I only got through 5 levels in the demo time. I was a bit hard on the first installment of this series and liked #3 better but I'd say my end rating for HT3 is more like 3.8*.
I liked: - The clarity of the icons. They aren't just cartoonish like we see in some of the M3s. They have more of a 3D feel which I really liked. - I like M3s you can fast match and this game is very quick in that regard. - It has good sound effects
Didn't like: - There weren't enough icon/rune changes between levels so the entire demo just felt like I was playing one long M3 board.
- In HT1 I mentioned that I didn't like the spider icons because they look like ticks. They still look like ticks.
- You must spread fire from cell to cell across the board to melt some ice tiles on the opposite side of the play board. I'm pretty sure all the levels I played had that feature, which I'm not really a fan of. One or 2 levels would be ok but not so many levels back to back.
- I really disliked the "build/design area". You get in-game currency to decorate a house but it was pretty unappealing and so were the items you obtained. - The items in the decorative room are too expensive too.
I didn't think this was a bad game but there are other M3s I just like way more. This one could be really fun with a few minor fixes.
Delicious: Emily's Hopes and Fears Collector's Edition
(48)
Fun Factor
4/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
5/ 5
Level of Challenge
3/ 5
Storyline
5/ 5
Based completed demo (+ a few more levels)
Actual rating more like 3.8
Initially I rated this a high 5☆ but that dropped the more I played this game. I grew really frustrated with the actual gameplay. Being a fan of this type of Delicious-like game I have completed loads of them over time so I have a lot of experience with the TM mechanics, timing, and gameplay that most of them have.
The problem I had with this one was:
There is a >lag< between the time you collect the items you need to supply a customer with and the time it takes to actually collect & deliver them. Our main character is way too slow. You end up trying to fill an order you *already* tasked just to find your (too-short) tray only holds the bare minimum of items. Hopefully the tray gets larger as the game progresses which would help by being able to prep items in advance to allow for her lagging. It's a compounded issue because the customers give you attitude & remove hearts for not being quick enough. I am still in the process of playing the game. I haven't given up on it despite the frustration it continuously creates.
♡ I loved the outdoor locations we played in and love the characters. It has a cute story you want to hear more of.
♡I really love that it was released as a Standard Edition and not a CE (super unusual for games in this exact grouping.) So I did end up buying it right away, due to that.
Overall I felt this was a well designed game with a poor delivery of the TM mechanics. I suggest you demo it for a good while first. I'm still glad I bought it because the characters, story & locations are charming.
Step 1: find 1 listed item in 75 seconds Step 2: find 2, then more and more items in 75 seconds. I had already experienced two things I hated by step 2. Since when is a watermelon blue? Later it progressively gets harder, such as finding 9 items in 75 seconds, etc. I swear, not all the items are there which is stressful; and yes, that is challenging. Lol
There is *really* annoying sound when you can't find the listed items fast enough. It reminded me of waking with those really loud buzzer alarm clocks (you know, the ones that make you panic with dread. ha-ha)
There is no hint. You are just left scrambling for the volume so you don't have to hear that stressful "WRONG!" game effect sound.
I believe the game is called "Where's my what?" because you can't identify half the objects. I had so many mis-click demerits that I had an all-time *low score.
(+) I try to be positive so I did like one thing. I liked game effect sound they used to pick up the items. I was more amused reading the reviews to this game, then by the game itself.
After playing this game for 30min, I was left wondering... Where IS the “other fruit”? Where was that button? And after clicking every car in the scene to no avail......... Taxi cab, where you at???
By now, most of the M3 games allow you to build something. I am thrilled to see a mosaic game offering in-game currency to decorate a garden with paths, fences, bushes, ponds, etc. This game has some beautiful features but I felt it had some weaknesses too.
- Start the mosaic boards by hitting the arrow in the lower R of the garden screen. - There are 8 sections to the game and I counted 10 mosaic boards in the first section. The entire demo, 1 of 8 sections, took me through the first 10 boards in 1 hour. This game has 80 boards, so this is a long game!
- The actual mosaics you complete aren't as amazing as some I've seen. There was one called "pancakes" and I'm glad it had a title. lol
- You are allowed 4 mistakes before you need to redo a board. - There is 1 choice of tile texture (plain) - There are 6 colors per board and the 6 colors are changed each new mosaic game. They could have been a bit more vibrant. - It says you start out with 1 hint per mosaic screen but the amulet icon, under the hint button, will fill as you play. - Logic based: The 10 Mosaics I did in the demo were all done by counting and I don't like to use the hints in this type of game.
- It has a custom cursor but it was too large & went back to system cursor. - I turned off the music but I did like the game sound effects.
It would have been nice if the graphics in the garden itself were better. I wish they’d used graphics like the QG series. However, the background art is very beautiful with full moving scenes.
- Eye icon: On the lower R side is an "eye" and when it’s clicked on it will remove the mosaic grid so you can see the moving background behind the grid. The first one is beautiful with swimming koi in a pond.
