Sachiko123's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.1
- Helpful Votes:8
- Reviews Submitted:7
- First Review:October 11, 2015
- Most Recent Review:May 21, 2024
- Featured reviews0
Sachiko123's Review History
Go on an adventure to uncover hidden objects in charming locations around the world!
Overall rating
2
/
5
Not at all soothing
PostedMay 21, 2024
Sachiko123
fromTri-Cities, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
I had hoped this would be a relaxing HOP. Nope!
The objects you're finding in paradise are things like tacks, machetes, clown faces. And the sound effect of clicking them is jarring.
Some HOPs are there to be challenging, stimulating, and fun.
Other HOPs are meant to be a soothing escape with nice things to look at and nice noises and music to hear.
This one is neither.
I don't recommend this game.
Mystery writer Eleanor Grey moves to Silverwood Bay, seeking inspiration!
Overall rating
4
/
5
Relaxing and Pretty--but also AI heavy
PostedApril 28, 2024
Sachiko123
fromTri-Cities, WA
Skill Level:Beginner
Favorite Genre(s):Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Boomzap is terrific at creating thoughtful hidden object/puzzle games with compelling stories. I've adored all their other series (Awakening, Botanica, Dana Knightstone, Faircroft's Antiques, etc) and was excited to see this offering, and happy to hear the familiar sound of Dana Knightstone's voice actor.
The puzzles are great. You can't just click around to solve the HOPs. Most scenes require gathering multiples of an item, or solving a problem. There are coloring games and puzzles, and the visuals are highly attractive.
HOWEVER: This storyline's writing is nowhere near Boomzap's usual high standard. Each scene opening and step in the main character's journey reads as though fresh from an AI generator, complete with the underdescribing and overtelling of emotion, and very bland setting descriptions.
Not even the names of the places showed any work--for instance, the local state park recreation area is called Nature Park. The train is called The Train.
This is about the level of narrative many games have, and it isn't a dealbreaker. It's still a nice, soft, relaxed game with attractive music and graphics.
It's just strange that the writing in a game about a writer is so...unwritten. This is way under Boomzap's usual standard of stories featuring complex characters. Those stories really bring things to life!
I recommend this game!
Get ready for another round of good, clean fun!
Overall rating
2
/
5
Lost the magic of the first game.
PostedSeptember 5, 2023
Sachiko123
fromTri-Cities, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
The first Cleaning Queens was absolutely addictive: you open a room, you use tools to clean it, you get a gold star/dopamine rush. I couldn't stop playing it!
The first Cleaning Queens was so good that I bought this sequel without even trying it first, because I loved the first game *that much.*
I'm really disappointed. I had so looked forward to a fun escape and I ended up with frustration and regret that I'd already spent my game budget on this.
This second game takes what was special and magical about the first--a scene you can clean to completion, to the accompaniment of fun sound effects and upbeat music!--and dilutes it with the same boilerplate offerings of most other hidden object-heavy games: scrambled words, silhouette seek-and-find, minigames, etc.
And it's not even clever. I felt like I had been given a placemat and four-pack of RoseArt crayons to keep me busy in an Applebee's.
I found myself just annoyed at having to get through these minigames to get to the next room-cleaning, and finally started skipping them altogether.
Finally I just left the game. It's not fun. It's not absorbing me and giving me that relaxation in the zone that the first game was amazing at.
There are so many HOGs out there, and so few games where the room actually gets cleaned up!
I regret buying this. I wish I'd gotten a different game. And I'm so surprised I would ever say that.
I don't recommend this game.
Create the romance of a lifetime! From the perfect proposal to cutting of the cake, bring this charming adventure to life!
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
This is the bright, sweet, soft fun we need right now
PostedOctober 8, 2020
Sachiko123
fromTri-Cities, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I love this game and have replayed it several times since purchase. When I'm stressed or down, this is my go-to. The gentle storyline and beautiful HOPs are what soothe my mood the most.
I only wish there were more games where I could spend time in an Italian villa!
I recommend this game!
The past isn’t set in stone. Now’s your chance to change it!
Overall rating
4
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Great gameplay, but please get cultural consultation
PostedJuly 6, 2020
Sachiko123
fromTri-Cities, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I would have given top marks in every category to this story except for the problematic tropes in the story, which took away from the fun.
I love the story in adventure games, and this one was certainly compelling--I was excited to unlock bonus content!--but it was painful to watch tropes play out in the story, including White Saviors and minorities/brown people sacrificing themselves for white people to live.
I really like the gameplay itself--I like collectables and morphing objects, and I favor adventure games with inventory-based problem solving that's organic to the plot, and this game has that!
