„Enigmatis: The Mists of Ravenwood“ is a POINT'N'CLICK game with more than only one „Wow-effect“.

You play as a woman who is on her way to the Westcoast. On the way she finds a pretty bad damaged camper but it does not look like an accident. You watch for survivors and you find a little girl who is talking about a „monster“ and that she misses her mom. Shortly after a big crow is attacking you and takes the girl with her. Shocked and confused you decided to save her and her parents and you start your journey through the mysterious Ravenwood Park next to the camper.

Like a detective you have to find hints and to solve puzzles. You have to find your way through 55 beautiful and spooky locations. You can collect your hints on a blackboard (which is really well drawn with handwritten notes). Besides there are also other small objects you have to find for some achievements. Oh yeah there are 36 achievements and they are not that hard to get. So it’s a good game for achievement hunters! :p If the puzzles are too easy for you, of course you can choose a higher level of difficulty.

Really the story is so exciting that I found myself actually wanting to solve the mystery and I couldn’t stop playing it! The graphic is really good and I enjoyed watching the cutscenes + scenaries. Also the music is well chosen for the locations and gives always the right feeling.

So all in all the game is totally worth the money and I highly recommend this game for everyone who enjoys spooky games, good animations and who is interessted in an exciting story!

I don't usually play these point and click adventrures but the story in the trailer had me very intrested, I'll have to say I wasn't dissapointed either. Once I started the game I had no intention of sitting there for the 4 hours that I did. I found it kinda relaxing and the story was actually decent. I found myself actually wanting to solve the mystery and paying attention to the story. The puzzles aren't extremely hard and there is a casual mode if you are having trouble. The graphics were decent in the cutscenes and sceneries and the voice acting was even played out pretty well. All in all I enjoyed it and am getting ready to play the new part I just unlocked. I think its worth the money, especially with the current 30% off.

October, 2013 review - Steam version not yet played

This game takes place two years after the events of the first game at Maple Creek. It is not necessary to play the first game, but I highly recommend it. After all, Maple Creek was really a good game, and you'll understand the background and implications of events in this game much better if you play MC first.

There are three difficulty settings to choose from: Casual, Advanced, and Expert. The differences are clearly explained. For example in Expert mode, "Text tips give less direct hints." The tutorial is optional.

There are separate sliders for Music and Sound, and we can change the difficulty level at any time via our options menu (thanks devs!) We can also turn off the voice over, custom cursor, and full screen. Widescreen is automatically supported, and it looks great!

Whilst playing the game, be on the lookout for "Ethereal butterflies." These have a bluish glow to them. Also look for "Illusive Objects," which are morphing items. There are 30 of each to find, so plenty of fun for those of us who like hunting for these extra goodies.

There are achievements, and you can see what you need to aim for by entering the Achievements area via your options menu. There is also a Help button in the options menu, and this gives ten pages of illustrated, clear instructions for those not familiar with this kind of game, and/or with the evidence board element we have in the Enigmatis games.

You will see a cutscene as you load the game, and a second one when you start to play the actual game. The loading-game video is gorgeous, but if you're scared of rats, you might want to skip this one... or close your eyes when you hear squeaking, and wait to open them until it stops. ;D The initial video (while the game is loading) is not necessary to understand the story -- It just gives you some information about what happened a few minutes before you arrive on the scene.

Your journal has three tabs: Objectives, Notes, and Illusive Objects. The first two tabs are pretty useless, at least for me. There's no extra story in there, and the objectives are pretty clear. The illusive objects are pretty easy to find... for the most part! That's where the journal gets useful. It tracks how many of the objects you've found, what they looked like, and the order in which they should be found. If you see a '?' with objects that you've found all around it, you know that you missed an object in that specific area.

That brings me to the map, which is next to your journal. It IS a jump-to map, but you jump to an AREA, not specific locations. The map will show you which areas are "active" (only in Casual and Advanced mode) but of course you don't know exactly which scene in that area needs to have an action taken.

