12/28/18 ADVENTURE GAMING COMPENDIUM, PART I: Gamers may want to try the following game developers & publishers in light of Big Fish selling out for casino money.😣
Artifex Mundi: started with Big Fish and now publishes its own HOAGs as well as HOAGs from game developers Brave Giant, Cordelia, House of Fables, Moonlight Interactive, Sunward Games, One More Level, So Digital, Two Desperadoes, and World-Loom Games.
G5 Entertainment: similar to Big Fish. Publishes HOAGs from Artifex Mundi, Fenimen and Shaman Games, among others.
Haiku Games: excellent free point and click adventure games, which include tons of minigames but not necessarily hidden object puzzles.
Rumpus Animation: they publish the Bertram Fiddle series, which is very witty. Discover and use items as part of gameplay.
Five-BN UK: terrific series such as Darkness and Flame, Lost Lands, The Legacy and my favorite, New York Mysteries.
Absolutist: publishes its own HOAGs as well as HOAGs and adventure games from AZ-Art Studios, Lazy Turtle and Shaman Games, among others. I recommend the amusing Witch’s Pranks: Frog’s Fortune, although it is a little short.
Pendulo Studios: known for the Journey Down, Runaway, Hollywood Monster and Yesterday adventure game series. Not aware of any HOAGs. Beware that one of the Runaway Games has a game-ending glitch (everyone comments on it so you will know before you purchase).
Alawar: like Artifex Mundi, Alawar started with Big Fish then branched out on its own. Publishes its own HOAGs as well as adventure games from Tiki’s Lab and Wellore. I recommend the Dark Angels, House of 1000 Doors, Lake House, Paranormal Pursuit, Stray Souls and Weird Park HOAG series (note that Big Fish has some bf not all of the related games).
Animation Arts Creative GmbH: develops the Lost Horizon and Secret Files adventure game series.
Application Systems Heidelberg Software: developed the lengthy adventure game Nelly Cootalot and The Fowl Fleet.
Microids: develops and publishes HOAGs and adventure games, including the Syberia adventure game series, Red Johnson’s Chronicles adventure game series (may not be publicly available any longer), and one of my favorite, Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders. (This isn’t a HOAG, it’s the quintessential detective game.) Microids also publishes HOAGs and adventure games for Anuman Interactive and Pendulo Studios, among others.
If you love quirky hidden gems, try the Tova point and click series as well as “Freda and the sequel,” all developed by Biscuit Placebo and published by Jens Staaf; and Kelvin and the Infamous Machine, written and published by Blyts.
10/18 HOAG UPDATE: After reading Catalina’s post, I sent the following to BF:
“A rumor is circulating that your company will no longer release new adventure games for the iPad or iPod. Instead, Big Fish intends to focus on pay as you go games driven by energy and cash.
BF may not be aware, but it has a huge following for HOAG games on these mobile platforms. Hundreds to thousands of people purchase each release, exchange their thoughts on active comment boards, and eagerly wait for the next one. You make between $1.99 and $6.99 for each individual purchase.
Right now, this group is incensed by the rumor that they are about to be disenfranchised. They will not simply move to the energy-powered games. That is a completely different market which holds no interest for these players. That should have been obvious when BF tried to release Witch’s Tale instead of a traditional HOAG game a couple months ago. The end-users were raging in the comments.
Moreover, these same players will not shift to PC. That is not the trend in any gaming community. Players in all segments are moving to lighter, more mobile devices. Several HOAG players have stated that they bought iPad specifically to play Big Fish games.
If BF Is willing to write off these revenues, then that is a corporate decision. (This decision will materially impact Apple’s revenues as well, but I can’t speculate as to the importance of that business relationship.) Just understand that you will not replace those revenues with any purchases from your current HOAG players, whether on a different platform or in another gaming mode.
Regards,
Jennifer”
I hope that others take Catalina’s suggestion and contact BF too.
In other news, FiveBN is working on another New York Mysteries game, release TBD.
Finally, thanks to Lynx for the kind words. I’m flattered and humbled, particularly since you are the veteran of HOAG reviews. 😀
REVIEW: I liked this game as much or more as any in EIPIX’ Danse Macabre series. Technically, the game is near flawless. The map enables teleportation and indicates where actions are required. You can customize difficulty for all functions other than the difficulty of mini games (which is unfortunate, because I found most of them to be too easy). The graphics, soundtrack and voiceovers are crisp. There is one collectible, musical symbols. If you don’t find them all, you have another opportunity after the bonus chapter. You also can hunt for souvenirs after you finish all gameplay.
I would have been happier if there were more novelty and challenge. The storyline of dead, star-crossed lovers was predictable. Nearly all of the HOPs are word list and/or silhouette. You can opt for a match-3 puzzle where the goal is to drop EIPIX symbols out the bottom, but this is really just a time killer. (NOTE: You select the match-3 alternative by clicking on the rose icon. This wasn’t clear to me and I just stumbled upon it.) There were some twists from the typical mini games, but most of them were rehashed and only a few gave me pause. I enjoyed the puzzles in the bonus chapter more than those in the main game.
🔆🔆🔆
EIPIX, please bring back your legendary, multistage superpuzzles from the early days of Mystery Case Files!!🔆🔆🔆
I probably won’t play A Lover’s Pledge again, but I rate it a solid 4 and recommend buying while it’s on sale.
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