- Coins: you get gold coins by playing mosaic boards to buy items to place in a garden. There were no walking characters in the garden by the end of the demo but since there are paths, you may get them later in the game. This DEV has since released The Far Kingdoms Spooky Mosaics which is probably my favorite mosaic game of all time. It's exceptional, and it has a night/day feature, walking people *and* it is a super fun Halloween game.
- Apparently you need to back out of the play board to "upgrade" the garden and use your gold currency. I played several boards and had 59 coins but the game didn't auto-direct me to upgrade my garden area.
- Tea Screen: In the upper L of the play board there is a teapot icon. This is a screen that will be upgraded automatically every 10 boards.
This game has the potential to be the best game of its type. It just needed a few minor changes that they seemed to have fixed in TFK: Spooky Mosaics. I'm so surprised when I read this was this DEV 1st try at a Mosaics game. Well done!
Based on completed game My overall rating is 4.5 It took me 4:05 hours to finish it (over 6 days.)
This game is a mish-mash of Sci-Fi/Bizarre/Fantasy. That is a mix I usually don't like. The SE was originally released here 3-22-19. When I played the demo at the time of release it was a hard pass for me. In Jan 2022 the SE was offered discounted as the Deal of the Day.
I read the reviews of people I really respect here (been reading your reviews for years) and some of you seem to have the same taste in games that I do. I tend to pay attention to the games you liked. So this time, that was enough for me to purchase. I bought the SE without a demo. I am so glad I trusted my gut and put my faith in the other players that completed this game before me because it IS a great game!
If this type of game isn’t your usual genre of preference, just give it a chance and play the demo to the end. However, I thought the game got better and better as it progressed, after the demo.
The story ended up being really cool and I liked the ending to the main game.
I really liked the robot. He would create these communications sci-fi screens and portal doors that were really cool. The 3D special effects were great too.
Thanks BFG, & The Mariaglorum Company (I miss your HOPAs) and I’m such a huge fan of this DEV.
Based on completed game My overall rating is 4.5 It took me 4:05 hours to finish it (over 6 days.)
This game is a mish-mash of Sci-Fi/Bizarre/Fantasy. That is a mix I usually pass on. The SE was originally released here 3-22-19. When I played the demo back then, it was a hard pass for me. Jan. 2022 it was offered as the Deal of the Day @ $2.99.
I read the high reviews of people I’ve really grown to respect over time (because we seem to have the same tastes in games) and I bought it this time without a demo. I am so glad I trusted my gut and put my faith in the other players that completed it before me because it IS a great game! If this type of game isn’t your usual genre of preference, just give it a chance and play the demo to the end. However, I thought the game got better and better as the game progressed after the demo.
The story ended up being really cool and it has a good ending to the main game.
I really liked the robot (& the communications sci-fi screen and portal doors he created.) The 3D special effects were great too.
Thank you to the reviewers that posted the high reviews here for this game. I read your reviews all the time and I've grown to trust your opinions (to buy a game sight-unseen is huge for me.) You are of so much value to BFG.
Thank you to The Mariaglorum Company. I am one of your biggest fans!
Based on 1hr completed demo only (My rating more like 4.5)
The character in the menu screen is standing perfectly still aside from her blinking eyes. (a little creepy, not gonna lie) Maybe she's standing like that because of the tiger right behind her (he is also totally still and blinking at her. haha)
The intro. map shows 9 areas that unlock. In the demo I only unlocked the 1st. In that first area I counted 16 puzzles. So that means this game has a *lot* of puzzles/levels left to do. In options: It has 5 types of mosaic tiles 1. pearl 2. glass 3. chiseled 4.soft 5. rough 2. you can choose semi-opaque or opaque (re: grid itself)
The things I liked about this game outweighed the things I didn't. I've been playing these for years, and used to play them every day. I hadn't played one in a long time and hoped I'd remember how. This game is intuitive, the teaching guide is awesome so I was back on track with my usual tips & tricks in no time.
Stuff I didn't like: - The music runs on a loop, over and over. I shut it off after 15 min. I turned up the sound effects (which I loved.) - The 1st level I played with the choice "glass" style mosaic. I had several mis-clicks simply because the grid-background is white and the white mosaic tile is too close in color. I switched over to "rough" mosaic style and that helped the problem a bit. The rest of the puzzles I encountered didn't have white, only off white, so it wasn't a big deal. - At first I didn't like the brightness of the highlighted "row guides" but as the puzzles get bigger I adapted to them easier. They may want to "beige down" the white brightness though. - I really disliked the one minigame I played in the demo. It was between level 1 & 2. Slide the plates to solve a picture puzzle. At least the picture boxes were numbered to make it easier and there was a shadow background of the finished picture but I have never liked that kind of MG to begin with. I got half way done with it and ended up skipping it.
I Liked: + LOGIC BASED. Every mosaic grid I completed in the demo I was able to count for the location of the tiles. I'm just the type that prefers to play these without hints. + I loved the sound effects + I liked how when you finished the picture they give you a little bit of information about your finished mosaic. It wasn't just a drawing ID. + The background art behind the grids are beautiful. + I love loved the little blank dots in the middle of the grid squares that would change color according to what color you were using (but they were a pinch too large, imo.)
