Recent reviews by talgaby

I can recommend Dark Parables 8 for those who want some balanced fragmented object scenes. If you want anything more though, like a good story or puzzles, then you may have to rethink buying this.

Do you remember the giant lore behind the Dark Parables series? Keep them cherished in your memories because they are gone now. As Eipix took over from Blue Tea, they did their best to mimic some gameplay elements, but they never bothered to keep track of the story.
On top of that, the plot feels weak and rushed. There is an undersea kingdom, an antagonist with a little backstory, and some vague catastrophe we must prevent. Still, it lacks something to hold it together. In the end, it is not terrible, but it leaves no lasting impressions.

Okay, I will admit it: the fragmented object scenes in The Little Mermaid and the Purple Tide are better than ever. They are easy, but the internal achievement system still makes them interesting. I also liked some of the puzzles, although they repeat too much.
However, the adventure gaming parts are terrible. We now have a quick-travel map, but we also have to backtrack way too much.

It is difficult to describe Dark Parables 7. Its story is tragic and memorable—if a bit erratic—but the gameplay can be annoying. I think I recommend it, but with some large asterisks over everything.

The Ballad of Rapunzel feels like watching a condensed version of a better Chinese television drama about Rapunzel and her half-sister. It is touching. It is tragic. It is memorable. Also, it is hectic. Sometimes nothing happens for a long time, then suddenly the plot rushes forward and entire chapter.

Returning players will feel the rewards of keeping up with the previous games. There are many references to the vast lore of Dark Parables, completed with a fresh set of stories to make this world even larger.

The gameplay is, sadly, a weak point. I know it sounds strange, but the graphics are too beautiful and detailed, so it is easy to miss a fragment or an important item. The puzzles offer variety, but not quality. Finally, our inventory is too bloated, so it can take some luck to find the right thing for the right spot.
However, if you were here in the previous games, I strongly suggest staying onboard just one more time. After all, this is the last stop before a new studio took over and slowly ruined the series.

Dark Parables 6 is a perfectly enjoyable fragmented object game on its own. It just cannot reach the same heights as the previous two games in the series.

We can look at Jack and the Sky Kingdom in two ways.
One is as the sixth entry of the Dark Parables series. In this case, we will see many reused puzzle types and adventure-lite elements, plus some decent fragmented scenes that feel weaker than in the previous game. Oh, and better music!

We can also view it as someone's first Dark Parables. In this case, expect many enjoyable fragmented scenes, some unique puzzle ideas, and lots of backtracking for hard-to-spot items.

Whether you will like Jack and the Sky Kingdom comes down to its story. Or, in other words: do you think you can enjoy a FROG with a very anime plot?
We have everything. There is a race of sky people who believe they can end evil by destroying the human race. They even get a mandatory overdramatic leader and his obviously scheming advisor! Oh, and we should never forget about the pretty boy adventurer opposing them, including his dark, brooding secret. Essentially, we are just one step away from an Otome visual novel.
If you do not mind these, then you will love Dark Parables 6. Otherwise… well, there are fifteen other games in the series.

Do you want a gripping story? A world with rich lore? Some good story surprises? Then Dark Parables 5 has you covered, as long as you can forgive some of its weaker fragmented objects gameplay.

What if Cinderella was not a person but an idea? This is the premise of Dark Parables 5, where an evil Fairy Godmother wants to gain this power for herself. So, it is up to us, the Fairy Tale Detective, to team up with Pinocchio and stop her and her army of dastardly dolls.

Since this is a fragmented object game, the story is mostly about finding some necessary item to progress, yet it still has an exciting plot full of surprises and twists that can put you to the edge of your seat. On top of that, you can feel the rich lore built by Blue Tea Games throughout the entire game, be it in the many callbacks to earlier Dark Parables or the interesting backstories found in the collectables.

With such writing, I can mostly forgive some of the weaker gameplay elements. The fragmented object scenes are colourful, and the fragments are easy to spot. However, the puzzles are a bit mediocre, and the series still has some big problems with its adventure-lite item searches and backtracking.

Many consider The Red Riding Hood Sisters the best game in the Dark Parables series. While I would argue with that, I cannot deny that it is an excellent fragmented objects game.

You play as the famous Fairy Tale Detective, who, during one of her investigations, finds out that Red Riding Hood founded an entire sisterhood of leather-clad warrior women. And they are waging an all-out war with the dreaded Mist Wolves and their queen.

Essentially, The Red Riding Hood Sisters is 2004's 'Van Helsing' with a female cast and in a fragmented game format. It is not as action-packed as a feature film, and the writing is a bit clichéd, but it can be pure awesome. There is drama, there are betrayals and deaths, and you can save the world at the end. What's not to love in this?

If you like fragmented object scenes, you will get plenty. They repeat a bit, and they can be a bit dark, but they are better than in the previous three games.
The puzzles are (yet again) fantastic: they are innovative, and there are many kinds of them. I wish I could say the same about the adventure-lite item hunt, but that portion is, honestly, annoying.

