Labyrinth City: Pierre the Maze Detective
Labyrinth City: Pierre the Maze Detective is such a charming casual game. It’s quite obvious that the game takes its influence from the popular “Where’s Waldo"series of books. However; there’s not a lot of similarities beyond the graphics here.. but I found it to be a good progression from a particular book style to an interactive video game. Labyrinth City keeps your eyes peeled and is a great way to relax for a few hours. It adds puzzles and extraordinary detail to the environment (maze) you’re walking through without tearing your brain apart trying to figure stuff out. There’s a relaxing quality to the game… almost therapeutic. There’s so many things happening if you just observe.
– Real player with 14.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Hidden Object Casual Games.
A Charming, Colorful and Satisfyingly Wholesome Game: 8/10
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For Linux Gamers: Requires Glorious Eggrolls Proton-6.5-GE-2. Details on ProtonDB website
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Darjeeling’s Labyrinth City is a maze puzzle game based on Hiro Kamigaki’s work Pierre the Maze Detective. It is a colorful and greatly stylized beautiful moving artwork with moderately challenging mazes, imaginative world building, creative level design, whimsical soundtrack as well as quirky and charming characters.
– Real player with 13.9 hrs in game
Nightmares from the Deep 2: The Siren’s Call
Game Information
“Nightmares from the Deep: The Siren’s Call” Collector’s Edition is a Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game. The game was developed and published by Artifex Mundi.
“The Siren’s Call” is the second episode of “Nightmares from the Deep.” Previous episode: “The Cursed Heart.”
Since this is a collector’s edition game, it comes with extra features that are not available in its' counterpart; the standard edition.
The Game Review
Game Visuals
I want to mention that the visuals in the game are nicely done with a painted feel to them. The visuals can be adjusted in the game’s option menu.
– Real player with 15.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best Hidden Object Casual Games.
The second game in a present series of three. It is stand alone, and can be played out of order. However, as with all series games, each game despite its own individuality does build on the previous story and there are previous story references.
Story: Museum Director Sarah Black, who has gained a reputation by breaking a Davy Jones' curse, is brought an ‘artifact’ by a mysterious man. The ‘artifact’, however, belongs to a pirate captain Murray who has made a deal with Davy Jones. Captain Murray, now mayor of the town Kingsmouth, wants it back. The artifact powered by the ‘magic’ of his captive mermaid controls the ship destroying kraken. The mysterious man, suffering under the curse brought on the captain’s deal (along with the entire town Kingsmouth) wants back his humanity and to free the captive mermaid. He enlists Sarah’s aide to free the mermaid and to break Davy Jones' curse.
– Real player with 13.6 hrs in game
Nightmares from the Deep 3: Davy Jones
The final chapter of the Nightmares from the Deep trilogy.
Game: Museum Director Sarah Black and her daughter Cory are kidnapped by the infamous Davy Jones during a public and seeming well attended museum presentation about Davy Jones (compiled from all the information Sarah had gathered during her first two adventures). (All I can say about that is getting donations and funding for the museum repairs and more exhibits should be easy after such a supernatural, flashy, and public kidnapping.) I digress. The ever resourceful mother-daughter team manage to break out of their jail cell and attempt to leave Davy Jones ship but are recaptured. Davy Jones is going to kill Sarah but Cory makes a contract with Davy Jones to save her mother’s life. Davy Jones instead of outright killing Sarah forces her to walk the plank. (Typical pirate) The adventure begins here. Find Cory and break her contract (and every other contract Davy Jones has ever made along the way, including Davy Jones' own contract.) Sub-storyline: Find out even more about Davy Jones and just how he became the infamous “devil” of the sea, and why. And who that mysterious girl ghost is and her relationship with Davy Jones.
– Real player with 12.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Hidden Object Casual Games.
Nightmares from the Deep 3: Davy Jones is the final chapter in the Nightmares from the Deep series, with this third game completing the story of Sarah Black, and her endeavour to stop the endless curses by Davy Jones, the infamous sea devil.
After the troublesome events of Nightmares from the Deep 2: The Siren’s Call, one would expect Sarah to rest upon her journey, but no, she went deeper and kept her museum with one goal in her mind; The search for the truth, the true identity of Davy Jones, and the pirates that once spread havoc over the seas. This is exactly what fires up our new journey, as Sarah, with the help from her daughter Cory, do a presentation of Davy Jones, to a live audience at the museum. According to new information acquired by Sarah, the sea devil, it’s not just a legend, he was real, a flesh and bone person, giving a whole new perspective of the story behind the most dangerous pirate who ever sailed the seas.
