Adventure Gamers - Forums

Casual Friday

Most casual game players can point to quite a few regular adventure games that they’ve enjoyed playing over the years. I’m not sure the opposite can be said for most adventure game players. But of those that can think of a casual game or two, the one most mentioned is Ravenhurst. Actually there are three games in the Ravenhurst series. The above screenshot is from the middle game, Mystery Case Files - Return to Ravenhurst, which was published in 2008. I think the comment at the top of the screen says it all.

For those of you who have played the AG Black Dahlia you will remember the endless series of “door puzzles” you were confronted with once you solved the infamous “Rune puzzle.” The first Ravenhurst game was very much like that. Solve a Rube Goldberg-type door puzzle which gains you access to an HO scene…repeat. Not an unpleasant experience, but repetetive in the worst way.

The second game imroved things quite a bit. Fewer door puzzles, and many more inventory-based puzzles. However, the number of HO scenes is still quite high.

The third game was either the best or the worst of the three, depending on your point of view. The plot was much improved, and there were fewer HO scenes. But those that remained introduced the concept of morphing objects. To me, absolutely infuriating. Staring at the screen for what seemed like an eternity looking for one object that subtly changes its shape every 15 seconds or so. Not fun at all.

For those Adventure game players who played any of the Ravenhurst games, and think of this as the best the casual game genre has to offer, things have improved a great deal since then.