catbag8717's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.3
- Helpful Votes:8,793
- Reviews Submitted:584
- First Review:April 27, 2012
- Most Recent Review:September 23, 2020
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Doctor's Oath is the next heartfelt game in the Heart’s Medicine series. Become a doctor and save lives alongside Allison Heart!
Overall rating
3
/
5
6 of 8 found this review helpful
Way, Way, Too Hard
PostedSeptember 23, 2020
catbag8717
fromTasmania, Australia
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Time Management
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I love the Heart's Medicine games and all of the games in the Delicious universe. The Heart's Medicine series has long frustrated me with its ridiculous soap opera storylines, but they fixed that for this one. The storyline here is gripping and entertaining, things that happen are realistic, and it's very enjoyable. If nothing else, I found myself wanting to continue for the storyline alone.
There are so many levels in this game that it definitely is worth the extra money of a collector's edition. I like the variety of the extra levels, too. There are time trials, guinea pig ones, and mini-game ones. There are also the typical challenges within the story levels that earn puzzle pieces to have an extra story scene. These were fun.
There are many layout changes compared to the first three in the series that take some time to get used to. The map layout is quite easy, hearts not being equated to points is something different. Diamonds, hearts and stars all have a purpose. Stars are used to unlock the path to more story/challenge levels. This is my issue.
It is way too hard to get stars. I'm not exaggerating here. I can play the level cleanly with no mistakes, and I can barely get to two stars, sometimes only getting one star. There's no way to increase the amount of points you get from something, and I have to play the challenge levels to get more stars. The challenge ones can sometimes be hard to get stars on too. It's demoralising and defeating when I try as hard as I possibly can and don't even get close to a good amount of stars, when they're required to advance in the game. You can bypass this by paying with diamonds, but that creates another problem in itself.
The games never used to be this hard, and it's really upsetting for me. I am enjoying the story of this game, but it's ridiculously hard to get stars. I like a challenge, but this is taking it way too far. I feel bad because I followed the developers, they were excited, I was excited, and porting this game to PC took a long time. It's clear they've put an incredible amount of work into this and for that they should be commended, but it's just way too hard to get stars and that sours the experience for me.
I really can't recommend this. I don't know if I'll be able to finish it and I'm so disappointed.
I don't recommend this game.
A visit to Manchester Asylum takes a dangerous turn into madness!
Overall rating
2
/
5
29 of 29 found this review helpful
I'm Absolutely Heartbroken
PostedNovember 29, 2019
catbag8717
fromTasmania, Australia
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
BASED ON COMPLETED CE
As a standalone game, or by any other name, this is good. However, it’s not a standalone game. It’s Mystery Case Files, and it makes a distinct connection to my favourite game of the series, 13th Skull. All I felt after finishing was immeasurable disappointment.
I thought that we would be returning to the Louisiana house, maybe Phineas had resurfaced and we had to stop him again, or something had happened with Magnolia. The screenshots showed some old locations and the demo, although starting in Manchester, introduced Magnolia. The beginning was great, I was riveted, and I thought the ending was setting us up to be transported back to Louisiana, but no. Everything after the demo was just that of a typical ghost/spirit pirate game, and I felt a little had. Plot holes started coming up, like why is this ship in Manchester and not Louisiana? It felt like the game used 13th Skull as a basis and then took the story in a completely different direction. Nothing stood out after the demo, Magnolia’s role was little to none, and in the end I just couldn’t wait for it to be over.
The bonus chapter was honestly more fun than the main game’s story and I won’t spoil anything, but there was one element that really disappointed me there as well. I feel like I’m being a little harsh on the story, but I think I’ve been let down. I was expecting a nostalgia trip, because that’s what all the pre-release stuff, screenshots, and beginning of the game seemed to imply, but in the end I just got the standard stuff. Like I said, as any other game, it works fine. But not as a Mystery Case Files game and certainly not as a sequel to 13th Skull.
My disappointment with the story aside, the gameplay was pretty good. I loved the HOPAs, they had multi-step puzzles and it flowed well with easy navigation. The game’s challenge factor was a good balance between easy things and more challenging, and the length was fine. Graphically it was the same style as other Eipix games and was fairly clear, so I don’t have any complaints there.
