The second game of Dark Parables series. The story based on The Frog Prince fairy tale but tweaked to make it darker. The same detective from the previous game Curse of Briar Rose has returned after getting a new case. The chancellor's daughter went missing along with her bodyguard in the Black Forest where the Frog Prince has been sighted.

The game first release was on 2011 and recently added to steam, this is why the gameplay is quite dated and there is lots of backtrack since back then there was no fast traveling map. However, this doesn't make the game bad in any way. The graphics still as beautiful as I remember, they did a good job with the locations designs, even the items you pick up looks so pretty (Especially the keys)
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1209834850

The hidden objects scenes are 'fragmented' objects where you have to pick the pieces to complete a single object. There are many of them, the game is hidden objects heavy which might not be fun for some people who enjoy the adventure more than locating the items. The puzzles were not bad, some of them are difficult though, but there is an in-game strategy guide to help you if you ever got stuck.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1558844299

Although there was a map, sadly you can't fast travel anywhere, you'll have to backtrack during the whole gameplay. The journal just shows you the objective and the map next to it to check which area has hidden objects scenes. It was quite useful.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1209834976

Pros:
+Beautiful visuals and locations design.
+Fragments objects scenes.
+Beautiful music.
+Good voice overs.
+Varieties of puzzles (Some of them are difficult)
+Collectibles.

Cons
-No fast traveling map.
-No steam achievements.

It took me around 3 hours to finish the game with the bonus chapter. Like the previous game, the bonus chapter was the bridge to connect the events with the upcoming game (Dark Parables: Rise of the Snow Queen) I highly recommend this series to HOGs lovers who enjoys the good old games.

Dark Parables: Curse of Briar Rose Review

𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑐𝘩𝑒𝑐𝑘 𝑚𝑦 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐹𝑒𝑒𝑛𝑎'𝑠 𝐶𝘩𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒

Dark Parables 2: The Exiled Prince (FROG)
September, 2012 review

These are standalone stories

WARNING for the arachnophobes: There is a large black widow prominently displayed in one scene, but it will go away quickly if you click on it.

Options include separate sliders for music/ambiance and sound, and full-screen option. There is also a HELP button there, for those not familiar with this type of gameplay.

The Steam interface works with this game, but alas, there are black bars on the sides, with no option to stretch.

As for in-game play, there is only one difficulty setting when you first play. Completing the game will open up the HARD mode. This difficulty setting means no hints, no skipping mini-games, and access to a new area. Not sure what's in there, since I only completed the normal mode!

The story progresses mostly via cut scenes, which are voiced over, and skippable if you wish. There is no journal, but you do have a MAP, which tracks your objectives, and will give you hints if you need them (have to click to open the hint - no spoilers! Hoorah!)

Your map is a great necessity, as there are many locations (I got lost a lot!), and it will show you where there are items to interact with, and where to look for hidden object scenes. There is no "jump-to" option, sadly, and the map is a bit hard to follow, but it is still invaluable in your quest, as you will see.

As with the first Dark Parables game, Briar Rose, there are 20 cursed objects (aka morphing items) to find. Finding these will help refill your hint meter faster. During the HARD gameplay, there are no morphing items, as you will have no hint button! HINTS refill quickly during the hidden object scenes, but skipping puzzles will lock up your hint button for 5 minutes (unless you find a cursed object, then it will not take as long.)

Trying to use the hint button during the adventure portion of the game will do nothing unless there is something on the screen for you to interact with. This is where your map and the objective list will come in very handy!

In the hidden object scenes, for those not familiar with FROG's, are what we call fragmented objects. Collect all of the fragmented items pictured at the bottom of the screen to find an item that will be useful for your quest. Unlike the early days of FROG's, these fragments are artfully placed within the scenes, making them seem as if they belong where they are placed. This really adds to the difficulty level, especially when they take on the reflected colors and/or shadows of the items nearby. This is the farthest thing from "junk pile" imaginable, and beautifully done. You will revisit scenes, but they are different every time, making the scene "fresh" each time you see it. You will find useful items not only during these scenes, but during adventure gameplay, as well.