Rise of the Snow Queen keeps many positive elements from its predecessors, but also tries to be fresh for newcomers. Thanks to this combination, it is the first great jump-on point in the Dark Parables series.

It took three entries in the Dark Parables series, but Blue Tea Games finally discovered the importance of having a plot. On the surface, they did not overdo it, because we are chasing a kidnapping witch through her magical castle in the Swiss Alps. However, the Rise of the Snow Queen hides a few pleasant surprises, including some (optional) callbacks to the previous games. The over-dramatic voice acting may be a bit much for some, but I liked how it added gravity to some scenes.

Returning players will be pleased to hear that we get the same amount of fragmented object puzzles, but they do not repeat as much. Their artwork, just like the entire game, is as good as you could get in 2011. Sadly, we (still) cannot fast travel, but the backtracking is tolerable.
I praised the puzzles in the previous games, but I cannot do the same here. If this is your first Dark Parables, then you will surely enjoy them. If you are here from the beginning, they will feel a bit uninspired and same-ish.

The Exiled Prince is not a great fragmented objects game, but it is playable and better than its predecessor. I recommend it for those who miss the old-school FROG gameplay elements.

Just like the rest of the series, Dark Parables 2: The Exiled Prince puts a spin to a known fable. This time, we learn that the Frog Prince is a nearly immortal being who had several wives during his long life. However, his latest bride-to-be is not as eager as the others, so it is up to the fairy tale detective to sort things out.
Although there isn't much plot beyond this, the series still builds its underlying lore. There are several callbacks to the first game, yet The Exiled Prince stands firmly on its own.

The gameplay is riddled with drawbacks returning from the first Dark Parables. There are too few fragmented scenes, so they repeat several times. The fragments and adventure-lite objects can be challenging to spot. We do not have fast travel, so there is too much backtracking with slow progress.
At least all of these complaints are not as severe this time around, plus the puzzles are still fantastic. So good that they earn this game a thumbs-up.

Only play Dark Parables 1 if you are interested in the entire series. Otherwise, get ready for constant eyesore and endless backtracking.

Even a long fragmented object series like Dark Parables has to start somewhere. The problem is that it starts with the Curse of Briar Rose.

I mean, yes, I get it. FROGs must have non-descript item fragments. It is the definition of the genre. However, when the scenes are almost pitch black, and the pieces are barely a few pixels in size, then the game stops being fun and starts to torture the players.
Curse of Briar Rose is not only full of such scenes but loves to repeat them several times. It also likes to forget to tell the player if they have to return somewhere. Maybe because you have to backtrack anyway.

There are some puzzles next to the terrible fragment scenes and backtracking, and they are fantastic. While they cannot save the score much, at least they show some promise for the rest of the series.

As for the story, there isn't one to speak of. We are a fairy tale detective, and we must search every pebble of Briar Rose's old castle. This is it.

Does The Journey Down worth a decade of wait and buying three separate games? Yes, it does.
Is it worth the full price of three standalone products? Well…

If you miss the golden age of point-and-click games, you will love The Journey Down. It is a wacky Rastafari adventure about two loveable but clumsy brothers and a lady archaeologist, set in a completely made-up world with heavy Haitian religious influences.

However, you need to buy all three of its parts to fully experience its roughly 10-hour playtime. The game is good, yet I doubt many would pay the full price for the package. If you grab it on discount, get ready for some memorable writing that keeps its quality in all three parts.

The players of previous chapters may wonder: do we finally learn what the story was about? Do we get the answers? I can safely say that yes, you will know almost everything. You will learn the secret of the Underland and why the electric company was up to no good. You will even see closure to the personal stories of the main characters.

All of this gets wrapped into the same game design and dialogue options as the previous chapters, but now with two parallel routes (Bwana + Kito, and Lina). The stakes get higher, yet the puzzle design remains the same, so expect some tricky moments, but nowhere near the moon logic of old games.

The story of Cadenza 2 suffers from some weaker hidden object tropes, but the gameplay is better than in most similar products.

Cadenza 2: The Kiss of Death brings us back to New Orleans and the world of lounge music, on the trails of a serial murder targetting the former members of a band. Unlike the first game though, the main character plays a less active role, mostly just travelling between the gorgeous areas. There is some meaningful plot with a few exciting twists, but it is somewhat slow and tends to move forward on its own.

Even if the story was terrible, the gameplay is still better than in most HOGs. The inventory is never crowded, and it is usually easy to figure out where to use an item. The hidden object scenes have high quality and variety, but they lack a bit in numbers. Combined with the occasional easy puzzles, we get a great HOG… just not as good as its near-perfect predecessor.

I have to give a special mention to the bonus chapter, where we play as one of the supporting characters. It adds a few exciting elements and ends up one of the best additional segments in HOG history.