SoC is a third person adventure game, the story, while going in its own direction, seems to be at least partially inspired or based on a combination of two of Lovecraft's short stories, namely The Shadow Over Innsmouth and "The Dunwich Horror." The controls are slightly unusual and odd but not difficult to master. In the CD version it does have full mouse support although a certain amount of using the keyboard is still required (its faster if you need to interact with something due to the short cut keys, and sometimes you do need to move/act quickly, other times mouse it better for accuracy or careful movement around danger) While the disk version was keyboard only I believe. But I soon got used to switching between the mouse and keyboard and using both. Compared so some of the modern day horror games you wouldn't think an old 1994 VGA graphics game could be that atmospheric or scary.. but atmosphere and graphics (for its time) especially the character portraits and backgrounds ..not so much the other animations, and I found it genuinely creepy the first time I played it (although it starts out gently enough)and even when I replayed it with my sister watching in my late teens/early twenties it still managed to make us jump a couple of times. The game is pretty linear but has a good storyline, and I also like the voice acting in the CD version. Soundtrack fits well too. It's very atmospheric for a game of it's age, and does a good job of pulling the player into the story. It's a reasonably challenging game although a little unintuitive in places as some sections will probably have you reaching for a walkthrough. This game has remained one of my favourites and is one I've replayed on occasion, not perfect but still good and despite its flaws well worth checking out if you enjoy both old school adventure games and the cthulhu mythos (or even just horror in general) . Happy this game has finally made it on to GOG :)
To be honest this isn't the kind of game I would normally even look twice at, the premise seemed plain bizarre to me and I'm not generally a fan of the genre anyway, so when a letsplayer I follow decided to play it. I was very sceptical and had low expectations. As I watched however my opinion changed to the point I decided to buy and play the game for myself. It's really more interactive novel than game, and the premise IS odd and just slightly silly, but the game is deliberately tongue in cheek and playfully makes fun of it's own insanity at times. That said don't play this expecting complete light-heartedness , humour and pure parody, if you follow certain routes and get into the backstory of the world and characters it can get surprisingly dark, and the story is deeper than you'd think at first glance, it even manages to be sad in places. Depending on the route you take, some parts can even cause the game to switch genres (into an rpg fighting game for example). It's definitely a niche type of game, but still a surprisingly good one, and one that's much better than I initially gave it credit for.
I personally quite enjoyed this game, although I played it some years ago. Most of the game is puzzle/story based, and most (but not all)of the solutions are reasonably logical. You can also choose different responses at times from Samuel either positive or negative which will affect the dialogue and how other characters respond to Samuel. There are a few ways to die, and a few timed sequences as well , but it's not a game where your character is constantly being killed off . On the whole while I agree the game does have room for improvement I found it to be very atmospheric and was drawn in by the story line. While it's not for everyone, if you like adventure games and dark/grim storylines with mystery and suspense (and don't mind a lot of dialogue) then this game is worth checking out. The graphics are also fairly good taking into account the games age.
I only recently brought and played this game after watching a playthrough on youtube. I am the first to agree that the game is far from perfect, the acting in many cases could have been better, and the characters themselves could have done with a bit more character development and depth too . The storyline seems to be inspired mostly by certain dark and violent fairytale but then a lot of stories borrow elements of folktales and/or myths...I see no problem with this in itself, I think this particular tale if done right in a video game could easily work and be genuinely scary and tragic , but in this case they didn't quite pull it off. Still, I liked this game despite its flaws, and it has a certain nostalgic appeal. If you like horror based adventures, and don't mind the gory death scenes -which at times are excessive, although there is a censor option-or slower-paced games (be warned the pace picks up dramatically in the last chapter) then perhaps give this game a try...or maybe watch a brief section on youtube if still unsure.
I missed this game when it originally came out, so thankyou GOG for offering this game for free! :) Dragonsphere is an enjoyable point & click adventure set in a fantasy/medieval setting. The story seems like a standard "fight the evil person & save the kingdom" plot at first but gets more complex than that later on. Most puzzles are logical (or can be solved via trial and error) The graphics are good for the time, the voice acting, while not brilliant, is still passable, and the music is good and adds to the overall charm If you enjoy classic point and click adventures, then Dragonsphere is well worth a try :)