There is a mis-click penalty, but only after clicking fast and furious for about 10 seconds. In other words, it likely won't affect you unless you TRY for it!

As with any game of this type, there are puzzles to solve throughout the game. I found these to be imaginative and fun, almost like the old Ravenhearst door puzzles (though not as difficult.)

The story... well, I don't want to give too much away, but I will say that the devs brought the story together with twists both old and new. How's that for cryptic? I will say that it was beautifully done, and I enjoyed it very much.

Overall, this is a gorgeous game with excellent gameplay, graphics, music, and story. Definitely recommended, even if (like me) you don't tend to enjoy fragmented object games.

The second title in the Dark Parables series, The Exiled Prince took a bold new direction. Not only did it link back to the previous game but it sets itself up as a meeting point for all future worlds, connecting the fairytales within its own cohesive framework.

Pros
• Lush environments with vivid colours
  
• Evokes a fairytale theme that runs from the gorgeous to the macabre
  
• Some morphing objects hidden in scenes that reduce hint times
  
  
  Cons
• Immense amounts of backtracking
  
• Lack of puzzle variety makes for repetitive play

Endings are expected to be joyous in fairytales, an eternal optimistic union of husband and wife having overcome the evil that bars them from their fulfilment. Modern versions of fairytales deconstruct these notions in various ways, and The Exiled Prince does this in a rather blatant way. By cursing the Frog Prince with eternal life, he is constantly in pursuit of a new princess to wed. The cycle repeats itself over and over until burdened by the loss, he slowly declines his kingdom crumbling with him. Enter you the intrepid detective, sent to solve various fairytale cases, fresh from Scotland all the way to Germany's Black Forest, where the kingdom awaits.

It's not an awe invoking story by any means, and in many way has a hidden macabre undertone. Not a surprise at a game aimed at adults, because the numerous wives and their mausoleums are sinister despite their gorgeous depictions. The Prince himself despite his strange obsession with the past, is a melancholic and sympathetic figure, which for once does drive home the horror of his situation, giving one a compelling reason to unravel the mystery and lift the curse.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1581704419
The actions you undertake however are more in a repetitive vein of solving ways to progress rather than elucidating the narrative, your way is constantly hindered and blocked and then the story magically appears at your feet. It's always one of the largest problems with HoGs that they never quite use the environment for storytelling as much as you'd think they would. For all that though, there's a lot to enjoy, with its incorporation fo so many fairytale themes.


As a fragmented object game (FrOG) The Exiled Prince will have you wandering all about the forest and castle to uncover various items. The locations are for the most part successive, with interlinked areas unlocked as the narrative progresses. They offer a truly fascinating world to explore, but sadly when you've visited them multiple times, over and over, this wonder slowly begins to wear off. The backtracking is excessive, and dampens the gameplay a great deal. Add to this the lack of fast travel (although a map is available to show you active areas) and it becomes tedious to play. Hidden Object scenes will also usually be used more than once, which is not too frustrating since you are finding different objects, but it does make one wonder, how the detective could have missed such valuable objects the first time around.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1581704315
The adventure game elements are fairly standard, with some basic puzzles that add much needed variation, however the overusage of collectable item quests was frustrating and felt like an attempt to artificially inflate the playtime. There's also the usual frustrations of having an item, using it only to disappear and... it could have been used later on another scene. This carelessness of the character always leads to some frustration as a player.

The UI was definitely upgraded from the previous installment with objects in the menu depicted slightly larger, and the accompanying book and hints all available for easy access. In addition the small animations when activating tools or combining them were nice to see, and added an extra layer of realism to aid in the suspension of disbelief.


