Hello! This is a review of the HerInteractive title, The Captive Curse! My review will touch on the biggest aspects you come across in the game. I will not include any spoilers, and I ask anyone who comments to do the same. :)
Setting
Ahh, lovely Germany. Traditional architecture, classic clothing, homebaked goods. With a definite modern spin. Awesome :) Now, this all takes place in the course of one night, so it's dark outside and can get pretty creepy. HOWEVER, we fans had been saying we needed more to explore, and HerInteractive listened. A huge castle with an outdoor courtyard to explore, along with the woods outside and plenty of extra passages and tunnels.
Final score: 9.5
Characters
You've got a nervous Burgermeister, an outgoing gift shop hostess, a sometimes snippy storyteller, and a pranking little boy. Oh yeah, and a rich castle owner to report to. This is definitely a wide range of characters, and each character seems to have a change in them during the course of the game. Some for good, some....not so good. The only thing I would have changed about the characters would be to have them be a little more helpful than they seemed to be at most times. BUT, when you need a break from the pressure of the case, Karl is already ready with a game of Raid, and Lukas is always up for a game of Monster :)
Final Score: 9
Story
It's been a while since we've had a game that incorporated so much history in their story. We've got a complicated plot here - young girls always disappearing, and people say they've seen this monster, but no one can consistently describe it. With new twists and turns being incorporated, this can get a little sticky. BUT, I never got lost in the story while playing. Sure, there were a few times I wasn't sure what to do next, but I never got confused as to what was going on.
Final Score: 9.5
Puzzles
A lot of the puzzles in this game were slightly reminiscent to me. They reminded me of older games. Searching for tiles, figuring out maps, sneaking in drawers for answers. A few very difficult; a majority that I could figure out myself. Most puzzles trigger the next event, and so on. Good mix. I liked it :)
Final Score: 9.5
Length & Scary Factor
This game took me approximately 9 hours. In comparison with other games, it was pretty long. I prefer long games though; I don't like finishing up in a day and then having nothing to do. Perfect length in my opinion. :)
This game definitely had it's scary moments. There's a lot of anticipation, and then two moments made me actually yelp. Sometimes I would feel my hand get a little sweaty on the mouse, haha. After every major scary moment, you have a period of time to calm down and relax again. Perfect :)
Final Score: 10!!
Ending
Perfect Timing. Perfect Culprit. Perfect freak-out-clicking-everywhere-to-try-to-figure-out-what-to-do-ness. In my opinion, it's a perfect, classic, scary ending. In a way, I knew it was coming, but when it actually did, it wasn't quite what I expected.
Final Score: 10!
Beautiful job once again, HerInteractive. My collection is now overrun with all your titles. However, I don't mind a bit :)
I hope everyone enjoys my review! I hope it helps you decide whether to play it or not, or answer any questions you had about it beforehand.
Have a great day, everyone! :)
~Victoria
Setting
Ahh, lovely Germany. Traditional architecture, classic clothing, homebaked goods. With a definite modern spin. Awesome :) Now, this all takes place in the course of one night, so it's dark outside and can get pretty creepy. HOWEVER, we fans had been saying we needed more to explore, and HerInteractive listened. A huge castle with an outdoor courtyard to explore, along with the woods outside and plenty of extra passages and tunnels.
Final score: 9.5
Characters
You've got a nervous Burgermeister, an outgoing gift shop hostess, a sometimes snippy storyteller, and a pranking little boy. Oh yeah, and a rich castle owner to report to. This is definitely a wide range of characters, and each character seems to have a change in them during the course of the game. Some for good, some....not so good. The only thing I would have changed about the characters would be to have them be a little more helpful than they seemed to be at most times. BUT, when you need a break from the pressure of the case, Karl is already ready with a game of Raid, and Lukas is always up for a game of Monster :)
Final Score: 9
Story
It's been a while since we've had a game that incorporated so much history in their story. We've got a complicated plot here - young girls always disappearing, and people say they've seen this monster, but no one can consistently describe it. With new twists and turns being incorporated, this can get a little sticky. BUT, I never got lost in the story while playing. Sure, there were a few times I wasn't sure what to do next, but I never got confused as to what was going on.
Final Score: 9.5
Puzzles
A lot of the puzzles in this game were slightly reminiscent to me. They reminded me of older games. Searching for tiles, figuring out maps, sneaking in drawers for answers. A few very difficult; a majority that I could figure out myself. Most puzzles trigger the next event, and so on. Good mix. I liked it :)
Final Score: 9.5
Length & Scary Factor
This game took me approximately 9 hours. In comparison with other games, it was pretty long. I prefer long games though; I don't like finishing up in a day and then having nothing to do. Perfect length in my opinion. :)
This game definitely had it's scary moments. There's a lot of anticipation, and then two moments made me actually yelp. Sometimes I would feel my hand get a little sweaty on the mouse, haha. After every major scary moment, you have a period of time to calm down and relax again. Perfect :)
Final Score: 10!!
Ending
Perfect Timing. Perfect Culprit. Perfect freak-out-clicking-everywhere-to-try-to-figure-out-what-to-do-ness. In my opinion, it's a perfect, classic, scary ending. In a way, I knew it was coming, but when it actually did, it wasn't quite what I expected.
Final Score: 10!
Beautiful job once again, HerInteractive. My collection is now overrun with all your titles. However, I don't mind a bit :)
I hope everyone enjoys my review! I hope it helps you decide whether to play it or not, or answer any questions you had about it beforehand.
Have a great day, everyone! :)
~Victoria