I'd only played a bit of the original, so can't recall much of it, but this remake is truly well made and fully cinematic. My main gripe, though, are the game mechancis that are a bit weird, not very intuitive. Also the story could move a bit faster or be a bit denser. It's still interesting, but some chapters tend to drag a bit until the interesting bits come. Nonetheless, it's a well made game that should be played by SH fans.
I must stay that in my 33 years of gaming, this has been most probably my most unique and immersive gaming experience. It goes well beyond offering an interesting narrative and presentation, it employs a holistic approach that really succeeds in placing the player as closely as possible in the shoes of a young Pict woman suffering from psychosis. The devs have layered everything on top of the game's premise. Whether it's the maelstrom of voices swirling around you talking or screaming, or the audiovisual hallucinations blending with the action or the obsessive search for patterns in order to advance, it all relates to the psychosis manifestations of the protagonist. The writers have woven a grim tale of suffering, despair, loss and betrayal, masterfully delivered through the questionable reality of young Senua, a Celt warrior plagued by schizophrenia. The player is called to unravel the story that has led on her quest to restore the soul of her slain lover. Ninja Theory has done an excellent job in the game's presentation. expertly leading the player on the journey of discovery through in-game clues and brilliantly acted and directed cut-scenes. I can't stress enough what a high-end job they've done. This is auteur-level story-telling and visualization. As for the gameplay itself, in such story-heavy title, it is understandably the weaker link. In any case, the actual gaming is a mix of a walking simulator, puzzle solving and melee combat. The majority of the game is spent walking around, looking for passages in order to advance further. Puzzle solving consists of identifying patterns. Occasionally, enemies appear in the form of Viking warriors. The fighting mechanics are solid enough. Others have complained about it being monotonous. So YMMV. What NT have achieved in making is really commendable. They managed to create a thought-provoking, visually stunning and emotive experience, comparable to any AAA game out there, but on an 'indie' budget.
My review is only for Dracula 3: Path of the Dragon. First of all, simply put, the game won't play properly as it comes from GOG. I had to download some extra files. Just check the instructions and link provided here: https://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Dracula_3:_The_Path_of_the_Dragon After doing that, the game run mostly trouble-free (sometimes when it loaded with low fps rate like 8 to 15, I had to reboot the PC and restart the game, then it'd run at 60fps). Anyway, the game itself is a triumph of story building. Everything is pulling you deeper and deeper. The developers have taken great care to create a fantastic lore, abundant with details, texts, artwork, it really feels alive. Adding bits of historic facts in the mix, made the story even more compelling. Now the gameplay is your standard early-mid '00s adventure fare. The graphics are quite good for its age, although watch out for the 4:3 ratio... The puzzles get progressively harder, to the point where unless you're willing to spend dozens of hours slaving over a solution, you'll be using a walkthrough. It's not that the puzzles are necesserily illogical but the sheer volume of information gathered throughout the game, makes it very difficult to find sometimes what is needed for the solution. Unless the game is played non-stop over a few days, you will forget stuff and you will stumble. Also having to do reverse Fibonacci in god damn Latin is not my definition of fun when puzzle solving haha! In any case, depsite having to resort to a walkthrough a few times the experience is still great. The finale is somewhat disappointing, which is a real shame after spending so many hours and enjoying the journey. That said, despite its few shortcomings the game is still hugely enjoyable. GOG, just include the needed files for Windows 10 in your installation folder so people can actually play the game without spending hours on the internet looking for a solution or giving up altogether...
Just finished this game and I'm left with mixed feelings... Although it's quite well done, with an intriguing multi-layered story and interesting characters, clever presentation and mostly solid puzzles, it lets the player down by its abrupt and left-field finale. It seems like the money run out and they needed to find a quick closer. It makes the whole game and its mysteries pointless. I'm getting angry just thinking about it. The wasted potential is enormous. Anyway, at least the gamer will get some enjoyment up until the fifteen minutes of gameplay. I really wished this game could have been twice as long and lived up to the build-up it created for the most part... Get it ONLY when found at a bargain, not really worth a full price. For solid story telling throughout best get Gemini Rue or Resonance. Better yet, get Primordia.
