Whimsicalish
This installment of the Grim Legends does not fit with the other two. The story and world felt more like Assassin's Creed meets Van Helsing. That didn't make it bad; I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm just confused why they made it part of GL.
They could have easily made this a starting point of its own series. So that threw me off a bit when I started the game. You don't get helpers like the previous games and again no domino mini game. :(
Instead you have mini fight battles. It was unique to other hidden object games. This felt more "actiony" and built urgency to what was happening in the story. I was afraid this story was going to be super predictable, but that wasn't the case. My first guess was wrong, so yay. The end was open and did not feel like an ending. You have to play the "extra" mission to figure out what happens. That should have been included in the main game. The voice acting and animations seemed to improve in this game.
They could have easily made this a starting point of its own series. So that threw me off a bit when I started the game. You don't get helpers like the previous games and again no domino mini game. :(
Instead you have mini fight battles. It was unique to other hidden object games. This felt more "actiony" and built urgency to what was happening in the story. I was afraid this story was going to be super predictable, but that wasn't the case. My first guess was wrong, so yay. The end was open and did not feel like an ending. You have to play the "extra" mission to figure out what happens. That should have been included in the main game. The voice acting and animations seemed to improve in this game.
I played the first Grim Legends back in 2018 and loved it; so I bought the other two in the series. None of the stories connect, so you don't need to play them in order.
The story and world building of Song of the Dark Swan kept the fairy tale style as the first. Kings, Queens, dragons, fairies, "good" and "dark" magic, kingdoms, etc. I did like the creators spin but the story was too predictable. I'm bit bummed they didn't keep the domino mini games; I enjoyed those matching ones. Your helpers were adorable and extra puzzle solving.
The artists always do a fantastic job on the digital art of the environments and hidden object puzzles. Kudos to them! The animations worked better here than in previous installments. The voice acting for the adults was alright. However, for the children.... oof. My only big complaints were the voice acting for the children and the story was bland. The extra mission added more gameplay and story telling for a character. It was a nice treat.
The story and world building of Song of the Dark Swan kept the fairy tale style as the first. Kings, Queens, dragons, fairies, "good" and "dark" magic, kingdoms, etc. I did like the creators spin but the story was too predictable. I'm bit bummed they didn't keep the domino mini games; I enjoyed those matching ones. Your helpers were adorable and extra puzzle solving.
The artists always do a fantastic job on the digital art of the environments and hidden object puzzles. Kudos to them! The animations worked better here than in previous installments. The voice acting for the adults was alright. However, for the children.... oof. My only big complaints were the voice acting for the children and the story was bland. The extra mission added more gameplay and story telling for a character. It was a nice treat.
2017
This review contains spoilers
Fairly average visual novel; it wasn't bad but there is room for some improvement. Overall I liked the creative story and the art is well done. A human child meets a birdling child and they become friends. They try to keep that friendship despite all odds.
This story was much darker than I expected. There's heavy subjects dealing with loss, betrayal, and rape. I don't have an issue reading these subjects but damn I wish there was a warning for the rape scene. You don't see anything but the character describes what is happening in enough detail there is no room for imagination.
My biggest feedback to the author (I think one dev made this entire game?) would be to focus more on improving their writing. My biggest complaint is early in the story, the writing is a bit bland and relies too heavy on cliches. One character kept saying things like "mother always use to say life goes on" and it was boring. Cliches is lazy writing; I want to hear the author's words. Not an old, overused saying.
Once the story really kicks up, the author doesn't rely on that writing as much and it's much more interesting to read.
This story was much darker than I expected. There's heavy subjects dealing with loss, betrayal, and rape. I don't have an issue reading these subjects but damn I wish there was a warning for the rape scene. You don't see anything but the character describes what is happening in enough detail there is no room for imagination.
My biggest feedback to the author (I think one dev made this entire game?) would be to focus more on improving their writing. My biggest complaint is early in the story, the writing is a bit bland and relies too heavy on cliches. One character kept saying things like "mother always use to say life goes on" and it was boring. Cliches is lazy writing; I want to hear the author's words. Not an old, overused saying.
