Elementary My Dear Majesty!
I wanted to like this because it was definitely a different sort of experience. The storyline was sort of cute, though bizarre. The HOG scenes were either really easy, challenging, or nigh on impossible. Some things simply were not visible, no matter how I adjusted the view and zoomed in. The puzzles were a mix of too easy, perfect, and… well, pointless. I’m not big on randomly clicking to determine the correct order for multiple games. Overall, the frustration factor tips the scale on the downside for me. It is aggravating to be forced to use a hint for a HOG scene, then STILL not be able to see the item with a beam of light shining on it. Plus, after looking at two of the sets of directions for mini-games, I was unable to close them and acutally play. The only thing that worked was using the skip button, which meant I couldn’t play them and got stuck with silver trophies. While I think the idea of a 3D HOG is cool, and the bright colors were a welcome change, there are way too many issues that make it seem like the items were just sort of thrown in there. *My hours are so high because I left the game running while running an errand. About two-three hours would be more accurate.
– Real player with 6.5 hrs in game
Honestly, this is one of the best game in the genre imo. The biggest downside I found with Elementary My Deat Majesty! was that since I was trying to get gold medal for clues and time on each levels, I couldn’t carefully read through the funny dialogues.
In term of ambiance, both the music and the artstyle is really pleasing. I was getting bored of earing the same old tracks near the end, but that was after 3 hours of consecutive gameplay trying to find objects in various maps… Just about any soundtrack would get on your nerve after that.
– Real player with 6.2 hrs in game
Hidden Object 6-in-1 bundle
I would only recommend this to the hard core HO collector or if it’s on sale. 5 out of the 6 games are basic, without the extra features you see in “collector’s edition” versions of the game that sometimes make them replayable, like extra chapters, hidden extra objects to correct on each screen, in-game achievements, etc. I played a couple of them before without realizing it until I started them here, because they weren’t that memorable.
A couple of them have interesting takes on HOS, though, such as having to use the objects you already found to interact with and find further objects in the scene. Some of them have interesting art and storylies that are a bit different than the normal stuff you see in these types of games.
– Real player with 121.6 hrs in game
I dislike games bundled in this way because they remove the ability to not be charged for duplicate games and get individual acheivements and cards. If you can buy them seperately, do so.
I’ll write reviews for each game as I play them.
Kronville:
The animation in this game is superb, and the story line is intriguing and unfolds nicely. Unfortunately that concludes my list of pros.
The cons are many. Firstly, the voiceover and lipsync only cover the first 1/5th of the game - apparently this is as much as the free demo let you play. Once you purchase the game, the rest is not voiced -CHEAP! The hidden object scenes were disappointing to say the least. There were only 3 traditional scenes, and they were way too easy. Other types of hidden object scenes resulted in pixel hunting, and weren’t much fun. Finally the music - the same squeeling violin segment is played for each and every cut scene. By half way through, this had ruined the otherwise gorgeous cut scenes for me, so this games biggest pro was tained by poor music choice. Really, it just seems that the game makers got lazy, and overall I was disappointed.
– Real player with 62.0 hrs in game
Hidden Object Bundle 4 in 1
A bundle of 4 HOGs containing:
House of 1000 Doors: The Palm of Zoroaster
Nice graphics, the HOGs scenes are beautiful but the difficulty is very low. 46 morphing objects to find. The story is fantasy style, with magic and fire spells and a very classic construction. Also it’s a sequel and I didn’t play the previous game(s?) so it felt a bit awkward. The characters and the cutscenes are nice. The ending was a total let down though: the cutscene lasted 3 seconds! It’s the game I liked the least in the bundle but it’s still a good game and I do recommend it.
– Real player with 33.1 hrs in game
I’m going to group the games together for their mechanics until the end of the review because they’re very similar/the same. You have all the classic types of puzzles in here: memory games, spin-and-match, etc. For the most part, they don’t seem to be very challenging but are time consuming. They’re still fun (besides a few puzzle types I don’t really care for in any game), but you may hit “Skip” on a few just to keep moving.
The graphics are pretty decent – mostly standard fare for HOGs. Don’t expect excellent quality, however, as most HOG companies focus more on puzzles and story than graphics. Some computer animations will look like circa 2000s technology, but that never really bothered me. The voice acting was pretty decent for the most part, but there were a few characters who made me cringe a little.