My biggest problem with this game is it’s just impossible to overlook how disappointed I was with the story, because what I was expecting and what I got were two completely different things. The best thing about 13th Skull was its story, its little world that Big Fish had created with relatable and likable characters that I invested myself in. The idea that Magnolia had survived the ending of the first game and had a troubled life was intriguing. I wanted to find out more. I wanted to go on that nostalgia trip and see at least some of the characters and locations that had been in the first place, but here it felt like an afterthought. In my personal opinion, I feel like they took one of the best stories and worlds in HOPA existence and irreparably tarnished it, creating a game with very little reliance on the first one and what they did do with it was deeply saddening and disappointing.
I can’t say I regret buying it because I would have forever been left wondering if the nostalgia was going to come. But knowing what I know now, I wish I hadn’t. As I said, if this was a standalone game with no leaning on the 13th Skull storyline it would be good, but because they made that choice, I’m really disappointed. Don’t come here thinking you’ll get a sequel to 13th Skull, because that’s not what this is. I’m just so upset and disappointed. I can’t recommend it.
I don't recommend this game.
When detective Gingertail is called home by ex-girfriend Barbara, he could never imagine it would be the investigation of his life... and her death.
Overall rating
4
/
5
Thoroughly Enjoyable- One of the Best Stories Ever
PostedFebruary 13, 2019
catbag8717
fromTasmania, Australia
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
BASED ON COMPLETED SE
Wow... I wasn't expecting this to be as fantastic as I was. I thoroughly enjoyed almost everything about this game. The story was phenomenal and, honestly, one of the best ever. It had a gripping opening and was thoroughly engaging in every single aspect. There were some amazing, completely unexpected twists and turns. Just when I thought things were going to conclude or be figured out, there was yet another curveball thrown. The ending, which others thought was abrupt, I actually quite enjoyed. I didn't feel like it was abrupt, but rather unique, shocking and fitting to the game itself. It's definitely conclusive and the bonus chapter isn't needed. In addition, the overall plot was helped significantly by backstories told through diaries. I just loved this story so much. The only negatives I have are:
- The detective wasn't very good at making sure the coast was clear and was knocked out way too many times for plot convenience.
- The voice-overs were fantastic but a mix of British and American, making things really confusing location-wise. It makes sense if there is one Briton among the rest of the Americans, but this was about an even half-half split.
- The detective wasn't very good at making sure the coast was clear and was knocked out way too many times for plot convenience.
- The voice-overs were fantastic but a mix of British and American, making things really confusing location-wise. It makes sense if there is one Briton among the rest of the Americans, but this was about an even half-half split.
Other than that I absolutely loved it.
The gameplay was fantastic too. It borrowed two minigames from two of my favourite series, in that there were interview question options for one scene, and an interrogation mini-HOS sequence to determine whether someone was lying. Although these only appeared once, they resulted in me being a lot more engrossed with the game. There was a great adventure component, with plus objects included. It varied in difficulty, being quite simple at times and also difficult enough to get me stuck. The HOS were amazing, varied up and incredibly fun to play. I honestly just wanted more and more.
The only problem I have with this game, gameplay wise, is the puzzles. This is what prevents it from getting 5 stars. While there were some fun ones that were fairly easy, and some story-related ones like the punching sequence, a lot of them were too difficult for me. Worse, the difficult ones would repeat several times throughout the game. Thankfully the skip button recharged at a decent speed so these weren't too much of a worry.
The only problem I have with this game, gameplay wise, is the puzzles. This is what prevents it from getting 5 stars. While there were some fun ones that were fairly easy, and some story-related ones like the punching sequence, a lot of them were too difficult for me. Worse, the difficult ones would repeat several times throughout the game. Thankfully the skip button recharged at a decent speed so these weren't too much of a worry.
----
Overall, though, these are only small flaws and shouldn't prevent you from enjoying this incredible story experience. I absolutely loved this from beginning to end and guarantee you I will play it over and over again.
Overall, though, these are only small flaws and shouldn't prevent you from enjoying this incredible story experience. I absolutely loved this from beginning to end and guarantee you I will play it over and over again.
I recommend this game!
The killer from an unsolved case returns for more blood!
