# Surface: Lost Tales - A Hidden Object Adventure — user reviews > 165 indexed App Store user reviews of Surface by BFG Entertainment Inc., rated 3.60/5 from 265 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/surface-lost-tales-a-hidden-object-adventure/id1175516610/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/surface-lost-tales-a-hidden-object-adventure/id1175516610.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 133 · 4★ 43 · 3★ 12 · 2★ 14 · 1★ 63 ## What do users think of Surface? Overall sentiment: negative **Pros** - 🌟 Awesome game - 👍 Enjoyable gameplay - 🎨 Beautiful graphics - 🎶 Great music and sound - 🗺️ Useful map with collectibles - 📚 Interesting story and characters **Cons** - 🐛 Graphical issues (boxes, pixelation, etc.) - ⚠️ Compatibility problems with newer devices/OS - ⏱️ Game is too short - 💰 Expensive for the content provided **Commonly reported bugs** - Game crashes or won't launch - Graphical elements not displaying properly **Most requested features** - Update the game to fix graphical issues - Improve compatibility with newer devices - Expand the game length and content ## Newest reviews (17 of 165) ### 4/5 — Please for the love of god fix this game! *2024-03-25, version 1.0.0* I absolutely love this one! Please fix the graphics so the boxes don’t show, etc… please!!!! It was so worth the money! ### 2/5 — please update and fix!! *2023-09-16, version 1.0.0* everything is outlined in white and boxed out, it’s completely unplayable at this point. the game looks really fun and i’d like to able to play it. ### 2/5 — Needs updating for newer devices *2023-04-13, version 1.0.0* This looks like a fun game, but I guess it’s just too old. Despite saying it works with iOS 8 and up, it’s completely unplayable on iOS 16 w/ an iPhone 12 Pro. It won’t auto adjust to a larger screen size and all of the selectable areas are outlined in white boxes. It looks like a developer’s version of the game. ### 2/5 — the game is broken *2022-12-18, version 1.0.0* the game is broken and has white squares everywhere and especially on thr things you click on, i love this game and i replay it lots but i cant play due to its new visuals of the white swuares blocking everything. please fix this! ### 2/5 — Weiß umrandet *2022-10-24* Echt cool wo ich es noch spielen konnte. Jetzt ist alles was sich bewegt oder was man antippen kann in einem weißen Kasten, jetzt ist es ziemlich nervig und nicht spiel bar ### 2/5 — Boxy glitches *2021-07-20, version 1.0.0* It would be a great game if not for the fact that these boxes appear around the interactive areas in the game and on the title screen. These boxes also prevent me from seeing the difficulty that I had set before starting the game. ### 4/5 — Enjoyable *2021-03-25, version 1.0.0* Fun to play just a little bit short ### 1/5 — Terrible *2021-03-04, version 1.0.0* Right away I could see this game was going to be awful. The very first scene graphics are in pieces! I want my money back! ### 1/5 — Surface, lost tales *2021-03-03, version 1.0.0* Absolutely unplayable, ripped off big time. It’s all washed out and has digital box’s covering everything. Does anybody at big fish read these? My guess is NO. Last one I will ever get. Less than one star! No stars ### 2/5 — Patchy *2021-03-03, version 1.0.0* Bought this game but the graphics are all filled with strange cubes - waste of money ### 1/5 — Bizarre pixelation *2021-03-03, version 1.0.0* I can’t rate the actual game as it’s unplayable - all the screen components are pixelated and/or outlined. It’s like being in a Aha video 🤷🏻‍♀️ am going to delete and reinstall ### 2/5 — Too many boxes *2021-03-03, version 1.0.0* Rather than sparkles, you click on blurred boxes. I’ve never seen this before and I’ve played hundreds of HOP games. Maybe a bug. I bought because was on sale but too difficult to play. Game play is no harder than any other game. But you cannot tell where to play. I don’t waste your money unless they update. 