like the lightning bolt in the second H0 round.
It's a nice, pleasant game and I do like it, but I hope that the sequels are visually bigger.
Young archaeologist Anna Windsdoe learns that her missing father, a great explorer, was looking for a secret city. Can you help her find him?
Overall rating
2
/
5
I literally fell asleep
PostedJune 4, 2020
laurakay76
fromLehigh Valley, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
This series seems to be very well liked by people who play TM games, so I burned a coupon to try this first game. I got to about level eight when I realized that I was dozing off at the computer. It's just... boring. The poor translations make it difficult to empathize with Ann at all, she shows very little emotion about anything, and the way she randomly accuses Jim of being jealous of another dude is weird because they barely know each other. It's like they're trying to set up a love triangle before we've really gotten acquainted with any of the characters. The gameplay is repetitive, which I somewhat expect in a TM game, but the challenge is so minimal as to be almost nil. I'll probably finish this eventually, but unless the sequels are significantly better, I won't be continuing with this series.
I don't recommend this game.
Be a King: Golden Empire
Defend your kingdom from raiders in Be a King 3: Golden Empire! Rebuild cities and protect the population in this fun Strategy game!
Overall rating
4
/
5
Enjoyed what I got to see of it
PostedMay 30, 2020
laurakay76
fromLehigh Valley, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
I was intrigued by the great reviews on this game, and it really is a lot of fun. I think I made it through about 20 levels in total. It's challenging, requires a lot of attention and careful management, and the graphics are fun.
Unfortunately, there is something about this game that causes technically difficulties. I played it twice, and both times, exiting the game caused my computer to completely lock up and require a restart. So this isn't a keeper for me for that reason. I recommend trying before buying to make sure you don't have a similar problem.
An author has vanished, and someone’s enacting the terrible events of his latest novel!
Overall rating
3
/
5
2 of 3 found this review helpful
Not bad, but...
PostedMay 28, 2020
laurakay76
fromIn case you were wondering about my list, my favorite in the series is Morella. My absolute least favorite is Lenore.
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I love the Dark Tales enough to buy them even without doing a demo, although in this case I was a beta tester so I had already done it. I actually maintain a list of all the DT games and how I rank them; I'd put this in the lower middle. It's not a bad game, not at all, but the story doesn't always make a lot of sense and the bonus chapter really doesn't add anything to it. It's just... meh. The puzzles are generally good, the visuals are pleasing, and the voice acting is decent. The length is suitable. I just wish there was more substance to the story.
Experience a steampunk hidden object adventure full of gothic horror and fascinating puzzles!
Overall rating
2
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Scarlett, I gotta ask - who ARE you talking to?
PostedMay 15, 2020
laurakay76
fromLehigh Valley, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Big fan of Artifex Mundi's Enigmatis trilogy, so I wanted to try some of their other games. This one seemed interesting; a psychic child is dropped off with some nuns for reasons unknown while her father sets out to deal with some unexplained issue, and then ten years later she decides to try to find out what happened to him.
Well, the story *idea* is clever, but executed boringly. Enigmatis did a great job of 'show, don't tell.' This game, not so much. What it did show didn't make a whole lot of sense - why would Scarlett have received a letter intended for her father when they weren't even living in the same place and she hadn't seen him in a decade? Why does she have a random artifact to enhance her psychic abilities, while at the same time making it sound like she hasn't used those abilities in a very long time?
The puzzles were not challenging. I think the hardest thing I had to do was put the trolley back together, and the only reason I had trouble with that was because I couldn't find the brake pedal. The rest were so easy for me that I finished the demo in less than half an hour - and that was without skipping any of the cutscenes or dialogue.
The music was nice and the visuals are beautifully rendered. For me, the most annoying part was Scarlett's continual narration. It's both spoken and presented in subtitles. Subtitles are fine, but to hear her constantly speaking her thoughts out loud was just irritating. I came very close to muting the computer entirely. If there were no subtitles, I could sort of understand the need for her to say everything that crosses her mind, but since we could easily read the words the continuous talking made no sense.
This might be a good one for someone new to the hidden object genre, if they want to ease into this kind of game. But if you're a seasoned player, unless you've got a coupon to burn or a punch card to fill, you'll probably want to give this one a pass.
I don't recommend this game.
Grim Legends: The Forsaken Bride Collector's Edition
Enter an enchanting world of legends, mystery and magic, where your destiny was written in blood and the soft murmurs of true love...
Overall rating
3
/
5
I expected more
PostedApril 21, 2020
laurakay76
fromLehigh Valley, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I bought this without doing the demo, based on so many good reviews and also on the fact that it's by Artifex Mundi. I really love the Enigmatis trilogy, so I had high hopes for this since it's from the same people.
I'm only about ten minutes into the game, so I'm hoping that it will improve if I come back later, but so far I'm not enthused. It's a beautifully rendered but fairly bland game that runs extremely slowly on my computer. There's not much of an intro to the setting; I don't understand who these characters are or why I've been away from this tiny village or why my sister is marrying somebody she's known for a month. (Heck, in that short a period of courtship, how did they even get in touch with my character to invite her to the wedding?) No hidden object scenes yet, the puzzles I've encountered have been super simple, and I'm just kind of... bored.
I'll give it another go later, but I strongly urge players to try this one before they buy it.
Golden Trails: The New Western Rush
Saddle up for fun and become a sheriff in Golden Trails: The New Western Rush. Find the culprits behind a bank robbery!
Overall rating
2
/
5
Clearly not meant for a laptop
PostedApril 21, 2020
laurakay76
fromLehigh Valley, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I wanted to like it, I really did. It's a different kind of premise, the art style is pleasant, and I wanted to help solve the mystery. Jack seems like a great character. It looked like it would be a lot of fun.
Unfortunately, in order to search the hidden object scenes, I had to take off my glasses and hold the laptop ridiculously close to my face in order to see what was going on in the scene. I ran out of hints in the second scene because everything is so *small*. And one spot in the second scene kept telling me to use an inventory item, but I only had two items in my inventory and apparently they were the wrong ones, so I have no idea what I was supposed to do. By that point I had a headache threatening from the eye strain and gave up.
If they release a version I can play on my iPad, I'll give it another shot, but on my laptop it was definitely a no-go. Make sure you try before you buy in case you have a similar problem.