Adventure Gamers - Forums

Speaking of Mike the Wino, I recently received a PM from him regarding a game he was looking for. I’m posting a recap of our conversation here. The game seems interesting. I still have a fair number of credits to get rid of, so there’s likely a purchase in my future once I finish the demo.

This is the recap. The most recent message is at top.

RTR
I didn’t check my purchase history, but the name didn’t ring a bell so I DLd the demo. The graphics are quite nice. The voice acting is OK. Although since there are no subtitles and the game is produced for an English-speaking audience, it’s a given that the Thai speaking character would sound straight out of Warner Olan’s version of what he thought Charlie Chan would sound like in 1940. The HO scenes seem a bit contrived. If I had to wager, I would bet they were created using the Sharp engine from Artifex Mundi. Puzzles so far are fair. I’ve seen most of them before under various guises. But since I only played about 20 minutes of the demo, who knows? A brand new puzzle concept might be around the next corner.

Which brings us to the Light and Dark. Not new in concept If you remember the Enigmatis games, Asmodai represented the dark side and Archangel Raphael was sent by god to conquer the dark being. Raphael’s tomb was guarded by the decedents of the original worshipers. Raphael represented the lightness of being whereas in this game there is an actual dark side/light side that, as you said, can be activated by turning lights on and off.

As I said, I’ve not played much of the game, so I’m not sure if this mechanic is used as a gimmick, or is an integral part of the game. We’ve all played games before when the lights go off, or we’re required to enter a space where there are no lights. Usually these dark areas house a HO scene, and we must illuminate the scene using an inventory item picked up at the last location we visited. Flashlight, torch, lighter, match, anything similar will do the job.

The farthest I got before being called to the kitchen to help with the dishes was the cabin next to the priest’s location. I wouldn’t actually call this light or dark. Rather is seems to me to be a shift in time. I guess I will learn more as I progress through the demo.

MTW
I found the game I was referring to. It is Secrets of the Dark: Eclipse Mountain. If you don’t have it in your library, you can try it out on BF: https://www.bigfishgames.com/games/7217/secrets-of-the-dark-eclipse-mountain/?pc&lang=en

I’ve just started replaying it (originally purchased in 2016) and have already experienced the light/dark mechanic I mentioned. In this case the protagonist must flip a light switch several times in a cabin in order to complete different tasks. In daylight, you need to do certain steps which in turn you can only complete in the darkened room, and vice versa. Does that make sense?

I won’t go into detail regarding the story line, etc., so if you haven’t played it, give the demo a whirl ¦

RTR
My first thought is that this is obviously a portal game.  I have to confess that this light/dark portal switching does not ring a bell. I do recall a game that tended to switch between light and dark. Light - the protagonist was doing good things. Dark - the protagonist was battling adversaries. If this sounds familiar then I would need to go back to my purchase history inventory to see if I can find it.

MTW
Hi rt, I’m hoping you can refresh my memory re a hopa game I played quite some time ago. About the only thing that stands out in my wine-soaked and/or putrefied mind is that it had a kind of unique game-play mechanic in which the protagonist could visit certain locations in both daytime and nighttime (or light and dark) by switching between them somehow, and in doing so the location was also changed in some way. Apparently certain tasks could only be done in light, while others required darkness. That wasn’t the whole premise, but it was a prevalent part of game play. There may have been statues or monoliths involved, moving to different locations (islands??), etc., but I’m not entirely sure about that and honestly don’t recall what the storyline was all about. Any ideas?

Mike (the wino)

Dammit! I just tried to leave you a lengthy reply and when I went to send it there was an error message and it blew my response into the ethernets! Friggin PM and forum software needs some serious updating. Grrr.

I can post to the thread myself. I just thought I’d start with you because you have a large library of HOGs and my vague description might have reminded you of a potential title or two. But just so you know, it was definitely NOT a portal type game. I’ll go into more detail (as I recall it anyway) when I submit the post.

Cheers!

RTR
My first thought is that this is obviously a portal game.  I have to confess that this light/dark portal switching does not ring a bell. I do recall a game that “tended” to switch between light and dark. Light - the protagonist was doing good things. Dark - the protagonist was battling adversaries. If this sounds familiar then I would need to go back to my games=bought inventory to see if I can find it.

