Ghost stories, time travel, murder mysteries, and magic curses… Yep, sounds the adventure genre, all right. Only this time it’s the casual variety, as another month of hidden object hybrids offers up a smorgasbord of popular themes and lite adventure gameplay. We’ve sampled them all, so read on to find out which new releases are deserving of your attention and which merit nothing more than the “skip” button.
Shadow Wolf Mysteries: Curse of the Full Moon
Jack Allin
Here’s a shocker: another new game release from ERS Game Factor… I mean, Studios. The company that never rests is right back at it with their latest hidden object adventure in Shadow Wolf Mysteries: Curse of the Full Moon. That, as most casual game fans already know, is a good thing. Rather than cranking out cheaply-produced assembly-line adventures, the developers consistently show that they’re refining their craft as they go along. The same is true of this latest game, which once again demonstrates ERS’ commitment to quality while retaining the oh-so-familiar dark setting and ominous atmosphere that characterizes all of their games. This time around the subject is werewolves, as you’re called in to a small Victorian-era town to investigate a string of murders the locals attribute to the legendary creature.
Gameplay follows the traditional hidden object formula with really no deviations. By collecting inventory, scouring periodic close-ups for lists of items, and solving the occasional logic puzzle, you’ll progress through a series of ever-expanding locations. You can move freely between areas once opened, usually by overcoming obstacles like locked doors and blocked passageways first. Since there’s no map available, there can be a bit of backtracking involved, though it’s easy enough to keep your bearings and quickly click through several screens at a time. Adding to the meandering nature of the game is some rather loosely-defined objectives. Unlike many casual games, Shadow Wolf Mysteries has no task list or hint feature for the adventuring portions, though twinkles alert you to interactive areas and a journal records key observations that should help point the way. Often there are several goals to pursue simultaneously, however, so you’ll usually need to switch between them to advance in both, which can feel a little random. Inventory puzzles are fairly intuitive, though of course only one tool will ever be right for a job, and standalone puzzles are relatively sparse. If you get stuck rotating rings of coloured balls into patterns, aligning clock hands, or sliding rows of tiles into place, any puzzle can be skipped on either the Regular or Expert difficulty setting. A few are nicely integrated, like creating your own explosive, comparing microscopic hair samples, and picking the tumblers on a lock, but many are just there to arbitrarily block your progress.
Hidden object sequences are similarly contrived, providing lists of random items to find. Some can only be found by interacting with other objects first, but these are clearly marked to let you know which you can’t see naturally, and the rechargeable hint option will highlight anything you miss in the clutter. As with most HOGs, there’s really no rhyme or reason for this collection of junk beyond the one item you need, but the items are more or less organic to the setting, even when you’re examining a newly-discovered (but entirely non-gruesome) corpse. The only real complaint about these hidden object tasks is that you’ll need to revisit the same scenes twice. Even when looking for different items, this always feels like a cheap way to pad out game length, which ends up being fairly substantial here. The Collector’s Edition offers another half hour of similar gameplay and a few new locations around and underneath the town. Unfortunately, neither ending is particularly satisfying, each resolving a separate part of the full mystery in a rather rushed and unfulfilling way. Even so, there won’t be many howls of protest, as otherwise this is yet another solid hybrid adventure from ERS, with more than enough to sink your teeth into along the way.
Dream Mysteries – Case of the Red Fox
Robin Parker
In GameInvest’s Dream Mysteries – Case of the Red Fox, players get to explore dreams and the secrets of the subconscious as Dr. Corey Foster, a uniquely gifted psychiatrist who works at the Dream Seekers Research Clinic. The clinic treats patients for a variety of maladies, delving into their minds in order to relieve the trauma they are suffering. A normal day at the clinic begins to take a strange turn, however, when Dr. Foster finds mysterious links between the nightmares of her patients – including the titular creepy-looking red fox – and she begins to experience haunting visions of her own.
There are also standalone puzzles and minigames to overcome. These usually act as a gateway into the subconscious of a patient. By solving such a puzzle, you can unlock entry into a dream in order to clear the person’s fog-shrouded mind. Among the variety of activities, some are simple jigsaws and Concentration matches, whilst others require slight reflexes, such as a fishing minigame where you must avoid other fish knocking your catch off the line. I found none of these exercises particularly taxing, but for those who dislike certain puzzles or find them tricky, there is a skip option provided for each. As you explore, key objects will sparkle and the hint feature can be accessed to highlight any hotspots you’ve missed or inform you when there are no more items to be found in the current location. Backtracking does come into play somewhat, but it never feels excessive since you can often gather items the first time through a scene, even if you won’t need them until much later in the game. The addition of a journal helps players keep track of the clues and leads gathered, even providing some extra insight in some instances.