Overall rating
1
/
5
7 of 9 found this review helpful
Longest 35 Minutes of My Life
PostedFebruary 13, 2019
catbag8717
fromTasmania, Australia
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
BASED ON DEMO
Oh boy was this a tough one to get through. I honestly can say I did not enjoy a second of this game. Firstly, the story was just too strange to be believable. I know all the Grim Tales stories have this sort of formula but I've played others that have not left me feeling irritated. They found nothing, people suspected it was the partner, the partner went and hid evidence then left town... it's not something I can follow. The story had no major plot twists or turns and just wasn't gripping whatsoever. Plus, the ghost guy was really annoying. I don't know why he was in there.
Then we get to the gameplay. Aside from a really easy adventure component, we had puzzles literally everywhere. There just seemed to be one after the other, way too many for the demo or my liking. I just ended up waiting out the skip button and then another would appear, and another, and another... some even led directly into HOS. This was beyond frustrating.
The only highlight of the game for me would be the HOS and graphics. The HOS were great and the best part of the game, spaced out well and quite fun. The graphics were clear and crisp with realistic character designs, but that's really the only positive I can say about this game.
----
It's difficult because I really like this developer and I really wanted to like this game, but I could barely find anything positive about it. It's a hard pass from me.
It's difficult because I really like this developer and I really wanted to like this game, but I could barely find anything positive about it. It's a hard pass from me.
I don't recommend this game.
Can you save the city from a dangerous magic-wielding criminal?
Overall rating
3
/
5
30 of 51 found this review helpful
Decent Enough... But Too Frustrating
PostedFebruary 7, 2019
catbag8717
fromTasmania, Australia
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
BASED ON DEMO
The first game in this series is called Chapter One, and you'll notice I've opened the review with this because the story pretty much recaps what happened in the first one throughout the demo. I haven't played the first one and frankly I found the recaps to be incredibly frustrating. The story wasn't all that bad though, as there were some high-octane action moments and the demo ended on a great cliffhanger. There was just too much rehash of the first game for my liking. I really like this new trend of game series actually following the same characters, but perhaps just a general summary of the events rather than going through all the major plot points would suffice. This game just made me feel like I needed to play the first one, and if I had done, the recaps would just be even more annoying than they already were.
Another thing I really enjoyed was how realistic the story was despite the supernatural element. There are explanations for everything that make perfect sense, the dialogue is natural and not forced. There's been a lot of planning into the technical stuff and it pays off substantially. It feels almost like an interactive movie. If I hadn't been so frustrated by the recaps I would have been heavily invested.
Another thing I really enjoyed was how realistic the story was despite the supernatural element. There are explanations for everything that make perfect sense, the dialogue is natural and not forced. There's been a lot of planning into the technical stuff and it pays off substantially. It feels almost like an interactive movie. If I hadn't been so frustrated by the recaps I would have been heavily invested.
The gameplay I didn't mind, there was an evenly balanced adventure component with plus objects, and a decent amount of HOS and puzzles. The HOS were good for the most part. I enjoyed almost all of them, save for the one in the fridge where some of the objects required solving riddles to find (for example, palm tree + necklace= object). The other HOS were really well done, though. The puzzles were a mixture of easy and hard and I enjoyed trying to attempt them instead of just waiting for the skip to fill out like I have in some other games. Kudos to the developers for making them fun! One little nitpicky problem though: I'm an impatient person and I don't like having to wait for the solution to be shown after I click skip. I would prefer it if I could just skip and be done with it.
As far as the adventure component goes, I do have one little complaint: I liked the addition of the ability, but I would have liked it if there was a mini-game to activate it. Clicking on the ability button and watching a mini cutscene isn't exactly the most exciting thing on earth and I think it would have made the ability have a more game-relevant aspect to the experience, because the story-relevant thing is right there and done perfectly.
---
---
The CE bonus content is the standard Eipix stuff, like collectibles, souvenir rooms, bonus chapters and whatnot. I like the incentive to buy as there are things unlocked as the game finishes. From the sounds of things, there are collectibles in the bonus chapter, which I enjoy every time it pops up.
----
So, overall, I'm pretty disappointed in the game. What would have been great is frustrating and detracted from thanks to all the recaps of the first game. Instead of passing references and a summary (Memoirs of Murder, another Eipix series, does this perfectly), we got a re-telling. I feel like this game's story was not-so-subtly hinting at me to buy the first one. That's disappointing, because the recaps are annoying no matter what you do. They either spoil the first game, or are a waste of time because you know what happened.