– Real player with 20.6 hrs in game
Mountain Crime: Requital
Mountain Crime: Requital is the first ‘hidden objects game’ I played. I’m very familiar with the ‘point & click adventure’ genre but the idea of hidden objects never appealed to me because it sounds like a pixel hunt.
I have to say Mountain Crime: Requital mostly plays like a point & click adventure game: you collect items and use those on items in the game world to advance the story. Occasionally, you’ll get a ‘hidden object’ screen in which you need to find some items but they’re always hidden in plain sight, so there’s no pixel hunting involved. Even then, there is a hint button. If you really can’t spot that last object on the screen, it’ll point it out for you.
– Real player with 6.9 hrs in game
A murder mystery written like an early Agatha Christie novel, presented like an Alfred Hitchcock movie, with the solvability (and continuity) of an Ellery Queen mystery. Engaging, intriguing, heart pounding. Keeps the gamer enthralled and guessing until the end. I felt like I had read a thrilling murder mystery without actually any reading involved. Excellent pacing with just enough time to almost catch your breath.
Storyline: Dr. Philip White (one dark and dangerously stormy night) is called to the newly renovated White Wolf Hotel to examine and attend to a Mr. Grey. When he arrives, the bridge washes out leaving him stranded. He discovers there is no Mr. Grey and a hotel filled with other guests also invited to this grand opening by Mr. Grey. (And Then There Were None ~ Agatha Christie, anyone? And no that is not a spoiler.) The mystery begins when the body count begins. Who is Mr Grey? Does he even exist? Why are these people here, unknown to each other yet have a connection? What is that connection? And why this requital? As the body count rises, the answers are revealed.
– Real player with 5.6 hrs in game
Shtriga: Summer Camp
A pretty short 2 hour run-of-the-mill HOG that doesn’t seem to have anything new to the table. It works pretty well if you’re just here for the gaming aspect of HOGs, I’ve encountered no bugs or issues others have voiced out. Fair warning though, both the puzzles and hidden object scene of this game pose no challenge which could equate to a very dull experience. There are maybe 1 or 2 puzzles that pass the time enough, but again it might fall into tediousness than actual difficulty. There are moments you could potentially miss an item (outside hidden scenes) because it’s either not sparkling or just very hard to see.
– Real player with 8.0 hrs in game
I wanted to rate this as recommended, but one game-breaking bug ruined my experience.
I had to restart after playing for about 2.5 hours.
This game should have been properly play-tested.
That bug is:
! You should have 3 smiley buttons when you reach the corpse of a man. There is also a puzzle to unlock the door in this location. Don’t solve this puzzle. First collect the 4th smiley button from the corpse (attached to his pocket). If you don’t collect the button and unlock the door, then you won’t be able to come back to this corpse afterwards. You are stuck forever. Then your only option will be to restart the game.
– Real player with 5.0 hrs in game
World Keepers: Last Resort
I initially found this game frustrating, but I had to retract my statement since it was partially my fault for why it was irritating. When I skipped the tutorial, I wasn’t aware that there would be a map with a notifier, so I spent a good chunk of my first time constantly struggling to see where I had things to do in. Play this game with grains of salt.
PROS:
Window mode!
Cohesive looking hidden object scenes
Pretty lengthy, nothing was rushed. For its retail price, you get bang for buck with your time
– Real player with 12.6 hrs in game
Short and rather lite HoG elements, 5/10.
World Keepers: Last Resort offers 7 chapters, each lasting around 15 to 30 mins with just 2 HoG’s and 1 puzzle to be found in each. There are no achievements related to difficulty and all can be obtained in one playthrough of about 2 hours on casual or 3 to 4 hours on hard.
The HoG’s offer nothing from the norm and will pose little challenge to anyone who has played a couple of similar games in the past, the puzzles… well that’s a different matter. Right up until Chapter 6 I played the game on Hard difficulty, where I encountered a puzzle with no clues or hints that had 16 cubes that could be moved and rotated with…. 1820 ? possible outcomes and only one being correct. Suffice to say after 15 mins I switched to Casual mode, which made the puzzle easier as the cubes could only be rotated and they started in the correct position and could not be moved.
– Real player with 10.8 hrs in game
Alex Hunter: Lord of the Mind
Wholly unremarkable. There is nothing to separate Alex Hunter: Lord of the Mind from any other hidden object game. Even that title is the kind of gibberish you’d expect a Random Hidden Object Game Name Generator to spit out.