Never fear, though. Your HINT button gives a directional arrow, should you need it.

The hidden object scenes vary. We have highly interactive scenes that are more like puzzles, interactive fragmented object scenes, and the more traditional HO scenes with lists of items to find. Most of the traditional HO's are lightly interactive, with items listed in purple needing an extra step or two. On the list-type HOS, you can press the Notes button to play a matching game, instead of finding objects. The matching game isn't your typical card game setup; it's literally written notes that are scattered about. Matching requires finding a related picture, ie. a notepad would match with a pencil.

The devs did an exceptional job with story in this one, using multiple methods to progress the story. First off we have the cutscenes, which are absolutely gorgeous. I was VERY happy to see that I could go back and re-watch these scenes once I finished the game -- there were two in particular that were beautifully directed and "filmed," and I really wanted to see them again. Next we have story sequences that we gain as we find and place lock pieces on a particular door. There are 12 of these story pieces, and all but the last can be rewatched at any time during the game (but not once the game is completed) by clicking on the piece(s) you've placed. Lastly we have our Evidence Board.

What Evidence Board, you ask? The Evidence Board is an inspired addition to gameplay which is only present in the Enigmatis games (as far as I know!) As we play the game, we gather evidence. That's nothing new, we do that in a lot of these games! What's new is that we literally have a board where we can organize the evidence, and as we do, we come to conclusions that progress the story.

The whole game is voiced-over, and beautifully done. Two voices in particular gave me chills:
The ticket lady (after our first encounter with her), and of course the mysterious man behind the locked door.
The story is engaging, and the whole game entirely immersive. This is truly a creepy experience, and I have to say that it's one of the scariest storylines I've seen in a casual game.

It IS a scary game, but the devs injected some humor... Woohoo~!! A Monty Python reference! *starts whistling the lumberjack song* :whistle: (added a link so no one would miss the joke!) hehehe

Collector's Edition extras:
* Integrated Strategy Guide
* Bonus Chapter
* 35 Achievements
* 10 Wallpapers in three different resolutions
* 8 Concept Art
* Downloadable soundtrack - six tracks
* The ability to replay 7 hidden object puzzles
* 15 replayable cutscenes
* 10-page Redwood Encyclopedia (very cool!)

To play the Bonus Chapter, simply click on the Play button on the main menu -- you can now choose between replaying the main game, or playing the bonus chapter. This chapter takes place approximately 30 years previously, and is played from the ticket lady's point of view. If you've played the main game, you know how that story is going to end, but it's nice to see how things came about. On the plus side, we actually have a reusable pocket knife on us during the whole chapter! :snicker:

The devs did such a beautiful job with this game that I have only a single gripe, and it's really a pet peeve. As a matter of fact, I'm going to put it in spoiler tags just in case y'all didn't notice.
My gripe is this: The artists chose to use the same color palette for Every. Single. Scene! Meh >_< It doesn't matter if we're inside, outside, underground, or decades in the past, every scene has the same purples and greens. *sigh* Continuity is of course important, but you can have the same style without using all the same colors!!

Overall, this is an exceptional game in every way, and I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish!

Ah yes, another lovely HOG from the desks of Artifex Mundi, of who are quickly becoming my favorite producers for this kind of game. Enigmatis 2: The Mists of Ravenwood is quite the treat, vastly improving in many areas from the first game in this series, and adding even more goodies to give a unique flavor to this game.

=Complete Review=

Once again, I can't say too much about it so as to not spoil it. However, what I can say is that it certainly expands greatly upon the story and background of the first game. Giving you insight in to what the purpose of the murders are. You start off two years after the first game, hunting down a lead for the culprit from the last case, only to find yourself attacked by a monstrous raven made of shadow and mist.

This time, unlike the last one where you had almost solved the mystery before you began, you start on square one in the thick of a supernatural mystery to be solved. With a mission to save the family of a little girl you witnessed being taken by the beast, you must use your wits, and your perception to find clues so as to find who's the culprit behind it all... And how to stop them before it's too late for the family.