– Real player with 9.1 hrs in game
Eventide: Slavic Fable
AT A GLANCE:
3/5 Stars - I had a few issues with this game in the beginning, but as the game went on they slowly melted away. One of them being the broad range the investigation prompt covered (described below). After finishing the game on casual and starting another game on expert, for achievement purposes, the broad range was no longer an issue for me. I recommend this game mainly because of how unique the mini-games are.
GAME GENRE:
Single Player, Hidden Object, Casual, Point n Click, Puzzle, Female Protagonist
– Real player with 11.9 hrs in game
Beautiful color palette of earthy autumn tones to match an equally earthy game. Slavic mythology centers around the hearth, the home, and the natural world. This game does that extemely well in presentation, storyline and the creatures used, and is family friendly in theme.
Storyline: Dr. Mary Gilbert, botantist and saviour of endangered moss in Maple Creek (Maple Creek - omage to Enigmatis) has received a letter from her grandmother referred to as Baba (Yaga Baba reference) urgently requesting her help to save a rare and endangered plant in the Slavic Park, an educational outdoor museum centered around Slavic mythological creatures. Upon arriving Mary is attacked by a creature and her car is shoved off a cliff. Escaping the car begins the quest adventure of saving her soon to be kidnapped grandmother, meeting the mythology creatures who have taken refuge in the park, healing the rare and magical plant, and ultimately defeating the villian in an apropos way.
– Real player with 11.8 hrs in game
Enigmatis 3: The Shadow of Karkhala
Why didn’t I play the game when I bought it? It was Olympics Games time. But I don’t regret delaying my pleasure.
Enigmatis 3 is concluding the hunt for the evil Priest initiated in Maple Creek and pursued in Ravenwood. Rick and you are nearing to stop the madman, however, you don’t know his next destination. Returning at Maple Creek, you find that the Priest is interested in a mountain village, in the Himalaya…
The story is full of twists and I liked it. There is no major plotholes and why I wish that some stuff turned differently, it was satisfying enough. As Artifex Mundi is rarely ending their games on a tragic note, Enigmatis is also ending positively. However, that being said isn’t revealing who survives and who does not.
– Real player with 20.4 hrs in game
Gameplay
Enigmatis 3: The Shadow of Karkhala is a 1st person point & click adventure game that contains some ‘hidden objects puzzles’ and even more other types of puzzles.
Like in the second installment, the hidden objects puzzles usually require a bit more than just clicking on the correct objects: you often need to click on a container to reveal a hidden object or you may need to click on an item to use it on another item in order to produce the hidden object you need. These are small additions to the traditional hidden objects puzzle but it does make them a bit more varied and interesting.
– Real player with 9.5 hrs in game
Nearwood - Collector’s Edition
This game is a series of puzzles ranging from simple to MENSA level mind breakingly challenging. With such excellent visuals no puzzle gaming fan should be dissuaded by this. There is a guide to help if you get stuck, or just skip the puzzle. The only puzzle that seemed to be guesswork was the seasons puzzle shown in the screenshot, there is a shoe, and an umbrella, I guess those are only needed during certain seasons?
(For summer, the shoe coulda been a flip-flop. While for Fall, the umbrella coulda been anything like a pile of leaves. What is that umbrella even for in the fall?)
– Real player with 10.5 hrs in game
Nearwood is an endearing HOPA with lush visuals that draws you into its imaginary world.
Jane Lockwood has returned to her old familial home under a mysterious summons to finally resolve the truth of her parents disappearance. Transported to a magical world she must outwit an ancient force to return time to its normal passage.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1481429140
Narrative
Nearwood is fairly simple in scope. Unlike similar tales of crossing into fantasy lands, Jane is limited in her exploration and never quite faces the dire situations that a certain Jane, Peter, Edmund and Lucy face for instance. The primary issue here is not the techniques of storytelling within the game but a lack of tension and suspense. Jane has already been living as an orphan for many years and despite her desire to help the adorably cute inhabitants of the land, she risks nothing. She can still return to the normal world, her parents have already been lost and she is already independent. This lack of tension leads to one tepid scenario after the other.
– Real player with 7.0 hrs in game
Clockwork Tales: Of Glass and Ink
Clockwork Tales: Of Glass and Ink is a point-and-click puzzle game which pays homage to deceased Polish author Jan Brzechwa’s series of stories surrounding Pan Kleks/Mr. Inkblot. Developed by Artifex Mundi, it was originally released in August of 2013, and put onto Steam in April of 2014, with achievements and trading cards. The game itself follows Evangeline Glass as she tries to help her mentor and friend, Dr. Ambrose Ink, investigate a series of increasingly violent tremors rocking the planet and seemingly originating in the nestled burg of Hochwald. After his abduction early on, it falls entirely to Evangeline to not only solve the mystery surrounding the quakes and save Hochwald, but rescue Ink from his captors.
