“As the stone over the scarab, so rules the scarab over the stone” – The riddle from the Ancient Vault

After finishing Memoria’s prequel „The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav” I was anxiously waiting for this game, wanting to know how exactly would Geron’s and Nuri’s tale end. Sitting to the game I had some expectations about the overall course of it, and involved mechanics. I was somewhat uneasy about announced introduction of another main character – Princess Sadja, but overall I did not expected any drastic changes between “Memoria” and its predecessor.

To my surprise however, after just a couple of minutes I had to completely abandon all these previous assumptions, and for the benefit of the game that is ! Not only all the strong points of “Chains of Satinav” were still present – with its stunning music, beautifully hand-painted backgrounds and complete, detailed voice-over, but also, to my content “Memoria” introduced a handful of new ideas making the game even better !

In ‘Memoria’, contrary to the previous game, we follow two seemingly separate stories. One starts right after the events of the previous game, which left Nuri, a former fairy and Geron’s girlfriend, turned into a Raven, and the featuring Princess Sadja, a heroine from over 450 years ago, whose footsteps we’ll have to follow. The narrative is written perfectly, telling us the truly moving story, full of surprising events, magic and sacrifice. The characters are likeable, interesting, and their motivations are truly believable.

The main flaw of “TDE: Chains of Satinav’s” gameplay were its puzzles, which although solid and logical, turned out to be quite simple, and after a while may have felt a bit repetitive. In “Memoria” this problem is nonexistent, ‘cause almost each of game’s many brilliant puzzles feels unique. All that thanks to an improved magic mechanic, greatly augmented in comparison to “Chains of Satinav”, with both spells variety increasing, and their impact on puzzle solving changing dramatically. Now we are allowed to choose from much larger diversity of powers than before, each coming with a distinct applications.

Summing up, I have to admit that “Memoria” has left me speechless, and after finishing it, I won’t hesitate saying that this jewel should be counted among best adventure games of the last decade. Both plotline and the puzzle design in this game are as close to perfection as I’d dare to ask, and above that we are once again pleased with astonishing aesthetics known from the previous game in the series.

I’d strongly recommend this game not only to those who enjoy this particular genere, but also to anyone who has even the slightest liking to a top grade fantasy tales !

Pros:
- Deep and intriguing plotline with two entangled keynotes.
- Huge amount of witty puzzles.
- Unique magic mechanics.
- Beautiful soundtrack perfectly fitting the story !
- Sequel to “Chains of Satinav”
- Set in a vast fantasy setting of ‘Dark Eye’

Cons:
- Boxed “Collectors Edition” available only in Germany

[i]“As the stone over the scarab, so rules the scarab over the stone” – [b]The riddle from the Ancient Vault[/b][/i] After finishing Memoria’s prequel [b][i]„The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav” [/i][/b] I was anxiously waiting for this game, wanting to know how exactly would Geron’s and Nuri’s tale end. Sitting to the game I had some expectations about the overall course of it, and involved mechanics. I was somewhat uneasy about announced introduction of another main character – [b]Princess Sadja[/b], but overall I did not expected any drastic changes between “Memoria” and its predecessor. To my surprise however, after just a couple of minutes I had to completely abandon all these previous assumptions, and for the benefit of the game that is ! Not only all the strong points of “Chains of Satinav” were still present – with its stunning music, beautifully hand-painted backgrounds and complete, detailed voice-over, but also, to my content “Memoria” introduced a handful of new ideas making the game even better ! In ‘Memoria’, contrary to the previous game, we follow two seemingly separate stories. One starts right after the events of the previous game, which left Nuri, a former fairy and Geron’s girlfriend, turned into a Raven, and the featuring Princess Sadja, a heroine from over 450 years ago, whose footsteps we’ll have to follow. The narrative is written perfectly, telling us the truly moving story, full of surprising events, magic and sacrifice. The characters are likeable, interesting, and their motivations are truly believable. The main flaw of “TDE: Chains of Satinav’s” gameplay were its puzzles, which although solid and logical, turned out to be quite simple, and after a while may have felt a bit repetitive. In “Memoria” this problem is nonexistent, ‘cause almost each of game’s many brilliant puzzles feels unique. All that thanks to an improved [b]magic mechanic[/b], greatly augmented in comparison to “Chains of Satinav”, with both spells variety increasing, and their impact on puzzle solving changing dramatically. Now we are allowed to choose from much larger diversity of powers than before, each coming with a distinct applications. Summing up, I have to admit that “Memoria” has left me speechless, and after finishing it, [b]I won’t hesitate saying that this jewel should be counted among best adventure games of the last decade.[/b] Both plotline and the puzzle design in this game are as close to perfection as I’d dare to ask, and above that we are once again pleased with astonishing aesthetics known from the previous game in the series. I’d strongly recommend this game not only to those who enjoy this particular genere, but also to anyone who has even the slightest liking to a top grade fantasy tales ! [b]Pros:[/b] - Deep and intriguing plotline with two entangled keynotes. - Huge amount of witty puzzles. - Unique magic mechanics. - Beautiful soundtrack perfectly fitting the story ! - Sequel to [i][b]“Chains of Satinav”[/b][/i] - Set in a vast fantasy setting of ‘Dark Eye’ [b]Cons:[/b] - Boxed “Collectors Edition” available only in Germany