As a game it was great. Few HOS and those were of two types. The password ones, that you needed to open doors and that you had to find the list somewhere else, and the disguise ones, that you had to pick up to disguise the thief. which means that it was two minigames in one.
The minigames offered enough challenge without being frustrating, and the storyline had a logical flow. No excessive going back and forth, and when you needed it, you leaned it from the dialogue.
The problem is the storyline. In a sense it was complete, Marla does find her brother. But the plot storyline is left hanging (would it be solve in the CE? In the sequel?)
I wish they did not put game with only half storylines in them. Because they irritate me so, I am not recommending it.
The beholders rock. They start as a blinking eye, and then you click on them, and you get some real nice insects (the yecchy kind) They alone are worth the price of admission.
The storyline is OK. It is a collection of different episodes, each with its own set of room. No pointless back and forth. And the narration gives you enough clues as to what you need, so it is possible to get through it wihtout hints.
The minigames are challengeing without being frustrating. The visuals are nice enough, without being spectacular.
This is a clutter game with added challenges (moving objects, heaps, objects that do not disappear but have to be moved, halves...) Better to run it untimed for a pleasant relaxation.
I have caught on what this developer does. It first offers a hidden/object adventure and then recycles the storyline and objects for the clutter game. The objects are nice to look at, (and in this case quite funny), and the storyline is a funny one about a witch turning a prince into a frog to force him to marry her. The adventure game was hilarious, and the frogs worth the price of admission. This time the frogs do not move or make sounds, but still, the game is fun.
Free the frog princes from the clutches of an evil witch! Return them to their princess brides, and find out if the kiss of love can break the witch’s curse!
Advice: play it untimed. It is a great stress reliever that way. Clear up clutter, by two, or threes. It has variations: One large one small object, one color, on black and white. One big pile. Two big piles. Objects move about as you try clicking on the, and change positions when you try to click on the second one. Or the latest variation one disappears and one remains - but can be moved around. Sometimes you clear up the screen, sometimes a lot remains.
In any case, they are fun challenges to be had.
Nice visuals, some objects a bit unusual. Nice, unobrtusive story (we do not but these games for the stories, anyway).
Good way to relax, solving these addictive puzzles.
Alas, Dame Agatha is no longer with us. But we can reread her books, and watch this game. It follows the book closely, but you can make stupid mistakes in interrogating suspects, or miss things. The puzzles are a bit hard, but not impossible (one of them I made the mistake of trying to solve before having all the information). It has very much the Christie flavor, and you can test your detecting skills.
Now make yourself a cup of tea, and curl up with this game.
It has a lot going for it. Interesting story and snarky comments.
But navigating is a pain. When you spend five minutes going round and round between four walls, and each time you turn, you see one of those four, with no exit, your patience might wear thing. And tehre is NOTHING to do there, except take note that the way is blocked. Then, without warning, there is a way out.
Play it at very relaxed. This will make it untimed. After all, you do not need to stress yourself.
Do only a couple or three at one sitting. You may be tempted to do more, but you may get eyestrain.
The idea is quite simple, even simpleminded. Get two or three of the same object and slowly clear the board (or not if that is the level you get) Then the variations. Mixed threes and twos. Get both black and white and colored versions of the same object. Have the objects move as you try to tag them. Get one (or two) heaps that you got to unravel to find the pairs. Or get get the two halves of the same object.
Simple, but you can spend hours doing it.
It has a storyline, that you may, or not, care for.
When it is over, you can start all over again. and not even need a new name.
This game has no skip button. Period. You either solve every minigame, or get stuck forever.
Then, after making your life more difficult, they added a minigame that depends on the ability to move a mouse with great precision, and keeping a really steady rhytm You can lose hours this way.
If I wanted to tear out my hair, I would follow the news.