This is one of those adventure games that leave you on the fence... Firstly, it's got great graphics for its time, very detailed sceneries that you can study for hours. Secondly, it's very atmospheric and sucks you in its world. Lastly, it's quite long, prepare to spend quite a few days with it. However, the plot, while decent and quite intriguing at first, unravels to a relatively expected and not that engaging finale, which leaves you wondering what was the point, let alone a few plotholes created by the "twist". This is not helped by a dreadful performance from the main character's voice. Simply annoying. Finally, for some reason the creators enjoyed injecting lengthy dialogue for no purpose other than make the characters sound "aristocratic", for lack of a better explanation. Anyway, I can't say I didn't enjoy my time with it. Most of the puzzles are rational, but some really weird ones exist that will stretch your patience and have you go looking for a walkthrough. Plus the waiting... some dialogue or items in order to open up need waiting but there is no button for it so you just go around and around expecting for the action to open up. TL;DR: very good graphics and atmosphere, semi interesting plot, lengthy gameplay, mostly reasonable puzzles, bad voice acting, filler dialogue, disappointing finale.
wow, what can I say about this game... I found this while perusing random GOG adventure games, having no idea what it is and I must admit I was initially put off by the ridiculous choice of 8-bit graphics. I mean, I'm ok with 16-bit pixel art like Gemini Rue, Blackwell, etc... but this was just stretching it... Nevertheless, having read the glowing reviews, I wishlisted it waiting to get it at discount. And that I did. Having played all 4 chapters in 2 days (takes about 1 hour each), I can safely say that I'd gladly pay full price for it, had I known beforehands. This was without a doubt one the most impressive gaming experiences I've ever had. The blend of heavy relentless atmosphere, masterful story crafting and a brilliant score takes the experience to another level, almost forgetting the low-res visuals, making them just an afterthought. I have played TONS of adventure games and rarely does one strike me so heavily that I keep thinking it for days and wanting to revisit. To be honest, I think The Last Door succeeds at that by doing away of most of the adventure gaming pitfalls, which certainly reduces gameplay length but significantly enhances the movie-like experience. There is very little backtracking, there are no insane logic-defying puzzles, there is no comic relief, it all flows non-stop like a gripping sinister horror novel. In fact, I'd say The Last Door borrows adventure games' best qualities and blends them with a new genre that recently appeared, the interactive novel. Games like To The Moon, Dear Esther, etc, have done away with the puzzle solving and inventory, replacing them with the search for items that forward th storytelling. This can become boring, taking out the gaming out of the game, as much as illogical cumbersome puzzles take the fun out of gaming. Well here there's none these drawbacks. There's a great balance between good ol' adventure puzzles and storyline advancing elements. The player never feels he is moving too fast or pacing too slowly having forgetten what it was all about. Now, let's talk about the two greatest merits of the game. Firstly, the story. This pure adulterated horror. The way H.P. Lovecraft and E.A.Poe have taught the world. In fact the setting, mood and plot are a great mix of these two writers' trademark elements. Victorian buildings, theatricality, ravens, arcane horror, despair, madness, altered consciousness, etc... I'm a big fan of H.P. Lovecraft's works and the story here was right up my alley. From the first second till the last, it never lets go. The chills keep pouring, there is never a calm moment as the tension keeps building minute after minute. There's a few jump scares as well. What makes all this work, except the great pacing and excellent writing, is the absolutely brilliant music. It's worth by itself the price of the game, and GOG offers it in mp3 and FLAC formats too! The player will feel every emotion of the main character and his surroundings through the versatile score, other times ambient, other times intense, scary, somber, the orchestral music accompanying the game is an entity by itself and lifting the whole experience by many levels. There is no speech, other than some well placed and accurate sound effects, so the music pretty much fills th space, except the moments where absolute silence is required and the stone cold horror hits you. All of what I said almost makes you forget you're actually not watching some intricate 3D rendered world but a bunch of bulky pixels. As I said, I'd prefer it were 16-bits, but I'm fine with 8-bits as long as I can have a story this good, served with such great gameplay and music. Only if we had games this good on my 8-bit Amstrad CPC6128 haha! I think I haven't enjoyed an adventure game this much since the Gabriel Knight series. If you're adventure fans, if you're horror fans, then do yourselves a favor and get this game asap! Can't wait for the second season.