2 stars only because the graphics could be great - if you could see them. ### 1/5 — Square boxes *2021-03-02, version 1.0.0* I opened the app and their are square boxed all over the screen. It is very distracting and it interferes with the game. Please fix it. ### 1/5 — Worst game to follow *2021-03-02, version 1.0.0* Overlays, hard to see puzzles & instruction for games are vague. Deleting this one don’t buy even if discounted ### 1/5 — This game does not work with IOS 14 *2021-03-01, version 1.0.0* You have been warned, Needs updating ### 1/5 — Terrible *2021-03-01, version 1.0.0* The game screen is all in squares and when you click in a square it is impossible to see anything. ### 1/5 — Pixels *2021-03-01, version 1.0.0* I’m seeing the same weird pixels and boxes everyone else is. I can’t even see the game to play it! I emailed Big Fish and they basically told me it was an Apple problem and not theirs. I’m super disappointed in the response I received especially after the number of games I’ve purchased. I was a big fan of Big Fish! But this experience has definitely changed my opinion of them. I won’t be buying any of their other games. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Doesn’t work on iPadOS 18 *2025-10-28, version 1.0.0* This looks like a fun game, so I downloaded it and paid to unlock it. All the scenes are fractured into bizarre white boxes showing scene divisions; it’s not playable. I’m confused about why the App Store sells incompatible products without warnings. ### 1/5 — Can’t see anything *2025-09-20, version 1.0.0* It’s pixilated and all these boxes. Can’t seem to fix it ### 1/5 — Impossible to Play *2024-10-19, version 1.0.0* The game is full of floating squares to the point where I can't see anything at all. Please fix this... ### 1/5 — Either Update Game or Remove from App Store? *2021-09-15, version 1.0.0* I really enjoy Hidden Object Adventure Games. They’re relaxing. Many are well scripted. Some very much aren’t. The “pay once , play for life!” option is no longer true. with each iOS update, Big Fish seems to have given up on updating their games to the new iOS standards. I have bought so many BF games, and have played them again and again. The usual $6.99 is not too bad a price. This series, Surface, is awesome. The game is fun. Graphics great. Still…. It’s now U N P L A Y A B L E!!!!! As many Big Fish HOAG are. The graphics are pixilated, large boxes of text, images, and code overlapping, glitching, freezing. It’s no longer a game. It’s coding and graphics that are a surreal mess. I 100% implore you NOT TO DOWNLOAD AND ESPECIALLY DO NOT PURCHASE A FULL GAME unless the description gives it has been updated within the last few years AND if you have kept up with iOS updates on your devices. It’s really just a bummer that so many games and favourite series that I have played and loved for years and paid have just been abandoned by Big Fish with no interest or intent to bring up to par. Yes, some are near 10 years old. But I feel it’s just rude to continue to sell these games and even give the gimmick of “New Release!” When you literally cannot play the game. Head over to Elephant Games and Five Bn/Bn Five and the newer developers. They state explicitly that their games are compatible with the newest iOS and completely remove games from the App Store that aren’t. I know Big Fish is preoccupied with their lawsuits and payouts of $millions$ to consumers for false advertising and scam. Still , Surface is a great series. I would give it 5 stars if the year were 2018. Seriously. Don’t Buy. I never write reviews. Hope that helps to know I’m being genuine and am so disappointed, and really don’t want anyone to be out $7 for a game they’ll just delete right after it’s been installed. And Big Fish is notorious for not responding to emails or requests for refunds. So sad. ### 1/5 — Surface Lost Tales *2021-05-19, version 1.0.0* This game plays with fading in and out boxed areas. Wondering if it’s an iPhone game and not an iPad app. ### 1/5 — Won’t open *2021-04-16, version 1.0.0* So I purchased this app and it will not open. Just a quick picture then a blank black screen. Did the dishes came back 20 minutes later still black. I shutdown my iPad to reboot. Did some clean up. Tried to reload. Rebooted. Again and nothing. Need a little help ### 1/5 — Wasn’t able to play *2021-03-09, version 1.0.0* Looked like a fun game, but I wasn’t able to play it because