Bibliobat's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3
- Helpful Votes:3
- Reviews Submitted:2
- First Review:October 6, 2012
- Most Recent Review:March 26, 2025
- Featured reviews0
Bibliobat's Review History
Thaw out bitter-cold cases in the strange town of Frostwood!
Overall rating
3
/
5
Buyer beware
PostedMarch 26, 2025
Bibliobat
fromIn front of my pc
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Match 3, Puzzle
What is going on here? This looks like a decent game from a developer I've always liked BUT it has been stripped down below basics.
No voice overs or music; I don't actually mind that but they are important to many players. What is important is that the only options are for sound (ambient I guess) and language. There are no difficulty levels and no option for a player profile, which I suppose means that there will be no way of replaying it. I like to play the free trial and start again when I've bought the game and it looks like this wouldn't be possible, I'd be forced to pick up where I left off. What there is is an inescapable tutorial - which I definitely don't need and certainly don't appreciate.
So I stopped after five minutes and have added the game to my 'no buy' list. Which is a pity.
No voice overs or music; I don't actually mind that but they are important to many players. What is important is that the only options are for sound (ambient I guess) and language. There are no difficulty levels and no option for a player profile, which I suppose means that there will be no way of replaying it. I like to play the free trial and start again when I've bought the game and it looks like this wouldn't be possible, I'd be forced to pick up where I left off. What there is is an inescapable tutorial - which I definitely don't need and certainly don't appreciate.
So I stopped after five minutes and have added the game to my 'no buy' list. Which is a pity.
I don't recommend this game.
Investigate a mysterious, medieval monastery and reveal the terrifying truth!
Overall rating
3
/
5
3 of 8 found this review helpful
Ruined by anachronisms
PostedOctober 6, 2012
Bibliobat
fromLiverpool, UK
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Match 3, Strategy, Brain Teaser, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Based on the demo.
I really thought this would be a game for me; just puzzles, no junk piles to sort through to find that one item you need to progress. Indeed this was the case and very refreshing it was too.
Can't comment on the sound quality as I always turn it off, but it's the total lack of basic historical accuracy which ruined it for me. If developers choose, as these have, to set a story in a very specific era they should keep to that era. They haven't. Tomatoes in Europe? In the 13th century? Really? Not to mention a greenhouse which looks like an escapee from the Eden project. Technically impossible for several centuries to come. Then there's the monastery itself, it's about as Italian as I am; northern style and a much later date. No, I'm not an architectural expert, but I've visited enough such buildings to know when something is really wrong. Lots of other wrong stuff, but I don't want to sound a total nit-picker.
The gameplay is OK if a little simplistic, as far as i've played its been walk around, pick up objects, work out where to use them, solve puzzles to open other areas: rotating discs, towers of Hanoi. Not a problem, but nothing to give real sense of achievement either and certainly don't enough to overcome my irritation with the setting. So, sorry, nice concept, but for me not worth buying.
As to the moral dimension which has so exercised a previous reviewer, I haven't got that far so can only comment in general terms, but the level of distress is so palpable that I can't let it pass. It's fiction, it's one way we as a species sort out right from wrong. Learning about and confronting nastiness is an important part of growing up. Far better to let your children play the game with you and then discuss the unpleasantness. See what they think and what they would have the character do in reality. What they would do in that situation and why. Do they think it's essential to the story or something there only to shock? You could be pleasantly surprised by their response.
I really thought this would be a game for me; just puzzles, no junk piles to sort through to find that one item you need to progress. Indeed this was the case and very refreshing it was too.
Can't comment on the sound quality as I always turn it off, but it's the total lack of basic historical accuracy which ruined it for me. If developers choose, as these have, to set a story in a very specific era they should keep to that era. They haven't. Tomatoes in Europe? In the 13th century? Really? Not to mention a greenhouse which looks like an escapee from the Eden project. Technically impossible for several centuries to come. Then there's the monastery itself, it's about as Italian as I am; northern style and a much later date. No, I'm not an architectural expert, but I've visited enough such buildings to know when something is really wrong. Lots of other wrong stuff, but I don't want to sound a total nit-picker.
The gameplay is OK if a little simplistic, as far as i've played its been walk around, pick up objects, work out where to use them, solve puzzles to open other areas: rotating discs, towers of Hanoi. Not a problem, but nothing to give real sense of achievement either and certainly don't enough to overcome my irritation with the setting. So, sorry, nice concept, but for me not worth buying.
As to the moral dimension which has so exercised a previous reviewer, I haven't got that far so can only comment in general terms, but the level of distress is so palpable that I can't let it pass. It's fiction, it's one way we as a species sort out right from wrong. Learning about and confronting nastiness is an important part of growing up. Far better to let your children play the game with you and then discuss the unpleasantness. See what they think and what they would have the character do in reality. What they would do in that situation and why. Do they think it's essential to the story or something there only to shock? You could be pleasantly surprised by their response.
I don't recommend this game.