So, overall, I'm pretty disappointed in the game. What would have been great is frustrating and detracted from thanks to all the recaps of the first game. Instead of passing references and a summary (Memoirs of Murder, another Eipix series, does this perfectly), we got a re-telling. I feel like this game's story was not-so-subtly hinting at me to buy the first one. That's disappointing, because the recaps are annoying no matter what you do. They either spoil the first game, or are a waste of time because you know what happened.
For the recaps alone, I'm really disappointed to say I can't recommend this game. It could have been great but it's just too frustrating.
I don't recommend this game.
Save your cousin and his new bride from a horrible beast!
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Beyond Incredible
PostedFebruary 5, 2019
catbag8717
fromTasmania, Australia
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
BASED ON COMPLETED CE
I'm in awe that such a spectacular game has been produced. Everything, from the graphics,to the story, to the HOS and puzzles, just everything is wonderful. I can barely find things to fault with it.
Let's start with the story, which was near perfect. There were some amazing twists, even in the early goings. The game just seemed to throw one twist after another at you, but they were all well timed and logical. Just when you thought you had the game figured out, or that you were done with things, something else would happen. It's rare that a game's story keeps me invested for the entire game- usually there's a dip in the middle- but this one did just that. Yes, the story did get formulaic at times, but what kept the story interesting was those soul stones, the background stories of each character. As everyone's got revealed, some of them were so touching and sad. I haven't been emotionally invested or moved in a HOPA story pretty much ever, and this one did that. Masterful storytelling.
The game ends conclusively, but the bonus chapter is a lovely little addition and has a happy ending. It was a really sweet extra chapter to the story. The ending to the main game was shocking but great, and the bonus chapter explains the motives a little deeper. Again, not necessary but pretty great.
Now for the gameplay, which I adored. The HOS in particular were my favourite. They varied between pictures and word lists, and sometimes there were ones where you gradually assembled the item to collect at the end. Some scenes were repeated twice but they could have been done three or four times, I wouldn't have cared because each HOS was amazing. The puzzles varied in difficulty and I particularly liked the match three ones that appeared every now and again. It was a relief to be able to attempt/play quite a lot of the puzzles without having to sit around and wait for the skip button to charge out. There were some unique ones in there as well, examples being a logic puzzle. Haven't seen that around and it was a great change!
The adventure component was great, not too light and not too heavy either, a great balance. There was nothing too complicated about it, the only major feature being plus objects and having to assemble soul stones every now and again. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The graphics, all I have to say about them are that they were incredible. The soundtrack is beautiful and the voices are clear. There are some incorrect alignments with voice and subtitles but that was about it with the criticisms.
----
BONUS CONTENT
The bonus content is fantastic. I've already touched on the story, but there are collectible owls both in main game and bonus chapter, as well as collectible morphing objects. There's an incentive to collect the owls as you unlock owls in the collection room if you reach a certain target. If you get them all, you unlock a special HOS that I just loved. The achievements are a mix of story and game, and the rest of the content is just bells and whistles. The wallpapers are beautiful, so much so that I've changed my background for the first time in a long time.
----
BONUS CONTENT
The bonus content is fantastic. I've already touched on the story, but there are collectible owls both in main game and bonus chapter, as well as collectible morphing objects. There's an incentive to collect the owls as you unlock owls in the collection room if you reach a certain target. If you get them all, you unlock a special HOS that I just loved. The achievements are a mix of story and game, and the rest of the content is just bells and whistles. The wallpapers are beautiful, so much so that I've changed my background for the first time in a long time.
----
I can't stop praising this game. It may seem a little over the top, but it's because I truly found it incredible. I would play this game again and again. I thoroughly recommend it, as I loved it from beginning to end.
I recommend this game!
Can you escape a madman’s grasp before it’s too late?