There’s a lot of it, though. Apparently it took me nine hours to complete.
– Real player with 10.2 hrs in game
This is middle of the way on the “Mountain Crime: Requital” scale.
I’d recommend this game, but definitely buy it on a sale or in a bundle or something. I enjoyed it enough to recommend, but certainly proceed with caution.
Overall, the game wasn’t bad. There were a few puzzles that were poorly drawn and made the solution unclear, and some with TERRIBLE sound effects that made it a pain to complete. I don’t know what it was about this game, but many of the puzzles were tedious and didn’t feel fun at all. Sometimes Alex Hunter can be rather finicky with what he can and cannot do so that was slightly laughable.
– Real player with 8.8 hrs in game
Dark Strokes: The Legend of the Snow Kingdom Collector’s Edition
This one is an absolute treat, I was pleasantly surprised by how high the “quality” of this game is. From the graphics to the story, it was all pretty great compared to most other HOGs I’ve played. I’d say it rivals a whole lot of what AM puts out.
First off, the art is really gorgeous and a lot of the puzzles were very beautiful, the HOG scenes too. I really loved how interactive the locations are, with some easter egg clicks and lots of animated objects. Although beautiful, be warned all the animation and clickable bits may make item/spot-hunting a wee bit frustrating when you see your cursor change.
– Real player with 21.3 hrs in game
Dark Strokes 2: The Legend of the Snow Kingdom (IHOG)
(This is a standalone story, so don’t worry if you’ve not played #1 yet)
Options include separate sliders for Music and SFX, Fullscreen, Custom Cursor, Widescreen and Low-quality. There are three difficulty levels, from Casual to Hard.
Wonder of wonders, our protagonist is a male for once! The story combines several fairy tales into one unique story, and throws a bit of clockwork-steampunk into the mix!
There are 35 locations to visit, each hiding a collectible snowflake. Be on the lookout for 12 magic scrolls during your journey, as well.
– Real player with 9.5 hrs in game
Eternal Journey: New Atlantis
This is my 2nd playthrough and I must say I am loving this game. It’s not very hard and I am enjoying the story and the different aspects of the game. I make great use of the quick travel map which has the options of showing where there are actions available and whether you have found the “special” hidden object in each scene. The special objects are notes. This game has a lot of gameplay to it. The first time playing it through took 11 hours! The story is SciFi and about Martians so the story is up to the player as to whether it is believable or not. I highly recommend this game.
– Real player with 22.3 hrs in game
Writing a review of this game some 9 years after launch is… tricky.
The highest supported res is only 1600x1200, although there is widescreen support (yet oddly when recording the game, it only records at 4:3).
Voice acting is prevalent throughout, this is however more often than not amateurish at best.
There are no Steam nor ingame achievements, there are however collectables. These do serve purpose and add a little to the backstory and are worth searching for.
In contrast to many more modern HOG’s there is a vast number of areas/locations and sadly there is a LOT of going back and forth. Thankfully a map is provided which allows for fast travel between locations, use it or you’ll end up getting lost (said map also marks locations will collectables).
– Real player with 9.9 hrs in game
Forest Legends: The Call of Love Collector’s Edition
–-{Graphics}—
☑ Gnome.
☐ Beautiful
☐ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ Paint.exe
—{Gameplay}—
☐ Very good
☐ Good
☐ It‘s just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Starring at walls is better
☑ Gnome.
—{Audio}—
☐ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not too bad
☑ Gnome.
☐ Earrape
—{Audience}—
☐ Kids
☐ Teens
☑ Gnome.
☐ Human
☐ Lizards
—{PC Requirements}—
☐ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☐ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boiiiiii
☑ Gnome.
—{Difficulity}—
☑ Gnome.
☐ Easy
☐ Significant brain usage
– Real player with 314.9 hrs in game
This game is now added to my favorites, harping back to games like the Blue Tea series Dark Parables with the beautiful details throughout the game and lovely graphics, this game reminds me how much can be done with these type of games when developers really think to add lots of unique touches to make it more engaging.
This is not a HOG game as there are no Hidden Object scenes but it does have the same kind of design to it with some simple mini games sprinkled throughout but if you enjoy beautiful graphics, and lots of little details such as Journals are voice acted and you can listen anytime by clicking a play tab, there are memos you find throughout the game that get added to it’s own journal and each one is unique so graphically it’s really lovely to look at and read.
– Real player with 34.5 hrs in game