there were pixel boxes everywhere and couldn’t make out what was happening. ### 1/5 — It was a great game but now it’s pixelated. *2021-03-07, version 1.0.0* I have a record of all the games I play. This was a very good one with no glitches at all. Now it is pixelated and can’t be played. I hope someone know how to fix this. ### 1/5 — Glitches *2021-03-06, version 1.0.0* Just downloaded this game and it is pixelated so bad that you can’t even play it! I love Big Fish games but this one is disappointing. ### 1/5 — Graphics broken *2021-03-04, version 1.0.0* Does not work graphically on current IOS. 3-2-21. Downloaded and immediately deleted. Take out of store or fix please. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Awesome Game *2024-01-07, version 1.0.0* Hi. Love this game, but can you please fix the graphics as soon as possible please as when I play the game, there are lots of weird colours and squares floating about within the game. I haven’t played this game in awhile so I forget what it originally looked like before, but I am pretty sure there were no bright colours and squares floating about. Thanks ### 5/5 — Bravo to the composer & other comments *2022-03-29, version 1.0.0* ** update 3/28/22: This game is still as playable as it was when it first came out. Still one of the best in storyline and real musical score. * Update 1/21/20: I played this game again for the 6th time. It's still fabulously playable, beautiful artwork, fun mini games, the music still the best of any game I've seen in the past 10 years. Still worth 5 stars. Original comments: I cannot improve upon the thorough reviewers' positive comments, as they do such a good job. (Note to reviewers--I count on your opinions and find them valuable. Thanks for taking time to write.) My two cents: the mini games are extremely fun and creative; the map is adorably cool and efficient; the voice acting is great (finally!!). Last but not least, the music is delightful, suspenseful, and subtly thrilling in all the right places. I've not encountered such a musical style with hidden object games before. I always turn the music off because it's so "unmusical," loud, and distracting. This sound track, I couldn't get enough of. I keep returning to this game largely due to wanting to listen to the music again. The subtle melodies are perfect to listen to while gaming. Kudos to the composer! He's quite talented, and I hope to hear more from him, whatever his choice of venue. This developer put together a top rated team. ### 5/5 — Unable to play *2021-03-03, version 1.0.0* This game is currently on sale and I’m REALLY interested in purchasing it, but the graphics are all messed up and everything is misplaced and in these odd squares. This happened to me before with Elephant games because it wasn’t compatible with my iPad update, but was fixed soon after. Will this game be fixed in the near future? There are a handful of other games from big fish that have the same problem. ### 5/5 — Surface Lost Tales *2020-08-06, version 1.0.0* Great game, runs smoothly ### 5/5 — Surface *2020-03-12, version 1.0.0* Brilliant game. Worth playing. ### 5/5 — Pretty good *2019-12-08, version 1.0.0* Graphics were great. Puzzles challenging and they mixed up the HO games. The story was so so, i would have liked it to go deeper into the characters. Overall I’d recommend this game. ### 5/5 — Fantastic game and bonus game *2019-09-26, version 1.0.0* However I finished the main story pretty quick. I wish it went on longer. I didn’t want it to end! Storyline amazing as well as graphics and hops/mini games. Bravo Big Fish, this is high up there amongst my favourites. ### 5/5 — Ein schönes Spiel *2019-09-21* Tolle Grafik. Die Geschichte ist schön und stimmig. Es ist nicht zu schwer aber auch nicht leicht. Schön zu spielen. Das Spiel ist sein Geld wert. ### 5/5 — Eins der besten Spiele von Big Fish *2019-09-09* Danke für die liebevolle und detailreiche Darstellung. Gut durchdacht und tolle Minispiele! ### 5/5 — Loved it! *2019-06-13, version 1.0.0* Game kept my interest, everything worked well. My only complaint is the hidden object games were pretty weak. --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-28.*