Overall rating
4
/
5
3 of 4 found this review helpful
Enthralling... Until the Very End
PostedFebruary 1, 2019
catbag8717
fromTasmania, Australia
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
BASED ON COMPLETED CE
I saw the bad reviews for this and was baffled as I played the demo. What I seemed to be playing was so much better: A gripping story, amazing gameplay... so I purchased the game and continued the full adventure. It was great... up until the very end. And I don't mean that in a positive way, I mean it literally was great until the end. The story, up to that point, had been thrilling, enthralling, with lots of twists and turns. I was excited to be learning everything about the villain, I loved the "wrong choices" element and how complex everything was. Then the end came, and it was the most abrupt, open, left-field ending ever, asking a massive question and solving nothing, and the game ended without any answers to the big question and plot twist. The only explanation I could think of still yielded more questions than answers. For such an incredible story to have one of the worst endings I've ever seen in a HOPA game is incredibly disappointing.
Now the gameplay, and I have to comment on the insanity meter, which seems to be the main gripe of this review. I adored it. It added another level of thrill and captivation to the gameplay. I don't know why everyone was complaining about it being "timed" because that just added to it all. I let the meter run down to see what happened. Nothing did. It was a fantastic addition and I hope it comes back.
Other than that, I loved the gameplay. The adventure component was heavy, but so were the puzzles and HOS. This a very well balanced gameplay portion. Things varied on challenge, including some very difficult HOS that both frustrated and engaged me. The puzzles were fun and I don't have anything negative to say about it. There was a little bit of backtracking but it wasn't ridiculous, and again, the "wrong choices" element added that little edge to it that made things that much more fun. It was just fantastic.
The CE offers the bonus game, which is a prelude to what happened before the game, so no answers to the ending in the main story here. The gameplay remained balanced and the story was incredibly interesting, but to completely ignore that ending was just bad storytelling. There are also morphing objects- both in game and HOS- and collectible brains, which make an appearance in the bonus chapter too. In addition, you need to collect all morphing objects to unlock the bonus chapter. I really liked this as it was an extra incentive to buy the CE and look for things. There are files on each of the main characters and your standard additions like concept art and wallpapers, so on and so on. I would say the CE is very much worth it as it adds to the fun of the game.
Overall, this game was near top of the range for me but left a very sour taste in my mouth with that horrible ending. Other than that, the story is enthralling and the gameplay is stellar. With a packed CE, this was something very enjoyable that I'll be coming back to over and over again.
I recommend this game!
Can you stop a madman from using puppets to take over the island?
Overall rating
2
/
5
26 of 49 found this review helpful
I'm Sorry... What?
PostedJanuary 31, 2019
catbag8717
fromTasmania, Australia
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
BASED ON DEMO
Puppetshow and I have a love hate relationship, which continues after this latest installment. There are a plethora of HOS, which I actually quite enjoyed but it does border on the heavy side. The puzzles, though, I didn't enjoy them at all and found myself waiting for the skip button. Because of the abundance of HOS and puzzles, the adventure component is very light and basic, the highlights of it being plus objects, which had indicators. The gameplay was quite basic, not innovative at all and didn't contribute to my enjoyment of the game in any way.
Now for the story, which is my main gripe of this game. The opening was fairly confusing, and then crawled along at a snail's pace. I had no investment in this story, no care for it and was just waiting for the demo to be over. What my serious problem with this is, though, is that the "plot twist" was ridiculous, incredibly out of left field, with no warning and no realistic reasoning for the outcome. You can't just throw something unexpected at us and call it a plot twist. There has to be little clues hidden around, but subtly enough that it doesn't give things away. I'm not going to say what it was so you can play this game, but it just made me check out from an already uninteresting story. I can suspend my sense of disbelief enough for a fantasy game, but when basic storytelling components aren't done correctly, it just leads to further disengagement from the game.
In sum, a lackluster, unrealistic, disengaging story coupled with a light but mediocre adventure component, filled with puzzles and HOS. This is a fairly big skip from me.
I don't recommend this game.
Can you stop an ancient menace from taking over the city?
Overall rating
4
/
5
39 of 46 found this review helpful
Surprisingly Great
PostedJanuary 24, 2019
catbag8717
fromTasmania, Australia
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I haven't always been a fan of Domini Games so went in here with some low expectations, which were pretty comfortably passed!
The storyline was fairly unique, at least not one I'd seen in a while. I'm not really into all the fantasy, lost world, evil ruler-type things though and the story wasn't enjoyable here. I definitely stayed for the gameplay as I found the story to be slow moving and not very exciting at all. There seemed to be no sense of urgency, dull voice acting and I found myself struggling to get invested.
