LunaNik's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:2.8
- Helpful Votes:12,435
- Reviews Submitted:670
- First Review:November 2, 2012
- Most Recent Review:August 19, 2020
- Featured reviews0
Status:
You were just about to relax with a good book when a stranger leaves a baby on your doorstep.
Overall rating
5
/
5
8 of 10 found this review helpful
Brilliant and innovative! Finally, a game that breaks out of the tired box of copycat HOPAs!
PostedOctober 25, 2013
LunaNik
fromThe Island of Myst
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Card & Board, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
It was with trepidation that I downloaded the demo of Nevertales: The Beauty Within, fully expecting another runaround search for keys and shapes interrupted by repetitive HO scenes and simple puzzles. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a truly engaging storyline, innovative gameplay, professional VOs and music, and excellent graphics and animation! I knew 15 minutes into the demo that I had to have it.
Where to begin? I love that the cursor is styled to look like an open book, which is emblematic of Mad Head's attention to detail in this game.
The HO scenes are so varied, I promise you won't get sick of them. Some are interactive lists, but even those break the mold by having the four list panels locked until you first find the keys. Often, finding the items on the list will reveal pieces of yet another item, sort of a FROG inside a HOG. Sometimes, a character will be narrating, telling you what to find in the scene. Other times, you're working from clues. There are almost endless variations instead of list after list after list. Thank you, Mad Head!
The puzzles and mini-games are mostly original and beautifully presented, ranging from fairly easy to time-consuming and requiring thought and planning. A nice mix.
Your interactive jump map, notes, objectives list, etc. are all in your smart phone. And you have a mechanical owl to help you acquire things that are out of your reach. He's cute, yes, but not cloyingly so. Nor must you dress him!
Extras include morphing objects (which are hard to find) and roses (easier to see), plus achievements and the usual cast of characters you get with a CE.
I found the animation, graphics, and music to aid tremendously in the immersion process. The clues to unravel the plot are dangled tantalizingly in front of you, and you just have to go after the next.
I highly recommend this game, and I rarely give 5 stars across the board. Extremely rarely.
I recommend this game!
Should anyone ever check in to a place called the Final Journey Hotel?
Overall rating
2
/
5
20 of 26 found this review helpful
I'm just a girl...that's all that you'll let me be!
PostedOctober 22, 2013
LunaNik
fromThe Island of Myst
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Card & Board, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Brave, resourceful, and intelligent (yet fawning) heroine takes all the risks, makes all the deductions, and does all the work. Token male character gives her unnecessary directions, stands back and lets her solve the mystery, then takes all the credit. Really, Elephant Games? It's 2013, not 1913. I'm certain this was more than irritating to male fishies as well as to female ones.
Graphics and animation are beautiful, as always, but gameplay is becoming formulaic with Elephant. All we do is spend the entire game looking for keys and shapes to unlock locks, with a few familiar and easy puzzles thrown in. Boring! Time to innovate, lest you lose your loyal fans.
It wouldn't have been so bad had the storyline been captivating. It wasn't. For a "haunted" hotel, it wasn't the least bit frightening. In fact, it wasn't even creepy. There was no sense of impending doom, no immersion at all. You never forgot for a second that you were playing a game.
The characters were not relatable, the music was forgettable, the storyline was not fleshed out, the gameplay was predictable. I can't recommend this game.
I don't recommend this game.
The Torment of Mont Triste Collector's Edition
No one dares fall asleep in the village of Mont Triste... for when sleep arrives, so does the mysterious Lord of Nightmares.
Overall rating
4
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
Lots of promise but needs editing...
PostedOctober 14, 2013
LunaNik
fromThe Island of Myst
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Card & Board, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I won't retell the story or detail the extras here, as many other reviewers have done so. Rather, I'll just comment on what I think were the awesome, needs work, and awful parts of Sulus Games "The Torment of Mont Triste."
