Masked Intent falls into that uncomfortable category where on its own it is enjoyable, but as a sequel it is just plain weird, because it turns a time-travelling sci-fi into a standard hidden object fairy tale fantasy.

Looks like someone at Artifex Mundi really hates stories where time travel is achieved by technological means, because Secret Order is the second of their published franchises where an originally science-fiction storyline suddenly turns into a world with wizards, castles, and magic. Probably this is one of the reasons they started with Masked Intent on Steam instead of New Horizon.

On its own, this game can be considered an average HOG, where the typical HOG logic is cranked up to 11. We have the mandatory evil wizard (who we only meet in person on the very last screen, by the way), the heroine who journeys through a set of enchanted places to find a powerful artefact, and everything else we expect from a decent, but not too exceptional HOG.

Gameplay is similarly average, with mediocre puzzles and good enough hidden object scenes. The pixelated graphics sometimes make life more difficult in these scenes than they should, but in the end, Masked Intent is a game of no real weaknesses (nor strengths).

Your father called you to help a secret order to save their lifes after a new member betrayed them. From a museum to a strange island and a village in the end of the XVIIth century, you're going to find a powerful artifact that will defeat that traitor.

When Artifex Mundi publishes something that isn't their own work, you're often disappointed by the quality. While these games are still good and high quality, it's not what Artifex Mundi can deliver. And sometimes, you find a real gem, that could have been developed by them. Dark Heritages for example is one of these gems. Now, The Secret Order 2 is joining that club.

The story is a good one, though you wish that you played the first game to understand more the story. I mean, Nathan Williams, the bad guy, seemed to be related to the previous game (though it could be a mistake from my part). But, knowing you can travel through time (even if it's not really like in Time Mysteries, where you're going to different eras), you can expect some nice backgrounds. And you have them!

It's the Collector's Edition that is on Steam, so, the bonus chapter is already added in the middle of the story, when you're diving into a terrible atmosphere, with spirits, swamps and other cursed castles.

What I really loved in this game is that it's not too hard but not to easy: puzzles are well-balanced, HO scenes are also easy for some items but harder for others because of a matter of perspective (you're not used to see binoculars behind a piece of wood, showing their profiles or another item being upside down for example).

And the music.... it's really fitting to the game. Really fitting.

Anyway, my only complaint is the HUD that I find too big but you're getting used to that anyway.

If anything, buy that game. You'll enjoy it.

Now, I'm waiting for eventually for the first game to show up on Steam :)

Its a time traveling game, alchemy and a little bit of fashion! (Only one puzzle related to that) I like those but I got bored in a couple of areas due to the repetitive puzzles. The story was not bad, though this is the second game of the series which means you won't understand everything if you start playing with this one, the journal was a good aid, highlighting most of the story. The graphics a little outdated but I like those, my issue was the puzzles, especially this one which I spent almost half an hour trying to solve it, I even closed the game to cool off before giving it a go again.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=895357501

Pros:
+Average graphics.
+Fast travel map. (There are two separate maps which don't let you switch between them, you wouldn't know if there are tasks in that area unless you stand in one of the rooms of the second map.)
+Good journal with a very useful entry, I liked the fact that they linked the objectives to the fact page, love those.
+Easy hidden objects scenes.
+Music fits the scenes.
+OK Voice acting, although some of the characters sounded so dramatic.
+Steam achievements.

Cons:
-Annoying repetitive puzzles.
-Annoying hint button which keeps beeping to reminds you can use it whenever you move from an area to another.

I got this game in a bundle, I'd say buy it when it is cheap and enjoy the whole series.


Other Reviews from the same series:
The Secret Order 3: Ancient Times
The Secret Order 4: Beyond Time
The Secret Order 5: The Buried Kingdom
The Secret Order 6: Bloodline
The Secret Order 7: Shadow Breach
The Secret Order 8: Return to the Buried Kingdom

𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑐𝘩𝑒𝑐𝑘 𝑚𝑦 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐹𝑒𝑒𝑛𝑎'𝑠 𝐶𝘩𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒

This is an okay game. Absolutely not worth paying the full price (the game is too short), but if you really like HOGs, get this one on a good sale. Not the best game ever, but surely not the worst. The puzzles were somewhat easy too.

4/10.

First game of Sunward Games at Steam (sadly till today they dont get part 1 on Steam). Part 2 story, game length, graphics could be better, but are okay enough. For Hidden Obejct games i give 77 % & for achievement hunters 81 % (could have more achievements). Thx 4 reading.

Not sure why, but this was the most boring hidden object game I have played so far. I finished it in 4.8 hours and I got all the achievements which is a first.
The puzzles were ok, but the story was just blah. I was saving this one because of the good reviews, so I am disappointed. Unfortunately I bought the next one which I have to play now. Hopefully it is better. The one good thing about this game is you can jump from place to place.

If you like Hidden Object Games (seek and find, puzzles, point and click), then games from Artifex Mundi are for you.

What can I say about this game. I bought this game a few hours ago and I'm already finished! I was hooked from the start! The artwork is incredible and I enjoyed the suspense and thrill of the cutscenes and I'm not usually a person to bother with cutscenes. I just like to get into a game straight away. Everything about this game reeks enjoyment, contentment, excitement and compassion. I say compassion because the game was created with the player in mind and everything was made simple and easy to understand. I like having a map included so I don't have to backtrack loads of screens and the puzzles were very easy to understand and it was very clear what was expected of me. The game is well put together with a mixture of art, music, sound effects, colour and mystery. I like the look and feel of a game and this game definitely delivered that for me. Colour, thought and organisation play a part in what I enjoy and this game has it all. If you are a huge HOG fan like me, I would definitely give this game a try. I promise you that it will be worth your money and you will be hooked, I'm sure!

There was a sale on this-- I guess because it's from a few years back-- so I picked it up and gave it a try. It's a standard Hidden-Object game: you MacGuyver your way around various time-periods, scavenger-hunting, solving puzzles, mini-games and hidden-object-scenes on your way. I'd rate this as slightly harder than average: the mini-games include a sliding puzzle and an actual jigsaw puzzle, and some of the hidden objects are really well hidden. But I got all achievements on one try; playtime of 6 hours. Two thumbs up!

Note: there are some really nice cut-scenes. They are brief, so they don't drag down the story, and they are well drawn and animated.

Also: there were no collectibles, so you can zip through the game without a walk-through. The game also avoids moon-logic by saying things like "this requires a spade," or "I really need a hack-saw here." If you attempt to use the wrong object, the game says "It's tough being in the Secret Order of Griffins." If you've played any game using SPARK adventure-game technology, you'll have no problems with the scavenger-hunting part.

The first time I played through Secret Order 2, I felt a little lost without the background that I assumed was in the first game, which unfortunately isn’t available on Steam. Being the series completionist I am, I of course sought out the first game and played it. While there are connections it was cool to see when I replayed Secret Order 2 after playing the first game, in a lot of ways this game is VERY different from the first game in terms of tone/theme - less gritty sci-fi, more fantasy - which is actually a bit disappointing. There are also many details from the first game that completely change in the subsequent games that are on Steam. For example, the main character’s appearance is completely different. As such, I don’t think it’s necessary to play the first game at all to follow the rest of the series.