The background graphics are fairly good and quite diverse, as the dream worlds transport you from the various room in the clinic to such places as an opera house, a seaside beach, a forest, and even underwater. The character models are also quite detailed, helping flesh out the personalities of a bizarre cast that includes the likes of a ship captain, a lumberjack, and even Dr. Foster’s pet turtle, Mr. Bubbles. It is satisfying to see so many other characters in this game, as most casual titles are set in very empty game worlds. Unfortunately, this emphasizes the lack of voices of any kind. There is quite a lot of conversation in the game, and voice acting could have added a welcome level of polish. Background music and sounds effects are suitable to the setting, at least, sounding quite sinister when the situation calls for it but giving way to more subtle tracks and even silence at other times. Together it provides a solid backdrop to support the game’s intriguing premise, as the idea of jumping into dreams is an interesting one that allows for all kinds of creative possibilities. You’ll need to be sly to solve the case of the red fox, but it’s a dream assignment for any casual gamer.
Phantasmat
Merlina McGovern
It’s your run-of-the-mill dark and stormy night when you take a wrong turn and crash your car. As you attempt to escape from downed electrical wires and make your way through a misty wood, you stumble upon a mysterious young woman who seems to be in the same predicament as you, and she needs you to call for help. In Phantasmat, a hidden object hybrid game from Codeminion, you’ll have to use your logic-deducing and item-spotting prowess to make your way to the none-too-subtly named Drowned Dead Hotel overlooking a cliff. Dark green seaweed drips from the eaves and candle light flickers from an upstairs window – is someone watching you? Aside from the dread that fills you when you see this dark, uninviting hotel, the strangeness mounts as you notice a church spire and roof tops poking through the waters swirling at the base of the cliff.
You’ll also encounter a variety of puzzles in your travels which shouldn’t prove too difficult, like filling jugs of water to the appropriate levels or using codes to open locks. There are also a few mazes with easily obtained directions and one music puzzle, which could be a stumbling block if you can’t read musical notes or play by ear. If you find that prospect daunting, the game has three levels of play. On the easiest level, you’ll have plenty of hints and time to solve hidden object scenes, along with a skip button for the puzzles. The middle level gives you fewer hints, and if you click too many times in a HOG scene, you’ll have to wait a few moments before you have control over your pointer again. On the hardest level, you get no hints and can’t skip the puzzles. You’ll also be given a time limit for the hidden object scenes, and if you click too many times, you’ll lose precious time. Fail to find all of the objects in time, and you’ll have to replay the scene again. The Collector’s Edition gives you an integrated strategy guide as well as a fairly extended additional storyline to play, where you’ll learn more about one of the main characters and get a slightly different view of the events leading up to the town’s demise.
You’ll need to do a lot of exploring as well, including several rooms within the dilapidated art deco hotel and the surrounding environs. You’ll also travel down to the little town that appears to have met some type of watery death. The dark artwork is awash in seaweed greens and watery blues. Against this backdrop, the designers have dropped in splashes of neon colors like the signs of an old bar and pet store. You’ll also experience visions in washed-out greys and black and white with splashes of blood red, and meet a limited cast of colorful characters all voiced by terrific actors. The ambient sounds and music are suitably suspenseful, with creaking doors and plucking strings and deep, resonant wind instruments. Together these elements create an impressive atmospheric backdrop, and although the story would have been better served by more integrated challenges rather than repetitive hidden object hunts, this suspenseful tale filled with mystery and intrigue will keep you plunging through to the end.
The Stroke of Midnight
Jack Allin
If you’re looking to stand out in the growing crowd of casual adventures these days, it’s probably not the best idea to cast players in the role of a romance novelist seeking inspiration on a dark and stormy night in a haunted Romanian castle, where she must uncover the wrongs of an ill-fated past in order to reconcile two doomed spectral lovers. Been there, done that, got the Harlequin. But while its premise is entirely clichéd, in some respects Nikitova Games’ The Stroke of Midnight is a refreshingly different sort of lite adventure than the standard hybrids we’ve been getting of late. It’s still a combination of item application, scavenger hunting and periodic brainteasers, but its unique presentation is what makes the game particularly noteworthy.