And, once again, like the last one, you get a bonus after you beat the first game, to get a glimpse in to the past of the life of a surviving victim of the tradgedy. I've yet to play this part myself, but if it's anything like the last game, it's definitely going to be a moving part of the story.

Now, when I played the first game, I was left very impressed with the user interface. But, that's not to say that there wasn't flaws with the interface. However, in the sequel, it seems that those flaws have been taken care of. Not only that, but with the inclusion of new goodies to play with. The map is now separate from the journal, meaning you don't have to go through the journal to reach your map anymore, which did get annoying in the original.

Not only that, the investigations board has definitely been improved, as you now have a mysterious friend to bounce ideas off of, and to discuss conclusions and thoughts to. Which also allows you to reach your friend easier to turn in pieces of a much bigger puzzle, to learn even more about the story.

The hidden object puzzles are a bit more interesting this time around, so to speak. With more involvement in putting things together to collect them, and putting things together to unlock other things you need. Which, it does give more gameplay for those who want more out of their HOG experience. Sadly, the hidden object scenes are a lot more scattered than the first. But there's a lot more puzzles and plot to make up for it.

However, for those who are not exactly good at finding the objects, or get stuck, there's the option to play a pair-matching game instead to collect the items. Which does make things a bit easier if you have an item you just can't find, and you don't want to, or can't use a hint.

There are achievements for fully playing the game one way or the other, so if you're like me, and you like getting all the achievements in a game, you're gonna need to replay this one a couple times to get all the achievements, unlike in the first where I was able to get all the achievements in one solid run. Which, can be a good or bad thing, depending on your view.

The puzzles in this one are very nice, and there are maybe one or two that are sort of recycled from the first game, but it's done so in a way that makes sense for the game. The puzzles in here are pretty plentiful, and well done in my opinion. There are some that are definitely difficult as well, so be prepared to put your grey matter to use.

Keeping in with the last game, the items are properly fixed on to the scene, looking like they actually belong in the same setting as the background. But, this time around, the graphic quality of the characters and cutscenes have improved a lot since the first game. Characters don't look quite as awkward when they are speaking, and characters actually move their head when they talk.

There are a couple problems though. Rarely, the characters mouth tends to look weird, and drop in quality when they are speaking, not as much as the first game though. Also a bit of a problem regarding the little girl's expression not always matching the situation at hand: Looking neutral/happy when she sounds worried, or is scared, so on and so forth. It's not a major issue, but it is something that could use a little polishing.

Sadly, this is where I have to give a bad score. This is not because the music is bad, no. But because from what I can hear, most of it is recycled from the first game. There are some original scores in there, but the main themes are the recycled ones. But, it's not overly bad of a offense, considering that the music score of the original did well on setting the ambience of the game. Still enough that I'm gonna have to give a 2 for instead of a 3.

The first one's atmosphere was amazing, and this one? It may not have the darker, doom and gloom look to start, but it definitely does a good job on making something feel 'wrong' with Ravenwood park. Don't take the first little segment of the park as the real deal, as things definitely get darker. Which matches the storyline pretty well in my opinion. Things do get quite a bit more creepy and gross in thisgame, and it has more jumpscares than the last, so it's definitely not for the ones who are for more lighthearted HOGs.

=TL;DR/Pros & Cons=

Pros
- Richer plot than the sequel.
- Improved mechanics from the sequel.
- More puzzles!
- A new way to deal with Hidden Object Scenes.
- More achievements!
- Better graphics and cutscenes.

Neutral
- Achievements will require you to play at least twice through the whole game.
- A different atmosphere that doesn't make it a 'cut and paste' of the sequel's style. Good or bad, depending on if you preferred the feel of the original.

Cons
- New pair matching minigame takes away from the HOG concept.
- Reused music from the first game.
- A few errors with how the mouth looks when characters are talking.
- A bit of overuse with some of the jumpscares.

