isabelsmyname's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:5
- Helpful Votes:46
- Reviews Submitted:1
- First Review:July 7, 2022
- Most Recent Review:July 7, 2022
- Featured reviews0
isabelsmyname's Review History
In this remastered classic, reawaken in that mysterious castle, and solve perplexing puzzles to escape!
Overall rating
5
/
5
46 of 57 found this review helpful
A Wonderful Remaster of my Favorite Classic
PostedJuly 7, 2022
isabelsmyname
fromUSA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I have never written a BFG game review before, but the Awakening series is one of my top favorite game series of all time--not even just casual games, but literally one of my favorite game series ever! So when I saw there was going to be a remaster that I could play on my newer Macbook, I was thrilled. This game especially is one that I know like the back of my hand, so I was excited to see what stayed the same and what changed.
VISUALS
This game is gorgeously repainted and redone with amazing attention to detail. The visuals perfectly take the original charm of this game's visuals and give them wider screen space. I was nervous that they'd change the art style too much, but was pleasantly surprised to see how close to the original everything was.
This game is gorgeously repainted and redone with amazing attention to detail. The visuals perfectly take the original charm of this game's visuals and give them wider screen space. I was nervous that they'd change the art style too much, but was pleasantly surprised to see how close to the original everything was.
The only time the visuals lost a bit of punch for me was in the all-new scenes in the bonus chapter. I've always adored BZ's style in the Awakening, Dana Knightstone, and Otherworld series, but something in the bonus chapter felt very different. It almost felt like a different game in terms of the visual style. And sometimes the bonus game HO scenes felt a little empty or random and less realistically cluttered, unlike the main game or the rest of the series, where the world feels so naturally lived in.
But this is INCREDIBLY nitpicky.
PUZZLES
As for the puzzles, there were some fantastic additions. The original game had a few repetitive puzzles, and this remaster did an amazing job of keeping the ones I loved and finding the right ones to replace with interesting new puzzles and tasks.
As for the puzzles, there were some fantastic additions. The original game had a few repetitive puzzles, and this remaster did an amazing job of keeping the ones I loved and finding the right ones to replace with interesting new puzzles and tasks.
The original game had a few places where you could jump ahead a few puzzles if you had some of the solutions memorized, and the remaster did a great job of limiting those opportunities and making it so you had to play through every puzzle (which I guess might be a negative if you're a speedrunner!).
Occasionally, I had bugs where the puzzle wouldn't recognize that I had input the correct solution. Luckily I was able to eventually skip the puzzle to keep moving forward and not lose out on a "no-skip" achievement or something, but I figured I should point it out.
Literally the ONLY puzzles that I thought were a downgrade from the original were the harp puzzles in the lounge/parlor and the mirror room. What used to be a pair of memorization puzzles is now a "guess and figure out the correct order to play the strings" puzzle, which took FOREVER because you didn't know how long the combination should be and the directions didn't tell you that you could repeat the same string twice or three times in a row. This was one where I was glad I had the strategy guide to just skip over.
GAMEPLAY
Once again, there were some really incredible choices on what to add to the game in terms of overall gameplay. We now have a MAP, which was incredibly useful because the original game had some occasional backtracking. This is a feature I'm REALLY looking forward to in the Moonfell Wood Remaster. The map also showed where you were missing collectibles or where there was an action item. Good stuff all around.
Once again, there were some really incredible choices on what to add to the game in terms of overall gameplay. We now have a MAP, which was incredibly useful because the original game had some occasional backtracking. This is a feature I'm REALLY looking forward to in the Moonfell Wood Remaster. The map also showed where you were missing collectibles or where there was an action item. Good stuff all around.
You now have the ability to PIN notebook pages on the screen to help out with a puzzle. I LOVED this! I had never seen this feature before in a HOPA game, and it was SO helpful. It can get so frustrating going back and forth between a puzzle and your notebook, so this was a very welcome addition (before this pin feature, I'd often end up just taking a picture of my notebook on my phone so I could look at it while doing the puzzle).
FINAL THOUGHTS
I adore this series. It's literally up there with The Last of Us and Uncharted and Roller Coaster Tycoon as an absolute favorite series for me. I literally have kept my 10-year-old Macbook ONLY to play these BoomZap games that weren't converted to 64-bit yet. I would EASILY pay to have every game in this series (and Dana Knightstone) remastered, especially so I can play it on my newer Macbook.
I adore this series. It's literally up there with The Last of Us and Uncharted and Roller Coaster Tycoon as an absolute favorite series for me. I literally have kept my 10-year-old Macbook ONLY to play these BoomZap games that weren't converted to 64-bit yet. I would EASILY pay to have every game in this series (and Dana Knightstone) remastered, especially so I can play it on my newer Macbook.
This was a long-awaited and amazing experience to play this game again. The only thing that brought it down just the slightest bit for me was a little feeling of visual inconsistency in the bonus chapter.
I'm just so thrilled to bring these games into a new era. Big Fish, PLEASE have BoomZap remaster the rest of this series, Dana Knightstone, and Otherworld (with the final game). I've been dying for classic BoomZap games with shiny new graphics and gameplay, and this definitely delivered for me.
I recommend this game!