While the camera may be more mobile, however, you are not. Where many casual games offer some freedom to explore, here you’re strictly limited to a single room at a time. Often there are multiple goals to achieve, but even these generally need to be accomplished in order. Whether it’s clearing cobwebs, repairing broken stained glass displays, or rearranging family portraits, it’s always fairly clear what you should be doing. There isn’t even an inventory per se. Instead, after clicking any functional object, it follows your cursor until you left-click on the correct hotspot or right-click to release it. This degree of streamlining does make the game fairly easy, and hotspots sparkle occasionally to make it easier still, but there are some tougher challenges mixed in. You’ll need to solve different types of jigsaws, align imbalanced rings, crack a math-based book code, and even tune a harpsichord. The latter requires at least a reasonable ear, but if you happen to be tone deaf, you can skip this or any other standalone puzzle after a short time. The game’s own music is a fairly subtle blend of haunting piano and violins, but often there is just silence, letting you soak in the ambient sounds of pouring rain, rumbling thunder, and crackling fireplaces. The ghosts are all fully voiced in thick eastern European accents, in stark contrast to the protagonist’s American-sounding narration.
Along the way, several tasks are repeated multiple times, like calculating ingredient weights and concocting formulas in the laboratory, or solving a folded paper puzzle to reveal hidden messages. This repetition extends to the hidden object searches as well. Each location contains a standard list of items to hunt on close-up screens that do not scroll. Most objects are clearly visible, though the occasional word may send you scrambling for the hint button… only to find there isn’t one. Thankfully, clicking any word on the list will highlight it onscreen, though this feature is never mentioned anywhere and can be easily overlooked. You’ll have to search many of the same scenes twice, even looking for some of the same items, as the adventure begins to bog down in the middle by sending you back to all the same locations again. It picks up again in a big way near the end, however, rushing headlong towards the finale as a (non-existent) timer urges you to value each second. It's never clear what your contribution to the story actually is, but it's nevertheless worth seeing through its three-hour play time. The Stroke of Midnight sure won’t win any marks for story or gameplay originality, but if you’re looking for something – anything – a little outside the casual norm, this game is worth looking into to see what makes it tick.
Treasure Seekers: The Time Has Come
Shuva Raha
Artogon's Treasure Seekers series, featuring the brother-sister duo of Tom and Eleanor (aka Nelly) Lonsdale, debuted as a hidden object game sprinkled with a few puzzles. Its watershed year was 2009, when the sequel was released. The Enchanted Canvases seamlessly integrated hidden object searches, inventory management and logic puzzles with an engaging story, superb production quality and lengthy, tight gameplay, establishing itself among the pioneers of casual adventures. The fourth installment, The Time Has Come, is rather topical, being based on the Mayan prophecy of the end of the world. It's March 2012, and übervillain Totenkraft, a veteran of the series, stands atop a rain-swept rooftop, declaring his plans to unleash himself on the unsuspecting denizens of the planet. Just then, the scene shifts to 1932, to a French news report about Nelly having decoded a Mayan stone forecasting doomsday, then pans to Totenkraft stalking her as she window-shops in Paris. A month later, Tom learns that Nelly is missing, and with nary a thought for his poor hamster, sets out on a quest to save his sister.
Despite its time travel, the game is very linear, as Tom must solve a specific sequence of inventory-related tasks in order to proceed. Sometimes only one item is needed, but many puzzles require a combination of several objects together. These are displayed in rings around the puzzle, so you don’t actually have to think about what’s required, merely find the necessary items. Single item quests are stretched further with gratuitous interactivity, as they must often be assembled from parts lying next to each other. There is also repeated hacking at foliage, brushing off dust and hammering things, not to mention tapping an egg several times to crack it. On the easier difficulty setting, interactive items are either tagged on mouse-over or highlighted with a ‘hand’ cursor. Both the easy and advanced modes have a rechargeable hint option which gives you further assistance if needed. Some items can only be found through traditional hidden object searches, but this episode lacks its predecessors’ discretion in stocking such screens – a church shed hides a propeller and a crash helmet amongst other generic items – which reduces its credibility. There are a couple of interesting additions to the basic formula, however. The first, an X-Ray glass, can ‘see’ objects literally hidden underground, behind walls, inside storage units, and even in another era. Besides breaking the monotony of object searches, it moves the story forward by revealing mission-critical items that require toggling between the past and the present. The second is the need to perform actions like moving aside curtains and opening boxes to find items or meet certain requirements. The few standalone puzzles are extremely simple for the most part, though any can be skipped. Among them are jigsaws, directing light rays with crystals, trial-and-error sequencing games, and pattern-painting. Notable exceptions are a logic-and-inventory puzzle that requires making crystals to decode a map, and another that involves alternating between day and night to solve.
