Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure (HOPA) games serve a niche audience. For those seeking a quick comfort play, something relaxing that engages your brain but not too hard, HOPA games can be an invaluable genre in their library. However, the very nature of HOPA games means that sometimes it can be challenging to find ones with good, high-quality stories that can meet that occasional needed escape as an old favorite rather than a one-time throwaway. So how does Dark Chronicles: The Soul Reaver stack up? Read on to find out.

The Steam store description for Dark Chronicles: The Soul Reaver describes a premise far more intriguing and mysterious than the experience actually delivered by the game. The game begins with two expositional cutscenes; first showing a girl Aurora dreaming of and then waking to her doom, followed by her brother (unnamed at this point) writing a letter to a friend (the character controlled by the player) asking for help since he’s been having vivid nightmares since his sister’s mysterious passing.

Unfortunately, the story is incredibly light on connecting and worldbuilding details even for the HOPA genre, meaning that sometimes I only deduced what was supposed to be happening in the story from the description provided in the Steam store page. As discussed later in the review, the art is probably the game’s strongest feature, but sometimes the art didn’t seem to match up with the time period alluded to by the story.

The gameplay and mechanics of Dark Chronicles: The Soul Reaver will be familiar to frequent players of HOPA games. Depending on the chosen or customized difficulty setting, there will be sparkling areas to show where the hidden object scenes are or a click penalty. The map has a fast travel feature to prevent needing to backtrack. Hidden object scenes vary between silhouette and text clues, and there are sometimes required interactions or mini-puzzles within hidden object scenes. The player has an inventory, and sometimes inventory items must be combined or used together. Although the gameplay and mechanics will be familiar to experienced HOPA players, every game has its slight variations, and this one’s variations aren’t particularly intuitive.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2551273593

The game does have a couple of unique puzzles for the genre, including ones based on Minesweeper and Bejeweled. The Minesweeper-inspired puzzle was particularly challenging since this game didn’t necessarily provide a lot of instructions on how to solve it, so I ended up having to dredge my memory for how the classic game works. I think it would have been very useful if the player were able to somehow note the location for the spikes like a player can note the location of mines with flags in the original Minesweeper game. On the downside, there were a few puzzles that seemed to be trial and error rather than requiring logic or solving using clues, and I encountered at least one bug where the instructions for a puzzle didn’t load. Since it was a puzzle that is common to HOPA games, I was still able to figure out what to do, but that may not be the case for inexperienced HOPA players.

The art is probably the strongest feature of the game, with some of the hidden object scenes and backgrounds being quite exquisite. However, theming in the design of the user interface can make or break HOPA games. In this game’s case, there wasn’t anything notable to elevate it above the pack. While the art for the hidden object scenes is well-done, it’s nothing spectacular or memorable, and sometimes the fashion or details didn’t seem to mesh with the time period hinted at by the story.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2551273115

Dark Chronicles: The Soul Reaver has no voice acting, and the music tends to be subtle when it is present at all. For example, there was an outdoor scene that had only cricket sounds in the background. More frequently the background audio seems like it would belong on a Halloween sound effects track for a haunted house, complete with random screaming. When there is music, it is pleasing to the ear, but a stronger presence throughout probably would have helped the game’s ambience.

Dark Chronicles: The Soul Reaver is $5.99 at the time of review with an approximately 2 hour playthrough time and no achievements or collectibles to add replay value. Although this means it technically meets the movie ticket price-to-content ratio, this game is more of a one-time experience for seasoned HOPA players rather than one I would recommend to those interested in trying out the genre. The game is typical of many HOPA games released over the past 10 years and doesn’t really do anything innovative to stand out in 2021. While the title implies a possible sequel or series, I probably won’t be watching for it at this point.

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The artwork is the first thing that drew me to this game, and I was not disappointed. Each area of this game shows beautiful areas and nicely detailed hidden object scenes. The story starts off with a letter you receive from your friend Philip about a disturbing nightmare of his recently deceased sister. He thinks that her soul is restless and lost. Upon you arrive at the village, you keep on encountering difficulties to stop you from discovering the truth. Who is behind all of this..? Could it be a witch?
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2469001505

The storyline is simple and straightforward, the game itself is quite easy and can be finished in two hours or less depends on the difficulty you've chosen. I enjoyed the variety of puzzles and hidden object scenes as they are a mixture of the regular list of items or silhouette.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2469002934

There is a fast traveling map and a nice journal, the only drawback of this game is the lack of voiceovers, it made it a little bit dull.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2469002058

Pros:
+Gorgeous artwork and locations.
+Variety of puzzles.
+Well-drawn hidden object scenes.
+Fitting music and atmosphere.
+Fast traveling map.

Cons:
-No Steam achievements.
-No voiceovers.

It is a fun game to play if you are a HOG lover. The artwork is worth the shot.

𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑐𝘩𝑒𝑐𝑘 𝑚𝑦 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐹𝑒𝑒𝑛𝑎'𝑠 𝐶𝘩𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒

Hidden objective game, adventure, with mystery-terror themes.
Very nice graphics, with many mini-games of medium difficulty there is no risk of getting stuck because if you just can not you can skip them.
You have a map to consult to see where there are actions to take and you can go there immediately by clicking on it.
Even the hidden object scenes, they are well made, in some you can interact with objects to find others that you need: for example you have to open drawers, look for the key to open a trunk, and more...

PLOT

The young Filippo lives in a quiet village in Fancia, but one day he realizes that something strange is happening because his dear sister is found dead in mysterious circumstances, and also realizes that his nights are no longer relaxed but tormented by frightening dreams, which haunt him every night.
Not knowing what to do Philip decides to write a letter to get your help, it will be up to you to go to that small village French to investigate the death of his sister.
The clues will lead you to discover that many years ago a woman accused of being a witch was executed by the villagers going so far as to completely burn down her villa as well.
All this leads to the question of what is going on? Will this beautiful young woman be killed like a witch who has returned to avenge her death?
And what dark secrets does his villa hide?
It's up to you to find out by playing , and you must be able to free all souls trapped by this mysterious magic.

CONCLUSION

As a pastime game, if you like object finders I recommend it, I did not find Bug and nothing difficult, indeed I found it fun and pleasant.

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Dark Chronicles: The Soul Reaver is an enjoyable hidden object game that is clearly aimed at novice players, considering the easy difficulty of puzzles and the straightforwardness of the gameplay.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2488010421
Despite it having a lot of locations to visit, with all of them being very beautifully drawn, it constantly felt that the scenes had the potential of offering much more content. Currently, there’s one mini-game and / or one hidden object scene to solve in each location, apart from picking up a couple of objects. While I really like the fact that not much back and forth between locations was needed (a fast travel map is also available), I kept thinking that all this potential was lost simply because the game doesn’t give the player enough things to do. Sure, there are a lot of minigames and puzzles to solve, but they’re so easy that the player can just sweep through them in a matter of seconds. And ultimately, it’s a pity that there was so much work put into creating such charming graphics yet in some ways Dark Chronicles: The Soul Reaver fails short in delivering a rich gameplay.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2488010494
In terms of design, Dark Chronicles: The Soul Reaver has everything you would expect from a HOG: there are mostly familiar puzzles but also a couple of new ones; there are scenes with lists of objects, but also fragmented object scenes (HOPA-style); a lovely diary will help you keep track of the story and the map will also show you which of the locations have actions available.

The story is cliché and marginally predictable, yet still fun to experience due to its dark, thrilling aspect. With a medieval setting and fantasy elements, an evil witch that collects souls and a dear friend haunted by nightmares,
Dark Chronicles: The Soul Reaver is mildly scary (there are a couple of scare jumps too) and mysterious. There are no voice overs, but the haunting sounds on the background make up for it plenty.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2488010533
It's a game you can play in one sitting (it takes around 1.5h to finish it) and sadly, since it's an HH-Games port, it doesn't have achievements or collectibles but it's still worth picking up (maybe with a discount) for HOG fans, especially those new to the genre.

More reviews on the Lilly's Corner Curator page

Dark Chronicles: The Soul Reaver is a Hidden object- Adventure developed by Crazy Turtle Games.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2470426761


A quiet village somewhere in France, what more could you ask for? But one day something terrible happens on that very day. Your friend Philip sent you a very urgent and confidential message. His sister recently died in mysterious circumstances and now Philip is plagued by terrible and recurring nightmares. A rumor emerges whether this is related to the incident of the witch some time ago, who was brutally burned and murdered? Solve one mystery at a time to unravel a larger conspiracy. Your tasks also include solving hidden objects or small mini-games as we know it from other games in this genre.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2470426798


+ atmospheric movie scenes
+ beautiful backgrounds
+ Puzzles and hidden objects have a suitable difficulty
+ good soundtrack
+ dark Story
+ Price / performance ratio is right
+ many setting options


- looks outdated
- short playing time


Dark Chronicles: The Soul Reaver offers you a dark Plot with some Puzzles, Hidden objects and surprising Twists.

PS: First of all, many thanks to the developer who provided us with this key for the group. Here you can find more good reviews from others and me at https://store.steampowered.com/curator/26335619-Adult-World-Gamers/.



Dark Chronicles: The Soul Reaver ist ein Wimmelbild-Abenteuer, welches von Crazy Turtle Games entwickelt wurde.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2470426761


Ein ruhiges Dorf irgendwo in Frankreich liegend, was wünscht man sich mehr. Doch eines Tages passiert von einem auf den anderen Tag etwas Schreckliches genau in diesem. Dein Freund Philip hat dir eine sehr dringende und vertrauliche Nachricht zukommen lassen. Seine Schwester ist kürzlich unter mysteriösen Umständen gestorben, und jetzt wird Philip von schrecklichen und wiederkehrenden Albträumen heimgesucht. Ein Gerücht kommt auf, ob dies mit dem Vorfall der Hexe vor geraumer Zeit zusammenhängt, welche brutal verbrannt und ermordet wurde? Löse ein Geheimnis nach dem anderen, um eine größere Verschwörung zu enträtseln. Zu deinen Aufgaben gehört auch dazu, Wimmelbilder oder kleinere Minispiele zu lösen wie wir es auch aus anderen Spielen in diesem Genre kennen.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2470426798