Once the story really kicks up, the author doesn't rely on that writing as much and it's much more interesting to read.
2020
I enjoyed most of the hours I put into this game; once I hit 32 hours, the game was losing it's charm. It became tedious and the end play was bare.
Let's start with positives first. I adore the art style of the game: bright colors, animal designs for the spirits, and interesting locations to explore. The music was uplifting and I found myself humming to the song when I wasn't playing the game. Exploring new islands via boat was awesome; you can get off the boat and run around. That was my favorite part of the game: exploring. Helping the first handful of spirits was a rollercoaster of emotions. Through their quests and short conversations you start to learn more about them as individuals. When you have to say goodbye, it hurts.
Unfortunately after maybe the fifth spirit, the rest felt bare boned. It made me care less and less the further I went into the main character's story. The final two spirits (which are optional) did NOT feel worth the challenges. It was very disappointing to play while I felt punished by the game. The last spirit was extremely rude, self centered, and if you fail one of their challenges they became verbally abusive. It made me feel AWFUL. I have no idea why they added this character? The game calls itself cozy...it's not cozy to be told I was terrible. The end of your story went where I feared...and I was disappointed by that.
Don't mistake this game as story heavy. It can be an emotional toll but it doesn't give you a full story. It's a management game. You may be puzzled on a few points. If you want the full story and explanation of the characters...you have to buy their art book for ten bucks. The player should be able to understand the story well enough in the game that you shouldn't have to buy something else to understand what you just played.
Let's start with positives first. I adore the art style of the game: bright colors, animal designs for the spirits, and interesting locations to explore. The music was uplifting and I found myself humming to the song when I wasn't playing the game. Exploring new islands via boat was awesome; you can get off the boat and run around. That was my favorite part of the game: exploring. Helping the first handful of spirits was a rollercoaster of emotions. Through their quests and short conversations you start to learn more about them as individuals. When you have to say goodbye, it hurts.
Unfortunately after maybe the fifth spirit, the rest felt bare boned. It made me care less and less the further I went into the main character's story. The final two spirits (which are optional) did NOT feel worth the challenges. It was very disappointing to play while I felt punished by the game. The last spirit was extremely rude, self centered, and if you fail one of their challenges they became verbally abusive. It made me feel AWFUL. I have no idea why they added this character? The game calls itself cozy...it's not cozy to be told I was terrible. The end of your story went where I feared...and I was disappointed by that.
Don't mistake this game as story heavy. It can be an emotional toll but it doesn't give you a full story. It's a management game. You may be puzzled on a few points. If you want the full story and explanation of the characters...you have to buy their art book for ten bucks. The player should be able to understand the story well enough in the game that you shouldn't have to buy something else to understand what you just played.
2018
I knew I was going to enjoy this one and I absolutely loved it. The visuals, music, and emotion. Funny enough I didn't know Spanish illustrator, Conrad Roset, assisted the team as creative director on this project beforehand. I knew of his work for a few years and this game blissfully shares his art style - now I know why.
The game is stunning: pops of brightly colored watercolor, whimsical environments, and flow of emotion.
There's no dialogue in the game; yet it shares deep, personal emotions. The visuals and music wonderfully showcase a vulnerable character. I don't want to share too much but closer towards the ending, I felt like I needed a good cry. An ugly cry.
The game is stunning: pops of brightly colored watercolor, whimsical environments, and flow of emotion.
There's no dialogue in the game; yet it shares deep, personal emotions. The visuals and music wonderfully showcase a vulnerable character. I don't want to share too much but closer towards the ending, I felt like I needed a good cry. An ugly cry.
2020
Really short experience; it allows you to start a session from 20 minutes, 40 min, or 60min. I knew beforehand that the gameplay is low. You're simply hanging out with your family during a rainy day.
