Update Forty-Nine: 15 September 2017

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

If you’re looking to break the monopoly Artifex Mundi holds on hidden object games, but still want refreshingly high-quality, look no further than Adam Wolfe.

Released in four parts, the game follows the eponymous Adam Wolfe on his quest to find his missing sister. He is, of course, a detective, and he specializes in the supernatural. Over the course of the four games, he falls onto the path of chasing the Cult of Timelessness. Bodies pile up in San Francisco, but what does it matter in search of the truth?

The voice actors are all surprisingly good, and the game is smooth as silk. Rarely does the realistic painted art fall into uncanny valley territory, and there’s a ovely blend of 2D and 3D that gives depth and dimensionality to the game. It’s different than Artifex Mundi hidden object games but doesn’t make any HUUUGE breakthroughs for the genre. It’s really competent, and while I think it falls short of Enigmatis 3 (my hidden object game high-water benchmark) it is certainly up there around the summit.

I liked how they did San Francisco, and they fully embraced the supernatural part of the story. It’s not ignored or treated as fantasy, it’s really integrated into the world. Fire and sand elementals just… exist. Sometimes things blow up for probably magical reasons. My favorite: your friendly local neighborhood bartender also mixes magic potions in his spare time.

Downsides: Could have used more hidden object scenes, though the variations that they had were really fun, the story at times can be kind of goofy, and the ending is really, really abrupt.

Next up: I finished my monthly challenge right on the dot! I’m going to take this month off and hand-pick some games to play for a little while.

See you soon!