MTW
Hi rt, I’m hoping you can refresh my memory re a hopa game I played quite some time ago. About the only thing that stands out in my wine-soaked and/or putrefied mind is that it had a kind of unique game-play mechanic in which the protagonist could visit certain locations in both daytime and nighttime (or light and dark) by switching between them somehow, and in doing so the location was also changed in some way. Apparently certain tasks could only be done in light, while others required darkness. That wasn’t the whole premise, but it was a prevalent part of game play. There may have been statues or monoliths involved, moving to different locations (islands??), etc., but I’m not entirely sure about that and honestly don’t recall the story.

If you like the 1000 Doors portal-style games, you ought to try Azada in Libro. Similar in style, but without any hidden object screens. Back in the day the only way to get a casual game reviewed was if it had no hidden object screens. It required a little more work from the developers since if, for example, you needed the player to find a screwdriver, you could no longer hide it in a hidden object screen. You had to find another way, and that way had to make sense, for the player to find the item he or she needs.

Edit: Re: the morphing objects. You can generally assume that there is one per location. That was the “Style” set in Return to Ravenhurst. I believe that was the first game that used morphing objects.

I think I remember that game. If it’s the same one I remember it required a lot of walking. But it had good puzzles to make up for its lack of an interactive map.

rtrooney - 20 November 2022 03:07 PM

If you like the 1000 Doors portal-style games, you ought to try Azada in Libro.

Not having heard of this game before and being busy in other areas (thus only playing a bit of casual stuff at the moment) I thought I’d look it up on Steam. This was a good idea regardless of what I think of the game as it’s available in the Autumn Sale down from £7.49 to £2.51. But! I discovered that there are 4 games in the series and currently, in same sale, you can buy the 4 for £8.29 instead of £26.36. So I bought all 4. What’s the odds that I’ll hate them

I really enjoyed the Azada games, especially the first one.

Lady Kestrel - 25 November 2022 11:37 AM

I really enjoyed the Azada games, especially the first one.

In which case I live in hope
Cheers Lady K, I’ll let you know how I get on

Jabod - 25 November 2022 11:22 AM

[What’s the odds that I’ll hate them

As with all casual games series, there’s a good chance you will really like the first one. And there’s also a really good chance you will like the 2nd - 4th ones a little less. You might even say, “I’m glad they stopped at four. Otherwise I might have hated the fifth. Such is the case with casual developers. They really don’t know when to stop.

rtrooney - 25 November 2022 06:43 PM

As with all casual games series, there’s a good chance you will really like the first one. And there’s also a really good chance you will like the 2nd - 4th ones a little less. You might even say, “I’m glad they stopped at four. Otherwise I might have hated the fifth. Such is the case with casual developers. They really don’t know when to stop.

Hmmm, there’s an exception to every rule, eh? I just finished MCF: Re-Re-Re-Re-Return the Keys to Unlock Your Escape from Ravenhearst (number 133 in the MCF franchise), and it was by far the best one since number 62: MCF: Ravenants Hunting For 13 Skulls And The Countesses Black Veil At A Fateful Carnival In A Sacred Grove Near A Lake’s Shadow Where Moths Are Drawn To Flames Wearing Black Crowns, Rewound.

Maybe it’s a harbinger of better things to come, or it could be a last resort…not really sure.

LOL Mike!  You forgot Dire Grove.

I think the MCF represent a special circumstance. The original Ravenhurst games were nothing more than a series of complicated door puzzles. (Very similar to the middle section of Black Dahlia.) And they were fine if you enjoyed that type of thing. But then they introduced morphing. And while I had no particular fondness for the original games, this was really a turn-off. And I’ve never played a Ravenhurst game since. And a Ravenhurst No 133 may be a great game, but like a Puppetshow No 97 might be a great game in isolation, it doesn’t mean that every game between the last good game and a current game was a tour de force.

But here is where the special circumstance comes in. Not all MCF games are Ravenhurst games. As Lady K mentioned, The two Dire Grove games were excellent games that had nothing in common with Ravenhurst games.

Hey rt, I agree that not all MCF games are Ravenhearst games, which is a good thing! And I also agree that some developers just can’t seem to let a series die, like MCF, which was the point of my post above. Tongue in cheek aside, what are they really on now, like number 24? And the third or fourth developer?

But don’t knock #133 until you’ve tried it!