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Artifex Mundi makes point-and-click adventure games like KEMCO makes jrpgs: There are lots of them, they’re formulaic and generally forgettable, but they are perfectly respectable if that’s the itch you want to scratch.
In general things that I’ve noticed about Artifex Mundi games: They tend towards having “horror” storylines, despite the fact they’re games you can’t lose or die in. Their hidden object puzzles are pretty much always “find a dozen random items so you can pick up one of them,” though they occasional;ly branch out into “find a dozen pieces of this item so you can assemble it,” which I like much better. They’re generous with hints, skips and glowing indicators (and map indicators of where to go next) unless you play on Expert mode intentionally. I also noticed these games have female protagonists most of the time. I wonder if that says something about the expected / actual audience for the genre.
The games are indeed formulaic; generally with the same sorts of puzzles with minor variations and similar plots. And the same plot holes—the number of times the character threw away a wrench or some lockpicks in one room only to need them again (and need to find new ones) two scenes later was maddening.
Mind Snares: Alice's Journey - This was the first game from the bundle I tried, and noted it was the same style of game as Paranormal State, and about on par. It's about a woman named Alice recounting the paranormal experience that led to her making a major life shift. The psychodrama of Alice rediscovering herself in the twisted dark world is overdone, but a perfectly good excuse plot.
Time Mysteries: Inheritance - Remastered - The animation rather terrible (people's faces do a bizarre morphing thing when they talk) and the plotline is absurd (your father had a set of magical time-travel rings that you need to recover and use to rescue him), but the puzzles are moderately fun. This is mostly "spot the hidden objects" and "spot the differences" puzzles, with only a few brainteasers and some very simple adventure-game-style object combination puzzles. They apparently couldn't be bothered to proof-check the dialogue, because at some points people obviously say lines intended for someone else (and the lines are voiced, no less!). I'm not going to go so far as to call it bad, because I had fun with it, but it's hardly a game I'd recommend—probably the worst of the bundle.
Dark Arcana: The Carnival - This has a bit more of a plot than some of the others, in that there's a supernatural mystery with an actual twist in it, as you travel through a haunted carnival and its mirror-world reflection. In another interesting twist, you can choose to do the hidden object puzzles as games of Monaco instead. Which in turn means you need to play through the game twice in order to get all the achievements. (There's also a bonus ending you can only get if you play in Expert mode.) Admittedly, this game is a bit on the short side, so I can understand why they went with the artificial replay value.
Left in the Dark: No One on Board - Pretty standard and formulaic by the time I reached it; you play Madam Detective and must solve the mystery of an empty ship haunted by the ghost of a little girl and a hook-handed figure. Nothing particularly noteworthy or standout, but perfectly fine for the genre.
Clockwork Tales: Of Glass and Ink - A story about Evangeline Glass and her mentor Professor Ink. People talk with the "face-morphing" animation, though it's not as bad as elsewhere. Puzzles are generally decent, though I did end up skipping a particularly frustrating one. (I prefer not to skip puzzles—nothing in any of these games would give an experienced Professor Layton player pause.) They try to be logical with the hidden objects (several are "find all the pieces to assemble a thing"), and there are some "find and use" puzzles of a style I hadn't seen before.
9 Clues: The Secret of Serpent Creek - This was a particularly simple game; the adventure game elements were very straightforward and you rarely had more than one or two objects in your inventory at any given point, or a particularly large number of outstanding clues. It's very linear. The voice acting is better than some others and the animation is acceptable. The "horror" theme remains intact, this time with a supernatural element (snake men and ancient snake gods), and an obvious sequel hook. Relatively short with no bonus chapter.
Grim Legends: The Forsaken Bride - Despite the over-acted cutscenes and the plot twist that you’d see coming miles away if you’ve seen the movie Brave, this was one of the better games in the bundle. You have the option to play a dominos minigame instead of hidden-object puzzles, and though the sequences are fairly linear the adventure game elements remain fairly logical.
The bundle also included Nightmares from the Deep 2: The Siren`s Call, Nightmares from the Deep 3: Davy Jones, and Grim Legends 2: Song of the Dark Swan. It seems likely I’ll play those eventually, too, but I’m going to spend some time on the works of other publishers first.