=The Conclusion: 8.5/10=

The game is a great installment for it's genre, and is a lot more story-driven than the first game. I definitely would suggest this series, and this developer for those who like games of this genre! And I eagerly await the sequel to this game to know what happens next.

Thank you for your time, and for reading my review.

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Having reviewed the first game of the trilogy, it was only a matter of time before I'd tackle Enigmatis 2: The Mists of Ravenwood (E2). I was hesitant because I wasn't overly thrilled with the first game, but I've been trying to reduce my procrastinating ways in order to get through my massive backlog. Plus, I wound up being pleasantly surprised that the sequel played much better than the original release.


E2 is a hidden-object game (HOG), and it follows the gameplay mechanics you would generally expect from one. You'll navigate locations, one area at a time, coming across barriers that prevent you from moving forward. In order to advance, you'll have to find tools and trinkets in the environment and HOG sections, using them to get past various barriers, like locked doors. Other times though, you have to solve puzzles that'd be unorthodox or bizarre to find in real life. I've gone my whole life without becoming stuck on a trail by a partially incomplete checkers puzzle. Some of the items you acquire need to be combined together in order to work right, but most of them are used as expected. For instance, chopping through wood with a hatchet, or placing logs down to cross a creek.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2323055688
Since this is a HOG, you control the game with your mouse, though I guess this has also been ported to console, so at least those versions work with a controller. I think most people would prefer playing a HOG with a mouse since you'll be moving your cursor all over the screen, which is the whole point of a mouse. There weren't any problems with the controls, though a few puzzles on the fickle side.


Although it might sound obsessive, I'm glad that there weren't any characters with amnesia in the game. That was used in the first one to explain why the protagonist was so dazed and confused, allowing the story to be revealed through flashbacks. In E2, the location is much more remote, as you're exploring a theoretical tourist site. However, although it has the general trappings and appearances of a decent one, it must not be that popular, as you're the only patron checking it out. While you try to figure out what's going on in this area, you'll meet new victims, and see at least one familiar face along the way. As you encounter the first NPC, your evil detector should get tripped immediately, as he's the antagonist.

I'm ambivalent on what I think about the villain and his scheme. It's so similar to what was going on before that it could be seen as maintaining a consistent, nefarious goal, yet it also feels like reused material. A decrepit man is kidnapping passersby, but is careless about removing the evidence that people were there. Also, he doesn't consider you a serious enough threat to stop you, despite having numerous chances to intervene. However, it does build upon the lore of the demonic entity from the first game. I expect this will develop into the concluding story in the last game. Overall, I'd say it's basic, but this is more or less what I'd want from a series of games like this.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2323055242
Taking a look at the backgrounds, hidden-object sections, puzzles, and interfaces, most things look alright. I have a hard time expressing it, but I'd say that the visuals convey everything fairly well, yet when paying attention or checking more closely, there's a noticeable lack of quality or refinement I'd want from a video game. This matter is at its worst in the cutscenes and animations. It makes the character models look horrible, and the most egregious was when the ticket lady spoke to the antagonist near the end. The mouth flaps were so terrible looking that they shouldn't have made any attempt at all. Overall, the visuals look cheap, and is a low point of the game.


I wasn't able to find a soundtrack for E2, so I'm not sure how much variety there is in the game's music. From what I checked and remember, it's appropriately mysterious and lightly spooky, but I don't recall it ever getting foreboding or unsettling, as it's a bit too laid back for that tone. The voice acting is of the quality you'd expect for a HOG. Nothing struck me as particularly atrocious sound-wise, but some of the voice clips were rushed through in an unnatural way. It made their delivery hilariously off-kilter, though it was most noticeable with the antagonist, while most other characters were paced much better.


🌟 I played on the easiest difficulty setting, since there wasn't a relevant achievement for it, and this might be why the hidden-object sections weren't so bad. I only remember an item or two that I thought was rather vague or unclear, with most being much more obvious in contrast to the first game.
🌟 If you don't like the hidden-object part of a HOG, you can play a matching mini-game to progress if necessary. I think the aesthetics of it could have been cleaned up, but it's a nice alternative regardless.
🌟 There are some useful quality of life designs included. For instance, being able to go straight to the evidence board and locked door, and return to where you started, without going area to area.