– Real player with 11.3 hrs in game
Game Information
“Clockwork Tales: Of Glass and Ink” Collector’s Edition is a Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game. The game was developed and published by Artifex Mundi.
Since this is a collector’s edition game, it comes with extra features that are not available in its' counterpart; the standard edition.
The Game Review
Game Visuals
I want to mention that the visuals in the game are nicely done with a painted feel to them. The visuals can be adjusted in the game’s option menu.
– Real player with 9.7 hrs in game
True Fear: Forsaken Souls Part 1
Sublime mix of a scary mystery story and a hidden object game! The puzzles are logical, make very good use of the rooms, and it makes the game very fluent.
Holly’s past
Holly has nightmares about an asylum. When she receives a letter from her twin sister, whom she hasn’t seen or spoken to in over ten years. In the letter she is urged to come and find her. During her search, she finds out that her nightmares maybe have a basis in real life. She discovers unknown facts about her family’s past, and finds more horrors the deeper she goes!
– Real player with 41.5 hrs in game
When I heard people raving that True Fear is a truly scary hidden object game, I chuckled a bit as I added it to my basket of electronic goodies. I’ve played “scary” HOGs before, and they’re usually no more frightening than a child’s campfire story. So when I finally got around to firing the game up, I’d done so expecting little more than a mildly amusing spooky tale with decent adventure-lite gameplay that would at least satisfy my craving for HOGgy goodness. What I got was something more. Much, much more.
– Real player with 35.9 hrs in game
Nightmares from the Deep: The Cursed Heart
¸.•*¨).•´¸.•*¨) Nightmares From The Deep ¸.•*¨).•´¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.*´ ¸.•´(¸.•´ The Cursed Heart ¸.•´ (¸.*´ ¸.•´ (¸.*´
~Overview~
STORY: 3/5
DIFFICULTY: 1/5
GAMEPLAY: 3/5
GRAPHIC: 2/5
REPLAYABILITY: 2/5
~My Personal Progress~
Story: 300% [beat the game three times, in regular and expert mode]
Time played: 10h05m total [3h55m 1st run (regular) + 3h15m 2nd run (expert, mahjong achievement) + 2h55m 3rd run (expert, hidden object achievement)]
Achievements: 100% [15/15 ACMs]
~Review~
“Nightmares From The Deep: The Cursed Heart” is a simple hidden-object-/puzzle-game set in a mystic “cursed Pirate”-Adventure.
– Real player with 10.1 hrs in game
Nightmares from the Deep: The Cursed Heart is one of the very first games developed and published by one of the top names in Hidden Object games; Artifex Mundi. Released in 2012, this deep adventure was released 2 years later on steam, and gained immediate attention.
You play as Sarah Black, a museum owner whom just like in any other night before a big event, is incredibly busy with paperwork and artifacts. But tonight is different, it’s a special show, a night dedicated to Captain Remington, one of the most infamous pirates in the Caribbean.
– Real player with 9.7 hrs in game
Enigmatis: The Ghosts of Maple Creek
Story: The player is a female detective commissioned to find a missing girl who disappeared in the fictitious hamlet of Maple Creek, VT (USA). The game starts with the detective having temporary short-term memory loss and as she retraces her steps in her investigation she recovers her memories of the previous events. Her investigation becomes a suspenseful murder mystery that borders on horror with supernatural elements.
Disclaimer: I really do not like horror of any kind and this for me borders on it. Seriously, I gasped out loud and quite literally nearly jumped out of my chair at the major jump scare and that alone set me on edge for the rest of the game. And I was extremely glad I was playing during the day.
– Real player with 10.7 hrs in game
Enigmatis: The Ghosts of Maple Creek is one of Artifex Mundi’s first hidden object games, and despite its age, is one of my absolute favorites. The popular HOG developer re-mastered and re-released the original version of the title to fit widescreens, and despite a bit of dated gameplay, at least by HOG standards, holds up really well.
Our story begins with a detective waking after a terrible storm has devastated Maple Creek. With a bout of limited amnesia that prevents her from remembering anything about the case she’d been working on, and only bits and pieces of clues that have been scattered to the wind, she must now piece together why she is there, what happened to the town, and how to save the residents from a diabolical manipulation that has spanned generations.
– Real player with 9.4 hrs in game