The action is all set against decent looking scenes with standard animation – some dust motes, a few swinging censers and chains, a bit of falling water here and there – though there are occasional moments of brilliance, such as when an hourglass turns day into night for the first time. The music is similarly good but not special, though there’s no voice acting of any kind, including during cutscenes. Thankfully, what appears at first to be the game’s Achilles Heel – its inexplicable story hurtling towards ridiculous with each new revelation – suddenly snaps into gear, doing a u-turn just short of doom to wrap up with a genuinely clever twist. This leads to the most interesting part of the game, the ‘secret’ bonus play available only in the Collector’s Edition that’s unlocked once the main quest is over. It allows players to roam a limbo-like alternate universe as the three key characters, and as the world reshapes itself around them to reflect their professions, they must work in turn and in sync to escape it. This small but sharply designed segment is a gratifying reward, though it does earn The Time Has Come the dubious distinction of being grossly outclassed by its own extra. The main adventure certainly isn’t bad, as it’s ambitious in scope and substantial in length; it’s just a little too bloated with story clichés and gameplay filler for its own good, at times making you wonder if the time to finish will ever come.
Murder Island: Secret of Tantalus
Jack Allin
When the creative minds behind Tex Murphy launched their 3 Cards series at Big Finish Games, the plan was to introduce a new level of storytelling into casual gaming. Public reception was mixed, however, so the developers turned their attention to a more traditional hidden object hybrid for their next game, Murder Island: Secret of Tantalus. Eight people are invited to the exotic resort on Tantalus Island for a high school reunion, but instead of a dream vacation, players soon find themselves scrambling for their lives, as someone disguised in a mask and robe is threatening to kill you all. Could it be one of your fellow classmates with an unknown grudge? Or maybe it’s the only other island resident, who just happens to be a suspected former Greek mobster. The higher the body count rises, the more you’ll need to keep a good head on your shoulders (literally), as the killer has sabotaged the boat and radio equipment that could lead to your escape. Unfortunately, despite the promising dramatic buildup, all this intrigue ever really amounts to is performing numerous HOG searches and solving the odd loosely-integrated puzzle that has little connection to the mystery at hand.
Along the way, you’ll also collect mosaic tiles that offer bonus facts about such things as Greek myth and culture. These can be completely ignored, but you’ll probably want to collect them just so they’ll stop cluttering up the scenery. Unfortunately, Tantalus Island isn’t much to look at anyway. The locale is great, with its sunny skies, inviting seas, and distinctive stone architecture, but the lo-res graphics do the landscape no justice at all, offering only blurry views of this secluded paradise. Live actors are used, all fully and capably voiced, to portray everyone but yourself (who remain off screen and mute throughout). You’ll meet up with the school snob, the gabby gossiper, and other assorted friends at one point, and possibly again if they happen to turn up dead. Your interaction with them is limited to the occasional paneled cutscene, however, as the bulk of your time is spent entirely alone. Much of the plot is learned through notes scattered about, which leaves you feeling more like a spectator than an active participant in discovering the killer’s identity. And really that’s the biggest disappointment here, as there’s an interesting enough story being unraveled, but it happens largely independently of your efforts. True to the developer’s name, the game delivers a big finish, but it feels disproportionately rewarding for the amount you’ve actually contributed to it. It’s still a mildly entertaining adventure to that point, but it’s a shame that so much of it is spent not asking “whodunit?” but “whereisit?”