I definitely did stay for the gameplay though. The HOS were incredibly varied, ranging from stories, to symbols, to placing objects in a scene, and those were just the first three. And better yet, somehow the developer has found a way to make the HOS challenging! I have never been more invested in HOS, taking time and actually enjoying myself in playing them. I found myself using the hint button quite a lot for these scenes, a rarity for the HOS themselves when I play, and it was a welcome surprise. I appreciate the custom difficulty, because I sure relied on it to make things a little easier for myself.
This game also contains my favourite puzzle in a HOPA game and that was the maze puzzle when you dive underwater. It was such a refreshing change from the norm, so fun and engrossing, but unfortunately the other puzzles were the standard ones. I really appreciated the option to change from hard to easy, though. That's something I'd like to see more of in HOPA games. I did, however, notice what seems to be an alarming trend lately, and that is puzzles practically everywhere. Puzzles definitely seemed to be the dominant focal point of the gameplay, with HOS taking a back seat, I don't like puzzles, so a few moments in the demo were spent simply waiting out the skip button.
This game also contains my favourite puzzle in a HOPA game and that was the maze puzzle when you dive underwater. It was such a refreshing change from the norm, so fun and engrossing, but unfortunately the other puzzles were the standard ones. I really appreciated the option to change from hard to easy, though. That's something I'd like to see more of in HOPA games. I did, however, notice what seems to be an alarming trend lately, and that is puzzles practically everywhere. Puzzles definitely seemed to be the dominant focal point of the gameplay, with HOS taking a back seat, I don't like puzzles, so a few moments in the demo were spent simply waiting out the skip button.
The adventure component itself wasn't too hard and I did appreciate the option of being able to change things on the fly, instead of having to go through an options screen. For example, you can show map objectives just by clicking a button on the map, which I found very handy and time saving.
The CE is quite bulky and does have a lot of collectibles. Even better, there is an option on the map which allows you to show scenes with collectibles still in them. I've never seen this in a HOPA before and hope this continues. Other than that, there are morphing objects and the collectibles actually serve a purpose- you can use the starfish you collect in game to buy fish for a little aquarium. I love when collectibles serve purpose as it gives extra incentive to find, and to buy the CE.
----
This was a considerable step up from previous Domini games, as it was challenging, the gameplay was interesting, unique and intriguing and the game itself was quite enjoyable. It was let down by its story, but if you are someone who stays for the gameplay you will quite enjoy this. I liked the demo, and I do recommend you try it for yourself.
I recommend this game!
Death needs help from the only detective he trusts – you!
Overall rating
4
/
5
9 of 10 found this review helpful
A Decent Game, But Not Without Flaws
PostedDecember 22, 2016
catbag8717
fromTasmania, Australia
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
BASED ON COMPLETED SE
Riddles of Fate has not really been Elephant's best series. I despised the first one and thought the second was pretty good. When this third installment came along, I was really intrigued by the premise the execution has done it justice.
The story differs from most games as it was not one flowing story, but rather three separate stories with one common link. A few games have done this before and I have enjoyed them before, and this one is no exception. The storyline is basically that there are several souls shattering the balance of life and death, and you have been tasked with bringing order back to the balance by tracking down the souls cheating death. The game takes you to three different countries, each with a criminal whose story differs completely. Obviously considerable work has gone into creating these stories and it has paid off. Each criminal and story conveyed different emotions and their reasons for shattering the balance were different. I quite enjoyed each individual story. I found they were all well paced and exciting in their own way. The first story in particular had me gasping and on the edge of my seat. What I loved about this storyline was I was very eager to find out the why in each situation, which is what kept me going.
Despite the fact I enjoyed the story component of the game I do have a couple of major issues: Firstly, because of the way the story is structured, there are no plot twists or major story developments. You know who your criminal is right away and basically your only job is to find evidence. You already know the who, what, when and where; all you learn is the why. This story really lacked a killer punch (no pun intended) to take it into the outstanding range. Secondly, there was no major antagonist. This does not have anything to do with the story's structure as other games that have stories similar to this have antagonists. Because of the lack of antagonist, the game was missing the motivation and drive to complete it, which took the enjoyment factor down slightly. In addition, the main game does end conclusively but the ending is very, very weak, which was a little disappointing.
Despite these flaws, I found the storyline to still be decent.