I liked this one. It felt thought out and complete.
How to play: Pick a side for your answer. Click on an arrow button, or the chosen side. Try to pick the right answer before the time is up. The directions say you can win lives with the puzzle games. A wrong click in Trivia costs a life.
If you spot the Lucky Heart, anywhere on the screen you can pick it up for extra lives.
For example, 1. The left side of the screen has a picture of a hippo, and the right side of the screen has a crocodile. The question is... "Which of these animals is known as the water horse?" You click the side of the screen you think is the right answer.
2. Bees are blind to what color? yellow or red (see *spoiler below for the answers, or skip over the text if you don’t)
Another type of MG is very detailed Hidden object scenes. They show you a drawn item and you must quickly find it on the L or R side of the screen and click the correct side accordingly.
They have colored stacked blocks that are different shapes. You need to figure out what colored blocks make up the stack in question.
I happened to be playing this in a hospital waiting room on my laptop in 2019. Everyone in the room became involved after 15 minutes and they all wanted to know the name of the game. One woman was recovering from a stroke and said her neurologist wanted her to play games like this to help exercise her brain.
***Spoiler: the answer to the questions above. (1. hippo 2. red) I adored this game, and so did everyone I showed it to! Thank you to the Developer, Mixo (x?) & Made by Unity I wish you would make another!
Attn: anyone that has had a stroke, head injury, brain fog, diseases that affect the brain, etc., this is pure oxygen and exercise for your brain.
For me, this game could be a challenge at times. There is one MG that requires you to remember multiple numbers that I found challenging and one that requires you to remember where blue fish are located on a square grid. I do wish there was a bit more time to analyze the item(s) to memorize (but that may be because I chose “intermediate” difficulty at the beginning instead of “easy”.)
Wow. This game has so many games in one that you are getting so much for your money. You can play any title out of order and each is custom tailored to whatever difficulty you want for each challenge.
This game is very similar to another I fell in love with that was released here @BFG in 2018 called: “PICK & TICK” (I'll add a link, and in the review to that I'll add a link to this game as well.) I played that in a hospital waiting room in 2019 with people that had been recovering from a stroke and they said their neurologist had highly recommended playing games of this type of game for brain recovery.
“PUZZLE BOX” has even more mini-games within its entirety that are geared to brain exercise as well as being fun.
Play this for fun, play it for health, or play it for both... For me, this is an instant purchase.
Bravo, BrainVM Games....Thank you for this incredible game!!!
Based on completed game + CE bonus chapter (I bought the CE in a Bogo)
(SE) Main game took me 2:34 hrs. CE Bonus chapter took me 1 hr Total CE play was 3:34 hrs. (over 3 days, I skipped a lot of mini games, I prefer HOPs which I took my time on.) I loved the upside down version of this twisted fairytale. I don't normally like or review fantasy, cutsie, or fairytale games but sometimes I'm in the mood to play one. I liked the darker theme to this demo and wanted to finish this game.
I didn’t like the graphics to this game. I prefer the graphics in the older Elephant games. The detail and contrast shadowing is nearly gone and the cartoonish scenes are washed out by some kind of filter. If you play this game on a 15" computer, or smaller, the graphics improve. Try playing an earlier Elephant game (Grim Tales: The Wishes, GT Bloody Mary, or Hallowed Legends Samhain & Templar to know what I mean.) The graphics were just incredible back then. Clear, defined, deeply shadowed and full of detail. It really helps in a Hidden Object game to identify an item quickly because it looks real due to good graphics. This game is bare bones. It is just missing too much story to be a 5* game. I was surprised when the end cutscene finished and I was trying to figure out what just happened at the close of the main game. So much of the game just isn’t explained.
The CE bonus play is the usual “cutsie fairytale”, without any of the dark feel of the demo. I think it was a missed opportunity to explain the main game better.
Cutscenes can't be replayed either. It's not a bad game, it just feels unfinished. I did love being able to go back to each of the scenes and collect any puzzle pieces I missed (in the CE.)
CE Bonus Play: Had 9 more scenes to play. I believe 5 scenes are new and 4 are revised scenes from the main game.
Also, the SE versions are being released now without Blog Walkthrough guides that Big Fish provided for years & years (with newly released Standard Editions.) I assume they removed those in order to nudge customers to buy the more expensive CE version, which has a built in WTG. Please add those back BFG, I used them all the time and I'm sure others did too.
This game reminds me of these below, you might want to demo them. 1. Dark Parables Rise of the Snow Queen 2. Fairly Twisted Tales Price of a Rose
The concept of this game is great. It would be fun if you did a twisted Little Red Riding Hood because a lot of the game could be in the woods. Elephant Games creates the most beautiful woodland scenes.
Still luv ya Elephant :) Been with you a long, long time. You keep making them & I'll keep buying.