Other Games of Interest
Spirit Seasons: Little Ghost Story
Jack Allin
It doesn’t change the nature of the game, of course, which really is a fairly standard hidden object adventure. You have some freedom to explore, but only a few rooms at a time are ever available to you, and though you’ll gather quite a few items in your travels, almost all of them are used in the immediate vicinity in straightforward ways. Other puzzle types are rare, but you’ll solve the occasional slider, connect circuits, and uncross wires. Any can be skipped if necessary but most are quite easy, though they’re more difficult on the “Expert” setting. The lone exception is a particular safe code, which is difficult even just to understand due to its poor instructions. Then again, given the various typos, grammatical errors and other blatant translation mistakes found in notes, news reports, and protagonist commentary, this confusion should come as no surprise. Hidden object screens are numerous and quickly get repetitive, as some are revisited and all of them require you to find multiples of the same item. Some can’t be found until you’ve interacted with the environment, but such items are clearly marked in the object list, and the rechargeable hint feature will highlight anything you miss. That shouldn’t often be needed, as the graphics are clearly and nicely hand-drawn in a stylish, slightly skewed way. The visuals are supported by subtly creepy music in the background, but there are no voices at all apart from some ghostly whispers. The story isn’t particularly deep, but it does probe deeply enough to care about the fates of its participants and make the “right” choice at the end. There is no right or wrong, of course, but to see the alternate ending you’ll need to start again from the beginning, so be sure to make a choice you can live with your first time through.
The Secret Legacy: A Kate Brooks Adventure
Jack Allin
If there’s been a common criticism of the now-defunct White Birds’ adventures, it’s that the French studio produced games that looked lovely but continually fell short on gameplay. That trend has carried over to their foray into the casual realm in The Secret Legacy: A Kate Brooks Adventure. Kate Brooks is “based on a character by Benoît Sokal”, though she actually isn’t given much of a role here. Shortly after the death of her grandmother, a history professor researching Egyptology, Kate finds a note left by her about a remarkable discovery that she feared had put her life in jeopardy. The note pleads with Kate to follow the clues left behind in the event of her untimely demise, in order to fulfill her research and bring her discovery to light. Unfortunately, the request means that a full half the game is spent rummaging around her grandmother’s office and house, which hardly makes for a compelling adventure. Things pick up when Kate travels to Egypt in pursuit of a hidden Pharaoh’s tomb, but it takes a fair while to get there. It does look nice, as the graphics are crisp and realistically designed. There is no voice acting at all, though, and the background music is pleasant but doesn’t really convey any kind of ambient atmosphere. If you’re expecting anything Egyptian while in Cairo, think again.
CrossWorlds: The Flying City
Jack Allin
On paper, 2 Monkeys’ CrossWorlds: The Flying City seems to have all the makings of a solid hidden object adventure: a tried-and-true, dimension-hopping sci-fi premise, three radically diverse worlds full of bizarre characters to explore, and some light inventory puzzling to go with its casual item hunting. On screen, unfortunately, this game falls drastically short of its early promise. Right from the beginning – or make that “beggning”, as the static introduction clumsily sets the tone – it’s clear that CrossWorlds is a budget production that cut some serious corners along the way. The gentle background soundtrack is fine, but there is no voice acting of any kind and almost as little animation, and the graphics are simplistic and hazy. The characters prove to be nothing more than plot devices to keep you busy, and the story is quickly relegated to irrelevant background. In theory, you’re a young woman named Monika who must pursue her father through his experimental teleporter to discover why he’s disappeared. In reality, you’re really just a gopher who continually fixes broken machinery and runs random errands in return for favours, hoping it eventually leads somewhere.
Kingdom of Seven Seals
Jack Allin
At its core, Puppet Life’s Kingdom of Seven Seals is a fairly standard hidden object hybrid adventure spent searching for items, collecting inventory, and solving random puzzles and minigames. But it isn’t long before you notice how very different it is than its contemporaries, as the princess of a magical kingdom is sent out onto a overworld map to seek a cure for a witch’s curse plaguing the land and her people. It’s a welcome change from the standard casual format, and at first it adds a refreshing quest-like element that feels similar to the fantasy adventures of old, as you interact with ogres, elves, mermaids, dragons, and fairies along the way. Unfortunately, nothing interesting is ever done with this feature, merely sending you on one monotonous, map-traversing errand after another instead. It isn’t long until the gimmick has become repetitive, tiresome, and more than a little aggravating. The game should probably be called Fetch Quest.