You can explore some rooms, pick up a few items to hear the character's thoughts, and speak with your family members. At one point, I even sat next to my (in game) brother and watched the rain. That was all I did for a few minutes.
It was peaceful and welcoming. A good break from action/RPG games. The sound of rain was fantastic and there were times where I could almost smell the rain.
The imagination of a child exploring in their grandmother's house created some whimsical scenes. There's six of those cutscenes. They were spread out and felt fun. I do wish there were more items to click on and get a bit more backstory with the family. I had a relaxing time and it shared a wonderful message.
You can explore some rooms, pick up a few items to hear the character's thoughts, and speak with your family members. At one point, I even sat next to my (in game) brother and watched the rain. That was all I did for a few minutes.
It was peaceful and welcoming. A good break from action/RPG games. The sound of rain was fantastic and there were times where I could almost smell the rain.
The imagination of a child exploring in their grandmother's house created some whimsical scenes. There's six of those cutscenes. They were spread out and felt fun. I do wish there were more items to click on and get a bit more backstory with the family. I had a relaxing time and it shared a wonderful message.
This is the only game in this series I have played.
While I finished the game on story mode, there's also classic where you can create your own team from scratch. Plus NG+. I skipped all the optional secret bosses. Honestly, there's more to the game I didn't fully experience but I had my enjoyment.
It's a classic RPG: you level, there's skill trees, upgrade gear, side quests, and even draw your own dungeon maps. That's the part that intrigued me the most when I first picked up this game. I did enjoy that mechanic, pretty detail oriented. It was fun exploring the different levels of the dungeons for the first time. Every level was different and every five levels had their own game mechanics and ecosystems.
I enjoyed the music and the cutscenes were well done. The voice acting was great. The dungeons had a puzzle feel and encouraged exploring. Beating the bosses felt rewarding. The FOEs were fun to see.
The biggest negative has to be no option for subtitles in the cutscenes; which is an atrocity in an RPG where most of the talking in thru text anyways. I'm not sure why they didn't include that even as an option. The dungeons had audio cues that were EASILY missed too. You have to be very vigilant to not miss something. It's not hearing friendly.
But all in all, I did enjoy the game. Toward the end, it was getting very repetitive to me and I was itching for something new.
While I finished the game on story mode, there's also classic where you can create your own team from scratch. Plus NG+. I skipped all the optional secret bosses. Honestly, there's more to the game I didn't fully experience but I had my enjoyment.
It's a classic RPG: you level, there's skill trees, upgrade gear, side quests, and even draw your own dungeon maps. That's the part that intrigued me the most when I first picked up this game. I did enjoy that mechanic, pretty detail oriented. It was fun exploring the different levels of the dungeons for the first time. Every level was different and every five levels had their own game mechanics and ecosystems.
I enjoyed the music and the cutscenes were well done. The voice acting was great. The dungeons had a puzzle feel and encouraged exploring. Beating the bosses felt rewarding. The FOEs were fun to see.
The biggest negative has to be no option for subtitles in the cutscenes; which is an atrocity in an RPG where most of the talking in thru text anyways. I'm not sure why they didn't include that even as an option. The dungeons had audio cues that were EASILY missed too. You have to be very vigilant to not miss something. It's not hearing friendly.
But all in all, I did enjoy the game. Toward the end, it was getting very repetitive to me and I was itching for something new.
In the first chapter I wasn't completely sold. The strange humor, the insane plot that was starting to build, and the crazy environment. It's a very "anime" game and I'm not sure how else to describe it; you gotta be prepared for the craziness. The game grew on me after chapter 1.
The humor kind of added an "unsettling" feeling by the mastermind. They would make inappropriate or strange jokes.
The environment became my favorite part. In these horror/survive genres you usually see gore, blood, and spooky realistic buildings and living areas. While you do see blood in this game, it's a hot pink color. Most of the rooms in the game are bright, neon colored, and sometimes hold questionable objects. I appreciate the designers thought more than dark, spooky room with blood splatters = scary.