The graphics are exquisite to look at. The colours exceptionally vibrant and vivid. The items and the scenes themselves are ornate and heavily baroque with small animations that add a slight token of life to the scenes. The hidden object scenes are also intensely detailed, offering a challenge to discover the items, with low tonal values that adds another layer of difficulty as the colours disappear alongside each other, a counterpoint to the vividness of the scenes. At some points the opulence feels exaggerated and the gorgeous intricate jewellery to be costume pieces rather than of actual value, yet these are minor issues, and it's still well worth to play for the visual feast it offers up.

The second installment of The Dark Parables series is an immense improvement on the first title. With a far more comprehensive story. But in expanding the content, the issue of tedium arises, since length is artificially constructed through backtracking and the collection of multiple items. It does however capture its two toned environments well, with the macabre rotten undertones only barely hinted at, beneath its opulent exterior.

If you enjoyed this review please follow my curator Virtual Visions for more recommendations

My review for the 1st Dark Parables game: Curse of Briar Rose

Beautiful art and underlying background story that seems interesting, but there were too many hidden-object scenes for me that overshadowed everything else. Often several in a row. And they were all of the fragmented-object type and most of them very hard to complete. I usually never do this in HOPA games, but at some point, I started liberally using the hint button in those scenes when I had one or two objects left to find. The music was quite nice but way too short and randomly looping so it got annoying fast. The mix of story, hidden-object scenes, exploration and mini-games was too unbalanced, strongly favoring the hidden-oject scenes. Hopefully, the next Dark Parables game (the third) is much better, but I have my doubts.

The Exiled Prince is not a great fragmented objects game, but it is playable and better than its predecessor. I recommend it for those who miss the old-school FROG gameplay elements.

Just like the rest of the series, Dark Parables 2: The Exiled Prince puts a spin to a known fable. This time, we learn that the Frog Prince is a nearly immortal being who had several wives during his long life. However, his latest bride-to-be is not as eager as the others, so it is up to the fairy tale detective to sort things out.
Although there isn't much plot beyond this, the series still builds its underlying lore. There are several callbacks to the first game, yet The Exiled Prince stands firmly on its own.

The gameplay is riddled with drawbacks returning from the first Dark Parables. There are too few fragmented scenes, so they repeat several times. The fragments and adventure-lite objects can be challenging to spot. We do not have fast travel, so there is too much backtracking with slow progress.
At least all of these complaints are not as severe this time around, plus the puzzles are still fantastic. So good that they earn this game a thumbs-up.

Great game! But there is a problem with the HO area 'Elegant Crank'. There is one piece missing so i'm unable to go any further in the game, i also used the HINT button to try to find it, but it's not there. PLEASE fix this. Thanks

Alright! This time the game didn't fight me and actually started up when I clicked on it! I also managed to play the Bonus Game and...

Slight improvements from the first one. We have a map this time! You will still have to memorize where stuff is, and if you are anything like me... You WILL get lost... But map...! Yay...?

Ah well. There is also a new story. Beautiful drawings of people and designs. I thought that the Frog Prince (on the loading screen) was Johnny Depp. XD...

I thought this game was harder than the first one... For one, there are more places and I got really confused with the "vine lever". That one got me hard. Also, the puzzles are rather challenging too. So extra time will be spent or... Lock up your hint system for 5min... *-*

A Strategy Guide will aid those who are completely at a loss, seeing as this game wont HINT you where to go.

There. I tested it for you.

Yes. This is an "old school" H.O.G. Majority of the time YOU WILL do H.O. scenes -> Where you pick up pieces of the object you are supposed to make.

Does it make it any less fun? Hell no! It's really... Freaking relaxing.

Until you get lost. Or rather me. But that's nothing new.

Excuse me. Two down and thirteen more to go.

Oh and the Bonus Game will show you what you are going to "mess with" in the next game. A preview. Woop woop!

Love it. Thank ya! <3 :) :> :D

I bought Dark Parables: The Exiled Prince Collector's Edition during the Christmas Sale and I must say I really enjoyed this Game.

Dark Parables is a nice HO / Point & Click Game Series with Multiple Games and this one is also one of them.

