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Casual Games Thread

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We just finished playing the two Enigmatis games on the Casual Games Community Playthrough threads. Those would fit the bill.

     

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colpet - 12 December 2014 07:05 PM

Just finished Dark Realm Queen of Flames SE. It was a long game. Everytime I thought it was over, a new section opened up. HOGs were varied - silhouettes, lists, moving items. Puzzles were good in general, though there were some actiony ones that relied on accuracy. Though I rarely find these games intentionally scary, the appearance of the dragon caught me unawares a few times, enough to make me jump.

I played this also, and also found it a long and involving game. Puzzles seemed a bit on the easy side but were interesting and plentiful. Both the graphics and the music were excellent, as you would expect from MadHead Games.

One thing I found somewhat exasperating is that Valera is given a bow and an arrow; she shoots the arrow at a target to see if her aim is still good and goes off and leaves the arrow in the target.  But that is minor.

The Banshees were cool.

     
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I’m moving Dark Realm: Queen of Flames up on my “to be played” list.

Lately (in and around the casual community playthroughs) I’ve been playing fantasy Hidden Object games, and one of the best of the genre’s recent offerings is Dreampath: The Two Kingdoms. In this game the queen, your sister, has fallen deathly ill. Her illness may be related to an ancient evil that has reawakened deep underground. You are tasked with traveling to another kingdom to find a magical cure for your sister. Along the way you will stumble across a dangerous conspiracy that threatens both kingdoms.

Although you spend brief periods interacting with human characters in this game, your chief companions are a dragon and a cat. Particularly Muir the cat, who is a clever minx. In fact, Muir has so much personality that the humans sort of sink into the background until the end game. (One particular character quibble -– if the king/prince must wear skin-tight leggings and a sash, he needs a body that, well, looks good in skin-tight leggings. Plus a sash.)

The gameworld in Dreampath contains a lot of variety. Some of the environments are in the traditional Storybook Fantastical style, with surreal stone towers, statues of fantasy creatures, and forest glades with mossy trees and abundant, colorful flowers. But other environments are more unusual, including a shipwreck frozen in the ice and a mystical city that has been ravaged by violence and drought.

Gameplay brings frequent inventory challenges, including inventory item combinations. HO screens are of various types—traditional slightly interactive lists, finding several objects of the same type, and placement of objects within the screens. Mini-games require pattern analysis and observation –- you’ll guide a gold marble through a maze, restore stained glass, connect a starry path and arrange potions on a shelf. Sometimes Muir can be helpful in squeezing into small places or climbing up to retrieve items.

The bonus chapter again features Muir the cat, and gives you some details of his past. It’s entertaining to spend additional time with Muir, but I didn’t find that the story in the bonus chapter added significantly to the experience. If you buy the CE version specifically for the story in the bonus chapter (as I usually do), you will probably enjoy the SE version without the need for the added details in the CE.

     
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runs - 21 December 2014 11:09 AM

Hi guys,
I need you all for a recommendation. I love the mystery and detective games. The good ones, not trash. I love: the Shiver saga, Fright and Angelica Weaver. I hate fairies, princesses…

In addition to the Enigmatis games mentioned earlier, you also might want to consider Eternal Journey: New Atlantis, The Emerald Maiden: Symphony of Dreams and Alex Hunter: Lord of the Mind.

     
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Thanks for your answers.

     
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I’m curious. How many have played all three Drawn games? If we’re to discuss Drawn, it’s probably important that a fair number of people have played at least two of the games.

I’ve played all three and thought the first game was outstanding. It certainly changed the way people thought about casual games. Although, at the time it came out, many thought of it as a straight adventure game…even if it came from the BigFish Games studios.

I thought the second game was the best. The puzzles seemed harder, and there was a little more suspense.

The third game was, in my opinion, the weakest of the three. It was certainly the shortest, and with one or two exceptions, had the easiest puzzles. That said, it was also the hardest game for me to complete because of technical difficulties. In fact BFG refunded/credited the purchase. They were unable to get the game to work for me. Unfortunately the precise location where the problem occurred was in the cave at the very end of the game. It wasn’t until I bought my current PC that I was finally able to play, and complete the game. It’s possible my problems with the game are the cause of my bias.

     

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I played and enjoyed all 3 Drawn games very much.  I didn’t find the coloring and gate puzzles in the last game particularly easy.

     

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I played all 3 Drawn games and enjoyed them a lot. I’m still looking for a casual game like them but can’t find it.

     
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I’ve played the first two Drawn games and started the third game a couple of times but didn’t finish.

UruBoo - have you tried the Nightmare Realm series? The games remind me a bit of the Drawn series.

     
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The Drawn games, as a series, might benefit from being played as a community playthrough. Although, I think I mentioned, and was seconded by TimovieMan, that two games might be the limit of a serial playthrough. Still, the third game is short, and does wrap things up nicely.