The slight "negatives" were small. There was a lot of character development for most of the characters. Except one...it just felt like something was missing for them. I don't want to go too far into detail in case of spoilers. This game did some weird things with my saves on Steam. Sometimes my text would be missing on the save file but thankfully everything seemed to save/load correctly.
The humor kind of added an "unsettling" feeling by the mastermind. They would make inappropriate or strange jokes.
The environment became my favorite part. In these horror/survive genres you usually see gore, blood, and spooky realistic buildings and living areas. While you do see blood in this game, it's a hot pink color. Most of the rooms in the game are bright, neon colored, and sometimes hold questionable objects. I appreciate the designers thought more than dark, spooky room with blood splatters = scary.
The slight "negatives" were small. There was a lot of character development for most of the characters. Except one...it just felt like something was missing for them. I don't want to go too far into detail in case of spoilers. This game did some weird things with my saves on Steam. Sometimes my text would be missing on the save file but thankfully everything seemed to save/load correctly.
2018
I thoroughly enjoyed learning how to play this one. There's much I haven't tried: online pvp, certain clans that were DLC, or complete the story. My 9 hours is nothing to how much content there is to explore in Northgard. It's a RTS game which isn't something I play a lot. I do like it felt more quicker pace than other strategy games.
You could get attacked at any time and other "events" would spice up each game. One game I was hit with a blizzard during the entire winter months; I quickly ran out of food since I wasn't prepared. Another game I kept getting attacked by undead. I think each map has unique objectives and neutral races that can hurt or help you. I like you can trade with these neutral races and they can become friendly towards you. Or you can decide to straight up attack them.
I had fun in this game and I'm not fully "finished."
You could get attacked at any time and other "events" would spice up each game. One game I was hit with a blizzard during the entire winter months; I quickly ran out of food since I wasn't prepared. Another game I kept getting attacked by undead. I think each map has unique objectives and neutral races that can hurt or help you. I like you can trade with these neutral races and they can become friendly towards you. Or you can decide to straight up attack them.
I had fun in this game and I'm not fully "finished."
2019
Cute, wholesome game. You wander around collecting golden feathers, talking with other residents, and exploring for coins. It is a laid back game with zero stress. Everything felt at peace. No enemies, health bars, anything to worry you. I could have spent more time collecting coins and there were a few people I didn't help out. I completely missed the fishing guy. But I do like you didn't HAVE to do all the things to reach the ending. If there was something you didn't want to do, it was okay to skip it.
The art style was vibrant and cute. The music and sound effects were good. I do like how the end did feel it wrapped a story or least added more to the character.
The art style was vibrant and cute. The music and sound effects were good. I do like how the end did feel it wrapped a story or least added more to the character.
2010
I gave it the old college try and I had to call it quits. I think I made it through half of the main story missions. The game isn't bad. I personally began to feel overwhelmed with bullets flying everywhere and maybe I'm just old.
My two main gripes: the controls were not fluid. There were many unpleasant times when I wanted to simply jump down a small ledge and this jerk would jump like a skydiver...and faceplant in the ground. As I'm getting shot by five dudes. It was horrid.
The main gripe was the missions to help the three gangs gain new territory. EVERY MISSION WAS THE SAME. You had to help the gangs get new territory to unlock more of their missions and the main agency missions. Each gang...so that's three times you initially had to do it. Then how every many times after that. You escort and protect a technician. Same enemies, same layout, same everything. How completely dull.
The game was fun to just mess around in the open world. Everything else...not so much.
My two main gripes: the controls were not fluid. There were many unpleasant times when I wanted to simply jump down a small ledge and this jerk would jump like a skydiver...and faceplant in the ground. As I'm getting shot by five dudes. It was horrid.
The main gripe was the missions to help the three gangs gain new territory. EVERY MISSION WAS THE SAME. You had to help the gangs get new territory to unlock more of their missions and the main agency missions. Each gang...so that's three times you initially had to do it. Then how every many times after that. You escort and protect a technician. Same enemies, same layout, same everything. How completely dull.