Despite the fact I enjoyed the story component of the game I do have a couple of major issues: Firstly, because of the way the story is structured, there are no plot twists or major story developments. You know who your criminal is right away and basically your only job is to find evidence. You already know the who, what, when and where; all you learn is the why. This story really lacked a killer punch (no pun intended) to take it into the outstanding range. Secondly, there was no major antagonist. This does not have anything to do with the story's structure as other games that have stories similar to this have antagonists. Because of the lack of antagonist, the game was missing the motivation and drive to complete it, which took the enjoyment factor down slightly. In addition, the main game does end conclusively but the ending is very, very weak, which was a little disappointing.
Despite these flaws, I found the storyline to still be decent.
I also quite enjoyed the gameplay. The HOS came in different forms such as word list, pairs and silhouette. Some even required you to find objects first to access the list. These were fun to play and plentiful without intruding on the adventure component. I also quite liked the puzzles, which varied in difficulty and appeared a little more frequently than the HOS. I really liked the adventure component. Although it was quite easy and fast moving, there were some unique features in there that made it better. The game frequently had you travel back to your own house to design keys and develop paper or writing, as well as create solutions in a home-lab. All of these would be used to advance in the game as they produced important clues or led to important places. It was a small addition, but it made a huge difference and turned an otherwise standard adventure component into something a lot more enjoyable. Due to the game having three separate stories and locations, things moved quite quickly in the game and thus there was not a lot of backtracking at all, which I really liked. I can't stand games that have you backtrack everywhere all the time and this game didn't have that, which made the adventure component all the better.
The graphics were done quite well. Everything was crystal clear and the scenes were realistic. There were quite a lot of browns and blues but that was good as they matched the sombre atmosphere of the game.
FEATURES
- 3 modes of difficulty: Casual, Advanced, Hardcore. I played Advanced. There were no sparkles whatsoever and no penalty in HOS.
- Hint & Skip- They had a decent recharge time for advanced mode and the hint acted as a teleporter.
- Map- the map was interactive and very useful as there was frequent travelling from the scene to your house. In advanced mode the map still shows where tasks need to be completed.
- + objects- Appeared occasionally but not too much, which was great. A + sign appeared when they were ready to be used.
- 3 modes of difficulty: Casual, Advanced, Hardcore. I played Advanced. There were no sparkles whatsoever and no penalty in HOS.
- Hint & Skip- They had a decent recharge time for advanced mode and the hint acted as a teleporter.
- Map- the map was interactive and very useful as there was frequent travelling from the scene to your house. In advanced mode the map still shows where tasks need to be completed.
- + objects- Appeared occasionally but not too much, which was great. A + sign appeared when they were ready to be used.
WHAT DO I MISS OUT ON IF I BUY THE SE?
Bonus Chapter
Built-in Strategy Guide- Does not show HOS screenshots.
Achievements
Collectible solitaire cards (52)- Used in a solitaire game in the bonus section. They are located in some zoom scenes, sometimes with more than one per zoom scene.
Collectible figurines (3)
Concept Art
Wallpaper
Music
Solitaire game
Secret Room
Bonus Chapter
Built-in Strategy Guide- Does not show HOS screenshots.
Achievements
Collectible solitaire cards (52)- Used in a solitaire game in the bonus section. They are located in some zoom scenes, sometimes with more than one per zoom scene.
Collectible figurines (3)
Concept Art
Wallpaper
Music
Solitaire game
Secret Room
CE OR SE?
The main game ends conclusively and although there is some decent bonus content, it was not enough for me, so I would strongly recommend the SE.
The main game ends conclusively and although there is some decent bonus content, it was not enough for me, so I would strongly recommend the SE.
ON THE GAME LENGTH
The game was quite short. The first story seemed to be longer than the next two combined, with the second story being over especially quickly. I felt like I had just got there and I was leaving again. I would estimate the game took me a little under 3 hours on advanced mode.
The game was quite short. The first story seemed to be longer than the next two combined, with the second story being over especially quickly. I felt like I had just got there and I was leaving again. I would estimate the game took me a little under 3 hours on advanced mode.
Overall, this was quite a decent game, but it did have some storyline flaws that prevented its transition from decent to great. Nonetheless the story was intriguing and the gameplay was fun. It's certainly not the best from this developer but I would play it again. I give this game four stars.
I recommend this game!