Daedalic are becoming probably my most likeable adventure game developers of this era. Their attention to detail is phenomenal. This game is an amazing eco-thriller that never lets up. It has an elaborate, fleshed out plot, well thought out dialogue and great pacing. I must admit when I first started it, I was suspecting a dud. I mean, a game with an ecology theme and an old scientist as the main character, how enticing can it be? is it a retirement simulator? :P But very soon it is obvious that when proper care is given by the developers, even the most seemingly mundane subjects can turn into interesting games. The plot does feature a heavy ecologic "propaganda", but it manages to make the gamer look past it and enjoy the story and gameplay. As for the game itself, the controls are pretty standard, very easy to get into, the graphics are well done (not to the level of other Daedalic games, but still very nice looking) and the voice acting is above average. The puzzles are generally very logical, with only very few annoying ones and they don't distract from the flow and general theme. The cutscenes are styled out as comic book strips, an odd choice but it works and was certainly cheaper for the developers than full-on animation videos. The game does have a couple of flaws though. Firstly, it crashed a couple of times during playing videos. Nothing major and it could be just my luck, but I have to mention it. Secondly, there are a few parts of the plot at some point, when a major twist takes place, that they either didn't translate properly from German or they were plot holes to begin with. Finally, not an actual flaw, but given how the plot unfolds, it'd be nice to give a couple of alternative endings. All in all, a highly recommended game for the fans of the genre.
Runaway... certainly landmark games for the adventure series, as the first one came at a time when the genre was practically dead, with very few titles coming out and/or making any noise. However, Runaway came like a breath of fresh air with astonishing hand drawn graphics and cutscenes and an interesting mix of adventure and humour. However, plagued by tedious puzzles and average plot, it left gamers wishing for something more. Runaway 2 was an improvement, certainly a bigger game in scope, with an elaborate story but still plagued by silly puzzles and a cliffhanger ending that was for years left open. In fact, I had almost forgotten about the series when I stumbled on Runaway 3 in GOG. I promptly bought it and played it, excited to see what was in store for conclusion to the story. However, the result was mixed. Certainly visually it is stunning, even if the locations are not as exotic or varied as the first two games, still the graphics are outstanding, as well as the cutscenes, very cinematic and well done. The humor is still there and the voice acting of the english version is nicely done. The puzzles are more logical mostly, though there still are a few tiresome bits, especially in the madhouse. What disappointed me this time was the story. By itself, it's an ok murder/mystery story, but it felt like a rushed wrap-up of the previous one, just so to set up new locations and puzzles. It reminded me the Still Life series in that respect... after two great games (Post Mortem, Still Life) with a cliffhanger finale, the last game, Still Life 2 comes along, years delayed, lousily wrapping up the cliffhanger so that a whole new plot is set up. Certainly Runaway 3 is a MUCH better game than that debacle but at the same time I kind of expected more after so many years. At 10 bucks it's a greatly priced game and adventure game fans should check it out for a few days of entertainment, just don't expect something revolutionary, other than a decent, albeit visually impressive, PnC game.
Don't let the low-res graphics put you off. This game is a must for the serious adventure gamer. Not because of the difficulty of the puzzles, in fact it's of average difficulty at best, but for the great story and mood. This is a sci fi noir/thriller that borrows elements from Total Recall and Blade Runner but still ending up with a unique and enthralling plot. Fans of the genre, and not only, must certainly check it out.
I must admit this game has a very immersive story line and very interesting twists and turns. By giving you the control of 4 different characters it manages to provide lots of backstory through gameplay and also successfully hide its twists. The puzzles are of average difficulty, with a few harder ones. The interface is typical PnC with the addition of "memory" where you can combine elements either for questioning or operating. This can cause confusion sometimes and make the gamer get stuck as it is not something that is familiar from other games and takes getting used to. The pixel art is very nice, for those ok with low-res they will soon forget they're not watching HD graphices and the voice acting is fine. All in all, it's a few evening well spent with a gripping tech thriller. This along with Gemini Rue are great examples of how limited means but well-crafted story telling can go a long way in creating a very enjoyable game.
