Update Two Hundred and Sixty-Eight: 7 January 2019
the Secret Order 3: Ancient Times
7.8 hours playtime, ~3 hr actual, 26 of 26 achievements
4/10
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
It’s been a bit since I played a hidden object game, but even after letting my heart grow fond in absence, the Secret Order 3 is still a let down. It’s aged pretty poorly, with not great CG and even worse 2D character sprites. The story is… really weak and the voice acting matches it.
Everything else is standard fare, which is, y’know, fine for hidden object games. It’s definitely on the weaker side, with no special gimmick or stylistic flair to call its own.
You know what I realized hidden object games have a lot of? Smithing. Melting shit down and reforging it into other shit. I don’t have empirical evidence but I definitely get the sense that in at least half of the hidden object games I’ve played, I’ve smithed some shit. That’s a really specific solution to a problem to have come up so many times.
…
Okay I really don’t have that much to say about this one and it’s late I’m goin to bed.
Next up: Murder time! Murder time! Murder time!
See you soon!
Hah! I too finished a HOG yesterday (Enigmatis 3: The Something of the Something Something), first in some time for me too, and I too had to smith. Although that “wow I must have done this a hundred times in other games” moment was something else for me, don’t remember what … it was not the sheet of paper to pull a key through under a door, I did not do that. But I did assemble quite some shovels to dig a few holes … nah, not that either. Can’t remember, meh. Strangest original recipe: dipping a light bulb into a bucket of red paint that’s standing around with no lid on in a blizzard to obtain a red light to develop a photo … I don’t even :(
Needless to say I’ve played better … but I wanted a HOG and I got one. Fine with me.
Awww, Enigmatis 3 is one of my favorite hidden object games of all time! See above about hidden object games relative goodness scale re: other genres
Could it be breaking a mirror or a glass and then wrapping a rag or cloth around a big shard so you could pick it up and use it as a knife? Maybe using a coin to unscrew a flathead screw?
Yeah those are definitely classics, but I didn’t have to do those, either. I think it was the “magnet + string = fishing rod” thing. Although I have to say, it didn’t really make me moan, it was just … the familiarity of the whole thing. You find that magnet, probably don’t even have use for it yet, but you just know “ok, I’ll find some type of string soon”.
I’ve definitely played worse, and some things about it were pretty nice; but others just felt a little off. I usually like the whole “angels vs demons” pseudo-biblical thing, and tying this into another culture’s myth? Great, that should totally have been my thing! … but the “detective” side of it felt stupid and clumsy. Like, insisting on calling it a chase for a “murderer” or even “mass murderer” as if this was a profane criminal investigation … I don’t know how to explain it, it just felt off to me. I remember I had similar gripes with the other Enigmatis games. There were good HOGs, but just not the best for me.
… I’m desperately trying to remember that one HOG that really felt a class better than all those others. But I’m really not sure anymore, I’d probably have to start them all to find it :/
Yep in most you will have to smith. Its just a given
I’ve never played a HOG myself, but from my observation HOGs seem to mostly be “meh”. I rarely see someone really disliking one, but even less see someone loving one :D
Looking forward to your next review. I almost bought ‘The Deed’ during the Winter Sale. Let’s see what I’ll miss out on.
There are some that are really good - like Darkarta and the Enigmatis series and Alan Wolfe - but they’re just… I guess inherently simpler games than many that REALLY get me fucked up, you know? Like, the difference between spending a pleasant evening with your grandma vs. goin out on the town with ya boys - there’s fun, and different levels of fun. Holy god, is this making any sense?
Not ‘meh’ as in mediocre, ‘meh’ is in a mellower, easier kind of good. A contented sigh rather than a bored one.
I certainly will!
I think I get what you mean. It actually makes a lot of sense. You can get joy from completely different sources and consequently there are different kinds of joy.
Thanks for the clarification, I’ll read the HOG-‘meh’s’ differently from now one :)