The game was fun to just mess around in the open world. Everything else...not so much.
2015
Quick, dark game about getting away with murder. There's not much for gameplay. You can speak with your parents, sister, and the two servants. You go through the house and pick up two items. You typically want one evidence to plant and carry one weapon...to use for murder. The task is to pin your sister's murder on someone else in the house. There's three of these games now!
There's no voice acting, except one scream. A few evidence items and half a dozen weapons. Pretty basic.
There's no voice acting, except one scream. A few evidence items and half a dozen weapons. Pretty basic.
This time doesn't reflect on the hours I put into the base game or the previous expansion. Nor did I track my WvW time to collect rewards and S L O W L Y build my first legendary weapon. (One day I will get you Sunrise. You will be mine.)
Path of Fire introduced vast new zones and mounts! The mounts in this game differ from Elder Scrolls Online and WoW. The mounts do more than get you from point A to point B. The springer mount is a rabbit that can jump to reach tall cliffs. The skimmer ray mount can glide across areas that are dangerous, like sulfur pits, quicksand, etc. It brought a unique experience of mounts in MMOs. Not just something to ride faster. For the most part I loved the new zones too. Only thing I did not appreciate were the death pits: sulfur, quicksand, etc. If you run in the wrong area or accidentally fall into these areas, you're dead. Just dead. Quick. It ended being frustrating at times more than challenging.
We're not finished with this expansion. Not by a long shot. We still have two hidden mounts to earn and many, many achievement challenges. But we wanted to move on with the story a bit before we spent all our energy on challenges. I do not want to be burnt out again. There's so much you can choose to do in this game.
Path of Fire introduced vast new zones and mounts! The mounts in this game differ from Elder Scrolls Online and WoW. The mounts do more than get you from point A to point B. The springer mount is a rabbit that can jump to reach tall cliffs. The skimmer ray mount can glide across areas that are dangerous, like sulfur pits, quicksand, etc. It brought a unique experience of mounts in MMOs. Not just something to ride faster. For the most part I loved the new zones too. Only thing I did not appreciate were the death pits: sulfur, quicksand, etc. If you run in the wrong area or accidentally fall into these areas, you're dead. Just dead. Quick. It ended being frustrating at times more than challenging.
We're not finished with this expansion. Not by a long shot. We still have two hidden mounts to earn and many, many achievement challenges. But we wanted to move on with the story a bit before we spent all our energy on challenges. I do not want to be burnt out again. There's so much you can choose to do in this game.
I generally had fun with this game. I played Skyrim on the console years ago and this felt like a continuation of that gameplay. It was fun for me...not sure about other Elder Scroll fans.
I like the combat and the fact I don't have to f***king tab my targets like in other MMOs. I just look, aim, and shoot a fireball. It's fantastic. I don't have to stand still to cast my spells. I enjoy you can dodge and roll during combat. You can sneak and rob NCPs which you can't do in WoW or GW2. You can create more fantasy with your character, like maybe they are thieves so you rob and murder NCPs. You totally can here. I played for 80 hours and stopped at max level. I think I saw 1/4 of the world map and that's not including the new expansion that just came out.
The two big things that aren't enjoyable. This game has an issue with lag. It's known and hasn't been adjusted. Sometimes it's not too bad...other times, it's annoying and very noticeable. I don't like that I can't do the main story quests with a friend. The game forces you to do them completely solo. Why? Let me play with my friends. That's why I bought the game.
I like the combat and the fact I don't have to f***king tab my targets like in other MMOs. I just look, aim, and shoot a fireball. It's fantastic. I don't have to stand still to cast my spells. I enjoy you can dodge and roll during combat. You can sneak and rob NCPs which you can't do in WoW or GW2. You can create more fantasy with your character, like maybe they are thieves so you rob and murder NCPs. You totally can here. I played for 80 hours and stopped at max level. I think I saw 1/4 of the world map and that's not including the new expansion that just came out.