AWESOME
• beautifully detailed graphics
• stunning object animation
• creative mechanical objects
• voiceovers
• originality of mini-games and puzzles
• storyline
• beautifully detailed graphics
• stunning object animation
• creative mechanical objects
• voiceovers
• originality of mini-games and puzzles
• storyline
NEEDS WORK
• transitions from scene to scene were sluggish
• cutscene animations lagged and skipped
• transportation from map to scene was sluggish
• transitions from scene to scene were sluggish
• cutscene animations lagged and skipped
• transportation from map to scene was sluggish
AWFUL
• mini-game instructions
(I ended up skipping several of them because, even with the SG, I simply could not get them to work. For example, the one that required you to move the small crystals through the web to match the large ones...many of them would not move from their original spots even if every single place around them was free.)
• mini-game instructions
(I ended up skipping several of them because, even with the SG, I simply could not get them to work. For example, the one that required you to move the small crystals through the web to match the large ones...many of them would not move from their original spots even if every single place around them was free.)
• black bar tips were useless
(Rather than repeatedly saying "It's a nightmare to do the wrong thing!" it would have been more helpful for casual mode players if the tip said "I don't have all the parts for this yet," or something to that effect. Beginner players will be lost in this game for lack of direction.)
(Rather than repeatedly saying "It's a nightmare to do the wrong thing!" it would have been more helpful for casual mode players if the tip said "I don't have all the parts for this yet," or something to that effect. Beginner players will be lost in this game for lack of direction.)
CONCLUSION
For me, this would have been a five-star game had the mini-game instructions been clear, and had the game not been so sluggish. I do recommend it, but not for beginners.
For me, this would have been a five-star game had the mini-game instructions been clear, and had the game not been so sluggish. I do recommend it, but not for beginners.
I recommend this game!
The residents of Bitterford, Maine have fallen prey to a terrible curse. It’s up to you to unravel the series of mysterious events that led to the town’s downfall and uncover the evil that was responsible.
Overall rating
2
/
5
6 of 7 found this review helpful
MCF has gone the way of Azada...it's not the same.
PostedOctober 7, 2013
LunaNik
fromThe Island of Myst
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Card & Board, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
After dealing with the Ravenhearst mystery, I thought I'd made it big. Then I was sent off to Shadow Lake to deal with an egocentric "ghost hunter" and a histrionic psychic, neither of whom could manage dealing with the danger of dispelling a curse and disposing of a demonic relic. Oh, well. It's a living, I guess.
-----
The Best Parts
1. The sound designers deserve an award for creating beautifully ambient tracks for different locations, rather than making us listen to repetitive melodic themes.
1. The sound designers deserve an award for creating beautifully ambient tracks for different locations, rather than making us listen to repetitive melodic themes.
2. The animation team that created the segues when you initially visit a map location have a great deal of talent. I loved the effect they created.
3. The photo puzzles with the pieces having real-time physics were fun, I thought, especially in that they became more difficult over time.
4. Those little scary surprises startled me every time, even when I was expecting them. Well done.
The Mediocre Parts
1. The storyline should have been fleshed out more. The victims seemed random, but the transfer was not well done (as it was in Denzel Washington's movie, Fallen). The abandonment of the town seemed like an overreaction. I mean, everybody left? It wasn't Silent Hill. Flashback cutscenes to the tribe that discovered the relic would have helped liven the story. There was no way for the player to connect to any of the characters emotionally…to care about what happened to them.
1. The storyline should have been fleshed out more. The victims seemed random, but the transfer was not well done (as it was in Denzel Washington's movie, Fallen). The abandonment of the town seemed like an overreaction. I mean, everybody left? It wasn't Silent Hill. Flashback cutscenes to the tribe that discovered the relic would have helped liven the story. There was no way for the player to connect to any of the characters emotionally…to care about what happened to them.
2. The HO scenes were parochial and merely fillers, in spite of having one list with several locations and no clue as to which items were where.
The Worst Parts
1. No puzzles. While MCF started out as merely a HOG, it made its name on torturous and tortuous puzzles like all of Charles' locks.