First of all if you havent played the first Dark Parables Game, I strongly recommend going for that one first before playing this Game as they are meant to play in Order.

Dark Parables: The Exiled Prince Collector's Edition comes with a main story which is about 4-5 hours long and a hardcore Adventure Mode that brings you a refreshed yet harder adventure. I personally havent played it but I saw a few screens from a friend of mine.

Sadly there was no Bonus Story as in the first Parables Game, reading the other Reviews I am not sure whether this was a bug or supposed to be.

The Voice Acting was once again very nicely made and the Art Style was absolutely beautiful! Although you couldn't change the resolution, you were able to use the Steam Overlay and also got Trading Cards now.

The Hidden Object Scenes were rather well hidden and the Puzzles were challenging. I personally did like them alot and was surprised how well you can hide something in this game.

The Story was absolutely lovely and reminded me a little bit on my Childhood just in a more Grimm way.

All in all this Game is fantastic, however due to the fact that is rather short I do recommend getting it on Sale rather then for its base price of 10€.

Edit: This Game was for a long time bugged with no Collectors Edition included, however thanks to many people complaining about this issue the developers have resolved it. You are now able to play the Game completely with the Bonus Chapter.

For everybody that has completed this Game before dont worry you wont have to complete it again, for more help just have a look at the forums.

Here are my other Reviews for the Dark Parables Series:
Dark Parables: Curse of Briar Rose (Number 1)
Dark Parables: Rise of the Snow Queen Collector's Edition (Number 3)
Dark Parables: The Red Riding Hood Sisters (Number 4)
Dark Parables: The Final Cinderella (Number 5)
Dark Parables: Jack and the Sky Kingdom Collector's Edition (Number 6)
Dark Parables: Ballad of Rapunzel Collector's Edition (Number 7)
Dark Parables: The Little Mermaid and the Purple Tide Collector's Edition (Number 8)
Dark Parables: Queen of Sands Collector's Edition (Number 9)

Game Information

"Dark Parables: The Exiled Prince" Collector's Edition is a Fragmented Object game. The game was developed by Blue Tea Games and published by Big Fish Games Studio.

"The Exiled Prince" is the second episode of "Dark Parables." Previous episode: "Curse of Briar Rose."

Since this is a collector's edition game, it comes with extra features that are not available in its counterpart; the standard edition.

The Game Review

Game Visuals

I want to mention that the visuals in the game are nicely done. The visuals can be adjusted in the game's option menu.

Game Audio

I want to mention that audio for the game is well done. Even though the audio is somewhat simplistic and repetitive. The audio can be adjusted in the game's option menu as well.

Gameplay

There are no game difficulty modes to choose from. When the game is being played for the first time; it is in normal mode. When the game is being played for the second time; it is on hard mode.

The notebook keeps track of progression in the game. Such as story events and clues.

There is a map in the game. The map is automatically given at the start of the game.

There is no padlock feature that is available to lock the inventory panel in place to make it stationary. The inventory panel automatically comes stationary.

The hidden object scenes consist of the following: Fragmented items. Some of these hidden object scenes may require a little or no interaction.

The puzzles are fairly easy to solve without having the need to skip any of them.

There are morphing objects (beyond objects) in the game. They are scattered throughout the game for the player to find. The morphing objects are used to refill the hint bar.

Since this is a collector's edition game, there is a bonus chapter, but it can be accessed only after the main story is completed.

Miscellaneous

There are extra features in the game: Bonus Chapter; Wallpapers; Music; Concept Art; Movie Gallery and Game's Strategy Guide. Some of these extra features can be accessed only after the entire game has been completed.

There are six different trading cards to collect. Only three of those trading cards are given out by the game. There are several ways to get the rest of the trading cards: Purchased from the Steam's Community Market; Trade with friends; Booster Packs and its Booster Pack Creator.

Final thoughts: I have found the game enjoyable to a certain extent. The replay value for the game is low. I would recommend this game, but not at the game's full price value.

Elegant Crank - final piece missing? help ?