+ atmosphärische Filmszenen
+ schöne Hintergründe
+ Puzzles und Wimmelbilder haben eine passende Schwierigkeit
+ guter Soundtrack
+ düstere Geschichte
+ Preis/Leistungsverhältnis stimmt
+ viele Einstellungsmöglichkeiten


- wirkt veraltet
- kurze Spielzeit


Dark Chronicles: The Soul Reaver bietet dir eine düstere Handlung mit einigen Rätseln, Wimmelbildern und überraschenden Wendungen.

PS: Zunächst einmal vielen Dank an den Entwickler, der uns diesen Schlüssel für die Gruppe zur Verfügung gestellt hat. Hier findest du weitere gute Bewertungen von anderen und mir unter https://store.steampowered.com/curator/26335619-Adult-World-Gamers/.

A casual and very straightforward HOG/HOPA game that can be completed in a single afternoon. The scenes are diverse and interesting enough, and there are plenty of puzzles in between HOG scenes, including a couple I don't think I've seen used before.

There aren't any special features, achievements or collectibles, for better or worse. A few story progression based achievements would have been nice, but no achievements also means this game avoids a lot of achievement based problems many HOGs seem to have; that one achievement that won't unlock, forced puzzle type selections that require multiple plays for no good reason, 2nd speedrun playthroughs, etc. Its frustration free at least.

The interface is nice and comfy with a hint feature, a journal and a map of locations. The story is fairly predictable HOG fare, but the dark/gothic theme is interesting and the scenery is pretty. There are a lot of locations for such a short game, instead of reusing scenes which is nice, as the art is the best part of the game.

Would be a great in a bundle but is maybe too short and sweet to justify full price.

Lots of varied puzzles and hidden object games.

Dark Chronicles: The Soul Reaver is a bit of a jumbled mess, if I'm being candid. It's one part adventure game (complete with obtuse puzzles), one part puzzle game (with the difficulty varying wildly) and one part hidden object game. It's competently made, but a better focus on one area, as opposed to trying to bring a lot of variety would have served it better.

The artwork is basically what most would consider industry standard for a game of this budget and style. Some scenes are more or less attractive than others, but aside from a couple of overly-generic character designs, nothing's really bad. The hidden object scenes in particular are very detailed without resorting to cheap tricks to pad out your time in them. The music is decent, as are the sound effects. There's nothing groundbreaking here, but nothing that's really annoying or bothersome. The story, however, is BAD. It's bare-bones, often seeming to omit context that might have made things either better or actually make sense. The ending is beyond anticlimactic, with the main character essentially saying, “Okay. That's it then.”

One thing I really appreciated was the ability for the player to customize the experience beyond just difficulty. You can choose whether you're penalized for a bad click in a hidden object section, and how fast you can get hints, or even how quickly (if at all) you may auto-complete puzzles that are frustrating you. It might sound minor, but it definitely is a quality of life feature that I can get behind. More games in general should do this sort of thing, particularly within the casual gaming market.

One thing I do feel I should address: there's one scene with a minor character that engages in a bit of Asian stereotyping. He speaks in less than perfect English, and I could see his overall depiction being seen as offensive to some segments of the Asian community. I don't think this was done callously or maliciously, but I felt an inner cringe when I encountered him, and I would encourage the devs to be more mindful of this sort of thing in the future. I understand that the game is set “in a different time” (seemingly faux-Victorian), but we don't live in that time period any longer, and some stuff can chafe folks even if it “doesn't really affect them”.

Overall, I feel like this was a perfectly fine game, despite its weak story. That being said, I'd generally advise anyone to wait for a sale, because while it's not a BAD game, it's definitely not one of the stronger ones in the genre.

Pretty simple, standard HOG! Good for people who don't want too much narrative in their puzzle games. It takes about an hour and a half to two hours to get done. A lot of the story doesn't take long to get through before you progress to the next parts. Quite frankly, you wouldn't even realized too much that there's an ongoing plot happening.

There's a lovely useful map where you can fast travel and figure out which areas still need interaction, something I always appreciate and sorely missing if it's lacking. The puzzle difficult ranges from easy to moderate. It's a good start for someone who likes to be casual with their problem solving.

The graphics are pretty okay. Some HO scenes look really nice and some look really wonky. There's more nice looking ones than there are wonky ones so that's always a plus.

All in all, pretty good for what it is! Nothing broken, nothing missing. It takes a few hours of your time off, nothing particularly annoying though nothing particularly note-worthy either.

https://youtu.be/GBe52VIUn1A

Lacking a general sense of urgency for the protagonist to resolve problems/puzzles deflates the tension of the game allowing players to question why any of their actions matter.