1. No puzzles. While MCF started out as merely a HOG, it made its name on torturous and tortuous puzzles like all of Charles' locks.
2. The drawings…ugh. Over and over again.
3. Having to travel by map alone, but no jump map to particular rooms/scenes. Every time you had to visit the psychic (and it was a LOT), you had to click on the map, click on the motel, and click forward three times. Ridiculous. There should have been a direct link.
4. The post-credit outro blatantly pointed to a sequel. Please don't.
Conclusion
Storyline and gameplay were both disappointing because neither panned out. You never forgot you were playing a game…there was no immersion. It felt like a different developer took over our beloved MCF series and shredded it (cf. Azada). Unlike a lot of other fishies, I liked The 13th Skull. And I loved Dire Grove. Head back in that direction, BFG.
Storyline and gameplay were both disappointing because neither panned out. You never forgot you were playing a game…there was no immersion. It felt like a different developer took over our beloved MCF series and shredded it (cf. Azada). Unlike a lot of other fishies, I liked The 13th Skull. And I loved Dire Grove. Head back in that direction, BFG.
I don't recommend this game.
Enter Ravenwood Park and discover the secrets hidden in the mists...
Overall rating
4
/
5
7 of 8 found this review helpful
Artifex Mundi brings us another epic game!
PostedSeptember 29, 2013
LunaNik
fromThe Island of Myst
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Card & Board, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
It's been a year since I uncovered the preacher's sinister plot and scores of murders in Maple Creek. In that time, I managed to trail him from the autumnal beauty of New England to the redwood forests of California. Just when I thought I'd lost him, I came upon an abandoned camper outside the gates of an equally abandoned nature park. The family's belonging were scattered around the area, and gigantic claw marks gouged the roof of the camper. It was clear I'd just missed whatever happened.
Where had the family gone? What had occurred here? A dark apparition led me to suspect I'd once again found the preacher, and that I'd soon discover more bodies and signs of his demonic activities. What I did find shocked even me. The plot was bigger than I could have imagined. And more horrible. Once again, my sanity would be tested, as well as my investigative and deductive skills. And, once again, it would be up to me to put a stop to it.
Notes: Artifex Mundi has put together a worthy sequel to Enigmatis: The Ghosts of Maple Creek. The plot is a masterpiece of storytelling, with twists and turns that will blow your mind. Gameplay is fairly traditional for a HOPA, with three types of HO scenes offered (interactive list, sequential silhouette, and FROG), find and use inventory items, and puzzles.
Music, sound, and voiceovers are very well done and really add to the immersion. Graphics are nicely detailed without being photo-real. Animation, including poser characters, is excellent including lip-synch.
There are the traditional extras in the CE, along with 30 animated butterflies to find and "illusive" morphing objects which are very easy to spot and almost amateurish in graphic style (a disappointment for me). The bonus adventure is a prequel of sorts and sets up the sequel, which I hope we won't have to wait two years for!
I highly recommend not only The Mists of Ravenwood, but also The Ghosts of Maple Creek. And just about Artifex Mundi's entire catalog of games. They're fast becoming one of the leading developers, in my opinion. My overall rating is 4 and a half stars.
I recommend this game!
Explore a world ruled by both technology and magic and unveil the pyramid’s power in Between the Worlds II: The Pyramid!
Overall rating
4
/
5
5 of 5 found this review helpful
Panoramic HOs + excellent puzzles = WIN
PostedSeptember 26, 2013
LunaNik
fromThe Island of Myst
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Card & Board, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I don't understand the bad reviews. Are we that spoiled? Must we have simplistic puzzles and HO scenes that can be completed in under a minute? Do we insist on the formulaic so that we reject anything that breaks the mold? I'm disappointed.
The Pyramid combined truly difficult HO scenes with challenging puzzles in an enchanting story that begs for a sequel. While it's not a long game, it's also not interrupted by filler narration, doubled up HO scenes, endless traveling, and random searching for shapes.