I bought Dark Realm - Queen of Flames based on the recommendations here. I really liked the demo. It reminded very much of the Rite of Passage games which I, and I believe Becky, rated very highly. That shouldn’t be a surprise since Mad Head Games is the developer of all three.

     

For whom the games toll,
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rtrooney - 23 December 2014 06:54 PM

The Drawn games, as a series, might benefit from being played as a community playthrough. Although, I think I mentioned, and was seconded by TimovieMan, that two games might be the limit of a serial playthrough. Still, the third game is short, and does wrap things up nicely.

The Drawn games might be the one exception, yes. Cool

     

The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka

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runs - 21 December 2014 11:09 AM

Hi guys,
I need you all for a recommendation. I love the mystery and detective games. The good ones, not trash. I love: the Shiver saga, Fright and Angelica Weaver. I hate fairies, princesses…

My 4-star mystery games in an approximately real-world setting include Cadenza: Music, Betrayal and Death; Dead Reckoning: Silvermoon Isle; Off the Record: The Italian Affair; Final Cut: Death on the Silver Screen; Punished Talents: Seven Muses. Another one with an actual whodunit storyline is Dark Canvas: Blood and Stone.

     

These days I go everywhere with a carpetbag containing a crowbar, a flashlight, a screwdriver, an oilcan, a ladder, a zipper tab, and a chihuahua.

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cluelass - 02 January 2015 05:59 PM
runs - 21 December 2014 11:09 AM

Hi guys,
I need you all for a recommendation. I love the mystery and detective games. The good ones, not trash. I love: the Shiver saga, Fright and Angelica Weaver. I hate fairies, princesses…

My 4-star mystery games in an approximately real-world setting include Cadenza: Music, Betrayal and Death; Dead Reckoning: Silvermoon Isle; Off the Record: The Italian Affair; Final Cut: Death on the Silver Screen; Punished Talents: Seven Muses. Another one with an actual whodunit storyline is Dark Canvas: Blood and Stone.

Welcome to the Casual Games thread. I see this is your first post on AG, and I’m happy you made it here.

I agree with all of your suggestions except the first one. I think it depends on where in the world you live. I live in the US. I thought the game was good. But I also thought the depiction of Black America in New Orleans during the pre-civil rights era to be off-putting at best. And the voice acting of people who assumed they knew how black people talked during that time period was not the best. But if you live outside of North America, you might not be aware of the sensitivities of this topic. There is probably an analogy in every culture.

This was not my favorite game to play in 2014.

Don’t let this comment put you off. We love our casual games, and are critical for those we feel don’t “meet the mark.” We also love reviewing the ones that do. We want your input.

     

For whom the games toll,
they toll for thee.

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runs - 21 December 2014 11:09 AM

Hi guys,
I need you all for a recommendation. I love the mystery and detective games. The good ones, not trash. I love: the Shiver saga, Fright and Angelica Weaver. I hate fairies, princesses…

You might try:
New York Mysteries: Secrets of the Mafia
Secret Order: New Horizons, although not the other Secret Order games
Urban Legends: the Maze

     
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Queen’s Tales: The Beast and the Nightingale is based on the legend of Beauty and the Beast. You assume the role of a princess whose father is the object of the mysterious Beast’s anger, and you travel through a fairytale realm to try to save him. The story isn’t terribly deep – it’s mostly an excuse to make your way through fantastical environments, meet imaginative creatures, and solve puzzles.

This game is by ERS Studios, and the graphics are clearly in the tradition established by ERS’ other games. They are stylized, with pastel colors, warm glowing light, elaborate gardens, and lots of mist.

Hidden Objects are varied, including interactive word lists, finding items in a certain category, item placement within a screen, matching items, and silhouettes.

The game has many inventory challenges and an assortment of mini-games – the usual visual image pattern analysis, pathfinding, and symbol placement. Sometimes you are given a choice between “casual” and “hard” settings for the minigames. Your companion, a nightingale, has the ability to grow plants, which can give intriguing results.

Puzzles of note are the stars-on-a-grid puzzle, which requires significant advanced planning, and a setup where you swap liquids in jars that was delightfully labyrinthine, full of tubes and little arrows.

The game has a countdown clock which I think was supposed to add urgency, but it’s so clear that the clock operates via your actions rather than in real time (the clock only advances when you’ve been to the right places and solved the puzzles) that it seemed slightly ridiculous.

My favorite part of the game was meeting some of the unusual creatures, including a pint-sized Weepie, a pink slug-like creature with sharp teeth, and Little Johnny—a delicate blue squirrel with wings.

I played the SE version of this game, so I can’t comment on the Bonus Chapter. It was a pleasant, if unremarkable, casual game experience.

     

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