❌ Although I'd say most objects are used in a way I expected, many items pulled off feats far beyond what they'd be capable of doing. A pair of hair ribbons were used to tie together planks to support a broken leg, and human grade sleeping medicine knocked out a bear instantly. The supernatural elements don't explain away things like this.
❌ With the protagonist supposedly being a detective, she didn't have the sense to question the locked-up individual regaling her with a story stretching back centuries, if not millennia. Considering the details suggested a first-hand nature to it, the person would have to be involved somehow, and most likely not as a hero.


🔍 There's much less backtracking in this game than I'm used to in HOGs. What this means practically is that you get access to new areas, you'll usually find the stuff you're looking for in those locations, instead of having to return to earlier spots.
🔍 When you get round discs for the locked door, put them in sooner than later. Some of these are necessary for deductions and to get objects for progression.


Looking at E2 on its own, it isn't a game that thrills me. I find the story cheesy, the puzzles were really easy, and its visuals make me queasy. However, when compared to other HOGs, I'd say it's average or slightly above. What makes it better is the inclusion of quality of life improvements, less need for going back and forth repeatedly like you're a forgetful airhead, and hidden object descriptions that are mostly clear or easy to figure out. Also, when compared to the first game, it's a significant step up.

Understanding the full story without playing the first game might be a bit difficult, but with let's plays available, including my own (shameless self-promotion), there are ways to get the overall summary without having to play it yourself. I don't think this title would be the game changer to make someone a fan of HOGs, but I can recommend it for those who like the genre.

Continuing after the adventures in the first game, Enigmatis 2 The Mists of Ravenwood sees our heroine on the hunt for the evil preacher she encountered before in Maple Creek. This game is a direct continuation of Enigmatis: The Ghosts of Maple Creek and I highly recommend you play it first before getting into this one. I played this game for the first time a year ago and am now replaying it as I did with the first in series to prepare for the release of the third title. This game expands upon the mythology of the Enigmatis world, giving us backstory as well as setting the stage for a grand battle against demonic forces.

You play as the same detective from the first game who, while trying to find the evil preacher, happens upon an abandoned RV. She discovers a little girl named Becky whose parents have disappeared. After Becky herself is kidnapped by a shadowy raven, the detective heads to the nearest place to look for help, a park called Ravenwood. Things quickly get out of control when it is revealed that the park is just a cover for yet another evil servant of the devil who lures people in then kills them by stealing their life force.

I enjoyed the story very much, though it doesn’t have the same gritty feeling as the first game. I personally didn’t like Becky as a character, nor her constant whining about her parents. I know she was scared and was there to heighten the sense of urgency in the game but I didn’t feel attached to her at all and she usually got in the way. It was nice to see Hamilton again, who was helpful to the main character on her mission. Overall, the game seemed like an info dump, throwing out a lot of facts and details about why everything was happening. It both shed light on why the events took place in the first game while also explaining what was happening in this title and setting up things for the third game.

This game is a hidden object adventure game. It has point and clicks aspects to it as you travel through the park collecting clues and solve mysteries. There are good number of hidden object scenes, you’re given a list of items to find in the scene and some are hidden under other items or require certain actions to find. They’re much more straightforward and less cluttered than in the first game and thus easier to maneuver. Another difference is more puzzles have been added to the sequel, most aren’t too difficult though some require extra though. The evidence board is also back again, letting you feel like a real detective as you go over information you find and piece together theories. The game has a useful map that lets you teleport making it easier to get around and complete tasks.

The graphics and audio are pretty spot-on in the game. The character models and animations are good and show improvement from the first game, namely Hamilton looks a lot better. He also sounds better as I believe his voice actor is different as well. The game has full voice acting and it’s all well done. I personally found Becky annoying but she sounded like a whiny child so maybe I just don’t like whiny children. This a game with a pretty good production value, time and care when into every background and every item in the hidden object scenes.