What is truly groundbreaking about The Pyramid is that the HO scenes are panoramic. Each one is actually viewed from three different angles, each angle with its own list. Some of the items are easy to see from one angle, but on another angle's list, so you must think in three dimensions. I thought it was brilliant.
The puzzles, while mostly familiar, were so graphically beautiful that they were a pleasure to solve.
That brings me to the graphics. The only reason I rated four stars on visual/sound is that I thought the static graphics could have been improved a bit. But the animation was professional and breathtaking. And the music was not only appropriate, but relaxing, ambient, and perfect for gaming.
There is a hint meter, and an assistant to instruct you on the various puzzles. A journal notes the story and gives additional instruction, should you need it. You're a private investigator, and you've been charged with solving the riddle of the pyramid, which resembles a Chinese puzzle box (in pyramid shape, of course). The very fate of the world rests on your success.
Should you succeed, another task awaits you...in the sequel. Which I seriously hope is in the works. I'm off to look for Between the Worlds, Part I and learn where this all started. In the meantime, if you're bored with finding keys and shapes that function as keys, I recommend this game to stretch your brain. You'll have to think outside the box...er...pyramid.
I recommend this game!
Crack codes, pick locks, comb crime scenes for clues and solve clever puzzles in this thrilling retro detective drama!
Overall rating
3
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
Not up to Artifex Mundi's usual awesomeness...
PostedSeptember 24, 2013
LunaNik
fromThe Island of Myst
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Card & Board, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
As a paranormal PI, I'd seen my share of weirdness. But nothing prepared me for what I was to encounter in Serpent Creek after my friend Helen's SOS call. Most of the citizens acted drugged, while the remainder were a cast of shady characters. Then there were the close encounters of the bizarre kind, the disgusting green slime, and the cryptic warning notes. And that's just the beginning.
What I ended up uncovering was an ancient myth, the classic battle between good and evil, and a plot to take over the world. I'm not kidding. And my friend was caught up in the middle of it. It would take all my skills to get me out of this one alive.
Notes: Gameplay was relatively simple, not the complex and interwoven wonder that Artifex Mundi usually presents. The animation was a strange mix of amazingly realistic and amateur cartoon. The graphics were well done, especially in the HOs, with items being easily recognizable. And the music was appropriate. The storyline...well...I really wish it had been fleshed out more. It was awesome and had such potential. I'd recommend picking this up as a DD only, as I feel it doesn't have good replay potential.
I don't recommend this game.
It should have been a tremendous achievement, but the tunnel through the Ridge of Leviathan became the site of a great disaster. What really happened that day?
Overall rating
5
/
5
5 of 5 found this review helpful
Under the Surface is another brilliant game!
PostedSeptember 22, 2013
LunaNik
fromThe Island of Myst
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Card & Board, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
The maiden voyage of the Capitol Express through the newly built Ridge of Leviathan tunnel should have been an enjoyable trip for my family. But I missed the train, and my husband Richard and daughter Melanie, along with the train itself and all its passengers, disappeared that day.
Months of searching was fruitless, and the scientists could offer no explanation for the Express' disappearance. The tunnel was closed, and the event was classified a mystery on par with the Bermuda Triangle...and forgotten. But not by me.
For a year, I grieved...my life broken and meaningless. On the anniversary of the event, I went to the tunnel hoping to find some closure. Instead, I found Dr. Bors. He believed my family was still alive, trapped in an alternate dimension. And he said that my ties to them could take me through the same portal.
Could I trust him? Did I dare hope to be reunited with my loves after all this time? I had no choice. But you won't believe what I found on the other side of the portal. A nightmare, and my family trapped within it. They and many others were being kept prisoner, then sold off as slave labor by a race of evil beings. I had to do whatever it took to free them and try to get back home.
Notes: Elephant Games has continued to combine imaginative stories, beautiful graphics, thoughtfully ambient music, and excellent gameplay in its Surface series. I believe Surface to be one of the best series out there, and highly recommend that you immediately buy each and every game in it.