I liked the Japanese cultural elements in the game, which included narrative, setting/visual design, and voice acting featuring accented English. I am part Japanese, and really enjoy combining my heritage with playtime!
But where it fell down was in what happened to the monk character (those racist tropes) and the names that should've been as Japanese as the visual design and accent, but weren't.
Mad Head, please hire cultural consultants who can tell you when your cultural coding verges on the appropriation. If Japanese culture is good enough to base a game's visual design on, it's good enough to get right without cultural or narrative erasure. There are lots of people you can hire out there to ensure games are fun and respectful for everyone. Authenticity makes good games great. This one is so close! I really wanted to love it. I'm looking forward to trying more games, and I truly hope to see more (and better) representation in your games. Cheers!
I recommend this game!
Mother Goose has gone missing, and Christmas is in danger!
Overall rating
3
/
5
3 of 9 found this review helpful
Wonderful Gameplay!--but Bonus Chapter is problematic
PostedNovember 25, 2019
Sachiko123
fromTri-Cities, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
I've been a member of Big Fish Games for several years now, and this is just the sort of bright, fun game I love to purchase and share with my family. I always spend a little extra for Collector's Editions because I so enjoy those bonus chapters!
I was excited to purchase this game's Collector's Edition after the free trial, and my kids and I enjoyed completing the main game together.
The graphics are terrific--the bright, cozy scenes perfectly evoke that fun Christmas feel--and I really liked how the hidden-object games and other puzzles took the challenge a fun step above simply finding things.
BUT: when I won the main game and opened up the Bonus Chapter, I ran into story issues that made the bonus chapter unplayable.
The storyline of the bonus chapter hinges around someone overweight whose eating literally threatens the game's world. They're an out-of-control force who just won't stop overeating, stealing food from poor innocent starving bystanders, and the plot hinges around needing to stop/fix him.
I really tried to overlook it and enjoy it, hoping it was just a minor blip, but after the third fat-shaming plot point/in-game dialogue, my 8yo daughter asked if all fat people are bad like this, or just in the game.
At this point I had to just turn it off. It was creating more sad work for me than the fun escape I thought I'd purchased.
This is the very opposite of what I work hard to teach myself and my kids, to not judge people based on their race, appearance, or disability, and it sucked the fun right out of what had been a well-designed, beautifully animated family-friendly game.
Stories matter, and are the heart of casual gaming. It's the core of what makes game series successful.
Domini Games, you clearly worked hard on creating accessible graphics and gameplay. Please take care to make sure your stories are also accessible to everyone, without punching down on the people who are buying your games.
I am so disappointed in the harmful turn this game's story took. I regret purchasing the Collector's Edition.
I don't recommend this game.
Rediscover your identity and prove your innocence in The Cross Formula, an incredible Adventure game!
Overall rating
2
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
It was the best of games; it was the worst of games.
PostedOctober 11, 2015
Sachiko123
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Puzzle, Hidden Object, Adventure
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
I bought and completed the full version. Three modes to play, puzzle skips, hints. Light flashes too, if you're sensitive to that kind of thing.
I actually prefer cartoonish graphics to the more common low-contrast ones often used in HOGs.
This felt like a fresh departure from the usual HOG/adventure games. I had a lot of fun, and was really impressed both with the nice, crisp graphics and with the care with which the tasks and games were integrated into the storyline. It felt like a really fun quality product and I was sure I'd be giving it full marks and a glowing review.
I was shocked when the story ended, though--because the game seems to end at the end of Act II. No spoilers, but the game ends at a revelation that SHOULD have set up the final confrontation and resolution...but nothing. A baffling nothing. It's like ending the Lion King while Simba is still hiding in the jungle.
In this game, you interact ten times more with just random bystanders than you do with the key characters people who apparently set the whole story in motion--but, again, NONE of it is explained. None of why they did it, none of how things came to be as they were; nothing about why the main character is set off on the wild goose chase he is; and no confrontation with the people who did it to him, and no resolution.
I literally missed the non-resolution ending because I assumed the game was in a scene transition and I turned to say something to my husband, and then turned back and...the credits were rolling. What, what?
And the storyline had so much potential, too: Elvis, UFOs, Hollywood, amnesia....I mean, good heavens. What happened? Was funding yanked at the last minute and the game developers had to send off half a game?
I usually like to give high marks, and I did enjoy what game there was, but I have to reluctantly give a low score to this one because the woefully incomplete story represents half a missing game. Game-makers, a story arc is a huge part of WHY a game is played through to completion. Keep the promises you make, please.
I don't recommend this game.