Play Enigmatis 2 The Mists of Ravenwood is what this all sums up to, but play Enigmatis: The Ghosts of Maple Creek first. This series offers a great continuing story arc with engaging characters and interesting mythos. This game is a collector’s edition and has a bonus chapter, though it mainly just explains more about the Ravenwood park. There are Steam trading cards and achievements but you’ll have to play the game twice to get all of the achievements because three require you to play the option matching game instead of doing the hidden object scenes. For me personally, I do feel like the first game in the series is currently the best, however this is a great successor and a must play for lovers of the genre.

• Must buy.
  
• A good game to buy.
  
• Only buy if on sale.
  
• Mediocre.
  
• Avoid at all costs.

Lunar Productions[lunarproduction.com]

Enigmatis 2: The Mists of Ravenwood is a great HoG i enjoy it very much :)

If you like Hidden Object Games (seek and find, puzzles, point and click), then games from Artifex Mundi are for you. On top of that, this is probably their best of the bunch. If you think you might like these kind of games, this will definitively answer that for you.

My playtime: 11.5h (based on steam, 36/36 achievements)
Grindy Achievement: No.
Optional Achievement: Yes (20 achievements).
Difficult Achievement: No.
Developer Response: Yes (24 hours; on selected threads).

Enigmatis 2: The Mists of Ravenwood is a hidden object game that sets in Ravenwood, an abandoned theme park, where people suddenly went missing. It's the second serie of Enigmatis series and it has 18 puzzles and 12 hidden object mini games (which can be switched with pair matching games) in total.

The game uses a lot of eerie music that's suitable with its atmosphere. I also like how the voice over goes; most of the character's lips move exactly with what the characters said.

The graphics are great. I like how the items are not sticking out in the hidden object mini games. The cutscene models (or any moving models) looks out of place with the environment though, although it's not really that bad.

To be honest, i didn't play the first serie. However, i'm still quite enjoying the story. The story doesn't really tell you much about the first serie in the beginning, except for some fact that the main character is searching for someone. The stories will connect with the first serie later in the game, and i'm sure you won't be having any trouble in connecting the dots from the first serie. I still recommend you to play the first serie for a better game experience though.

Lastly, i just want to point out that the game transitions are very slow after each cutscene.

The game has 3 difficulty setting. I played in the easiest difficulty setting to make it easier. The game is just like any other hidden object games, so i'm sure you'll like it if you love this kind of game.

As i said before, there are 18 puzzles and 12 hidden object mini games (that you can switch with pair matching games). You can also skip them if you're too lazy to finish them, although that's kinda beat the purpose for playing the game if you're playing it for the first time.

There is also a hint button that you can use whenever you're stuck. To be honest, i got stuck a lot of times so it really helps. Sadly, the hint button only helps you with what you should do in the area so you have to move around until you find an area that you're supposed to go to in order to really use it.

There is also deduction part in the game where you try to play detective by putting relevant photos to a circle. It's not much of a game actually since it's part of the main story, but i just love guessing where i should put the pictures to.

There is also one part of the game (the second maze are) where i have to go by trial and error since i can't find any hints to solve it.

Lastly, there is also a map which you can use to go between places quickly, but it opens very slowly in mine so it's always faster to go to the places i want without it.

Pros:
- 3 difficulty mode
- 18 puzzles
- 12 hidden object or pair matching games

Cons:
- Slow transition after cutscenes
- Hint button only works in an area

This game is just like any other hidden object games that's executed greatly.

Yes.
If you like hidden object games, buy this game. You might want to buy it on discount though.

It has its fair share of puzzle and hidden object scenes, but this game is an adventure and not casual game. Great story (play the first game of the series first if you aren't allergic to hidden object puzzles ;)) and good pacing keep this game from ever being boring. While the ride isn't that long you will be entertained throughout. The balance between 'real' point & click adventure and puzzles is just right to not get on your nerves. Really recommended for both casual and classic adventure players.