The two big things that aren't enjoyable. This game has an issue with lag. It's known and hasn't been adjusted. Sometimes it's not too bad...other times, it's annoying and very noticeable. I don't like that I can't do the main story quests with a friend. The game forces you to do them completely solo. Why? Let me play with my friends. That's why I bought the game.
1999
I was a bit worried since it's a stealth game and I'm not muchinto stealth. It exceeded my expectations, especially for a game that was released in '98/'99.
The game itself worked okay in Steam but it wouldn't play cutscenes. I was extremely confused after the first mission I stole a vase and then the second mission I was in a quarry all of a sudden. Thankfully the older Thief games have a lovely fan base that made a free "patch." It updated the graphics a bit, improved compatibility with new pcs, and (most importantly to me) it fixed my cutscenes. So that was necessary for me to play the game.
It aged fairly well for a game that was originally released in 1998. Heavy focused on stealth, tons of gadgets, original story, and some world building. I thought this was set in sorta medieval ages but there's magic and otherworldly enemies. It was creative and neat to see this new environment in an older game. Honestly even refreshing.
The Bad: well the voice acting isn't great. I mean it was made in '98 so I'm giving it slack. Sometimes the characters speaking would make me laugh. The cutscenes were fine. The protag and the soldiers are good for their time. The house servants in the game though? Oh man...it was like the voice actor wasn't taking their job seriously but it came off as humorous. It didn't bother my gameplay though, made me laugh.
I did not enjoy some of the maps. I felt the last three missions in the game were big MEH. A lot of underground dirt tunnels and the enemies did NOT compare to earlier enemies. I wanted to shake in my boots when I first saw the Haunts in earlier missions.
The Good: I enjoyed most of my time playing this gem. I like in older games, game devs weren't scared of using bright colors in their maps. Some "current" games on the top of my head that are dark and stealthy are covered in black and gray tones. Boring. This game had mansions with bright reds or greens on floor tiles, walls, furniture, etc. I wasn't expecting the big arsenal of tools either. Rope arrows to climb on high ledges, water arrows to drench torches so you can hide in the dark, etc.
All in all, I'm glad I played this game. I only played the missions on normal difficulty; there's harder content to play in the game to keep you entertained.
The game itself worked okay in Steam but it wouldn't play cutscenes. I was extremely confused after the first mission I stole a vase and then the second mission I was in a quarry all of a sudden. Thankfully the older Thief games have a lovely fan base that made a free "patch." It updated the graphics a bit, improved compatibility with new pcs, and (most importantly to me) it fixed my cutscenes. So that was necessary for me to play the game.
It aged fairly well for a game that was originally released in 1998. Heavy focused on stealth, tons of gadgets, original story, and some world building. I thought this was set in sorta medieval ages but there's magic and otherworldly enemies. It was creative and neat to see this new environment in an older game. Honestly even refreshing.
The Bad: well the voice acting isn't great. I mean it was made in '98 so I'm giving it slack. Sometimes the characters speaking would make me laugh. The cutscenes were fine. The protag and the soldiers are good for their time. The house servants in the game though? Oh man...it was like the voice actor wasn't taking their job seriously but it came off as humorous. It didn't bother my gameplay though, made me laugh.
I did not enjoy some of the maps. I felt the last three missions in the game were big MEH. A lot of underground dirt tunnels and the enemies did NOT compare to earlier enemies. I wanted to shake in my boots when I first saw the Haunts in earlier missions.
The Good: I enjoyed most of my time playing this gem. I like in older games, game devs weren't scared of using bright colors in their maps. Some "current" games on the top of my head that are dark and stealthy are covered in black and gray tones. Boring. This game had mansions with bright reds or greens on floor tiles, walls, furniture, etc. I wasn't expecting the big arsenal of tools either. Rope arrows to climb on high ledges, water arrows to drench torches so you can hide in the dark, etc.
All in all, I'm glad I played this game. I only played the missions on normal difficulty; there's harder content to play in the game to keep you entertained.