The puzzles, even when familiar, are taken to the next level and presented in new and beautiful ways. The iHOs utilize items from your inventory, which adds another challenge. The acting and voiceovers are truly professional and the production values are extremely high. And the story...wow. All the Surface stories are well thought out, provocative, and mind-blowing. I rarely give out 5 stars. Elephant deserves them.
I recommend this game!
Discover what connects the ship’s disappearance with Devil’s Island and a family’s unsolved murder!
Overall rating
4
/
5
2 of 3 found this review helpful
This maritime mystery provides a merry time!
PostedSeptember 2, 2013
LunaNik
fromThe Island of Myst
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Card & Board, Strategy, Time Management
Current Favorite:
Namariel Legends: Iron Lord
(107)Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
My name is Charlotte Austin, and I am privileged to be a private investigator of mysteries and crimes. I recently received a letter from the Mayor of Port Providence requesting my services. A ship had set sail from the harbor, then disappeared at sea, only to return several weeks later devoid of cargo and crew. Naturally, I was intrigued and traveled with all haste via train to the oceanside city of Port Providence.
Upon meeting with the Mayor and Harbormaster, I learned that a security detail had been placed on watch at the ship, and that no one else had been aboard, save for the search party who had determined that cargo and crew had gone missing. I soon learned that their search had been anything but thorough.
My search of the ship was continually impeded by a malicious figure in a black, hooded robe who, it appeared, was missing a hand and had substituted a sharp hook for the lost appendage. This figure not only hindered my search, but menaced me and even attempted to physically attack me. The mystery, it seemed, had become a crime.
As it turned out, the ghostly figure of a young girl appeared to me and, after warning me away from the ship, agreed to help me if I would catch her killer. Most definitely a crime and, it seems, one that had gone unsolved for far too long. Once I had searched the ship, I was off to the scene of said crime to uncover the truth and capture the miscreant!
Locked and blocked doorways abounded, as well as puzzles to be solved and piles of junk to be sorted through if I was to discover any items that might aid me in my quest. Fortunately, Mr. Pinkerton had trained me well, and my observational and intellectual skills were worthy of these daunting tasks. In the end, brains triumphed over brawn, the mystery was solved, and the people of Port Providence were able once again to sleep soundly.
Notes: Moonrise Interactive has presented a decent HOPA with well-drawn but gritty graphics, a well-developed plot, excellent voiceovers, appropriate music, and good animation. There are a number of anachronisms, unfortunately, which detracts a bit from the immersive aspect. For example, Charlotte comments that she wonders if more than six planets will ever be discovered, placing the time of the game prior to 1781, yet the mansion has electric power, she wears pants, and the English of the characters is modern. However, the storyline and gameplay make Left in the Dark well-worth playing, and I do recommend it.
I recommend this game!
Who is responsible for your children’s disappearance? Follow the trail!
Overall rating
2
/
5
7 of 9 found this review helpful
Too easy & cutesy...perhaps children might like it
PostedSeptember 2, 2013
LunaNik
fromThe Island of Myst
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Card & Board, Strategy, Time Management
Current Favorite:
Namariel Legends: Iron Lord
(107)Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
I'm afraid I didn't even make it through the demo, which is rare. I found the story rather simplistic, and it didn't draw me in.
The graphics were interesting because they were deliberately not realistic, but storybook hand-drawn. Unfortunately, they did not manage the charm of the graphics of the Drawn series. The one HO scene I completed was tonally uniform and that made it static and drab. The animations were cute, but seemed to appeal more to children than to adults.
The music fit the story well, and reminded me of a child's fairy tale. The voice of Chip, the good gingerbread man who functions as the hint, was quite irritating. The narration was lovely, especially as it was done in rhyme.
I quit the demo at the pumpkin puzzle when I was unable to pick up and place the final piece...that was the final straw for me. Obviously, others did not have this issue.
If you have children, I recommend giving the demo a try to see if they like it.
I don't recommend this game.