Overall: I get the impression that Artifex Mundi has a standard for their games, but I generally like that standard, so that's fine with me. They’re not the greatest a point-and-click adventure game could be, but they’re generally all middling examples of the genre.
In general things that I’ve noticed about Artifex Mundi games: They tend towards having “horror” storylines, despite the fact they’re games you can’t lose or die in. Their hidden object puzzles are pretty much always “find a dozen random items so you can pick up one of them,” though they occasional;ly branch out into “find a dozen pieces of this item so you can assemble it,” which I like much better. They’re generous with hints, skips and glowing indicators (and map indicators of where to go next) unless you play on Expert mode intentionally. I also noticed these games have female protagonists most of the time. I wonder if that says something about the expected / actual audience for the genre.
The games are indeed formulaic; generally with the same sorts of puzzles with minor variations and similar plots. And the same plot holes—the number of times the character threw away a wrench or some lockpicks in one room only to need them again (and need to find new ones) two scenes later was maddening.
Mind Snares: Alice's Journey - This was the first game from the bundle I tried, and noted it was the same style of game as Paranormal State, and about on par. It's about a woman named Alice recounting the paranormal experience that led to her making a major life shift. The psychodrama of Alice rediscovering herself in the twisted dark world is overdone, but a perfectly good excuse plot.
Time Mysteries: Inheritance - Remastered - The animation rather terrible (people's faces do a bizarre morphing thing when they talk) and the plotline is absurd (your father had a set of magical time-travel rings that you need to recover and use to rescue him), but the puzzles are moderately fun. This is mostly "spot the hidden objects" and "spot the differences" puzzles, with only a few brainteasers and some very simple adventure-game-style object combination puzzles. They apparently couldn't be bothered to proof-check the dialogue, because at some points people obviously say lines intended for someone else (and the lines are voiced, no less!). I'm not going to go so far as to call it bad, because I had fun with it, but it's hardly a game I'd recommend—probably the worst of the bundle.
Dark Arcana: The Carnival - This has a bit more of a plot than some of the others, in that there's a supernatural mystery with an actual twist in it, as you travel through a haunted carnival and its mirror-world reflection. In another interesting twist, you can choose to do the hidden object puzzles as games of Monaco instead. Which in turn means you need to play through the game twice in order to get all the achievements. (There's also a bonus ending you can only get if you play in Expert mode.) Admittedly, this game is a bit on the short side, so I can understand why they went with the artificial replay value.
Left in the Dark: No One on Board - Pretty standard and formulaic by the time I reached it; you play Madam Detective and must solve the mystery of an empty ship haunted by the ghost of a little girl and a hook-handed figure. Nothing particularly noteworthy or standout, but perfectly fine for the genre.
Clockwork Tales: Of Glass and Ink - A story about Evangeline Glass and her mentor Professor Ink. People talk with the "face-morphing" animation, though it's not as bad as elsewhere. Puzzles are generally decent, though I did end up skipping a particularly frustrating one. (I prefer not to skip puzzles—nothing in any of these games would give an experienced Professor Layton player pause.) They try to be logical with the hidden objects (several are "find all the pieces to assemble a thing"), and there are some "find and use" puzzles of a style I hadn't seen before.
9 Clues: The Secret of Serpent Creek - This was a particularly simple game; the adventure game elements were very straightforward and you rarely had more than one or two objects in your inventory at any given point, or a particularly large number of outstanding clues. It's very linear. The voice acting is better than some others and the animation is acceptable. The "horror" theme remains intact, this time with a supernatural element (snake men and ancient snake gods), and an obvious sequel hook. Relatively short with no bonus chapter.
Grim Legends: The Forsaken Bride - Despite the over-acted cutscenes and the plot twist that you’d see coming miles away if you’ve seen the movie Brave, this was one of the better games in the bundle. You have the option to play a dominos minigame instead of hidden-object puzzles, and though the sequences are fairly linear the adventure game elements remain fairly logical.
The bundle also included Nightmares from the Deep 2: The Siren`s Call, Nightmares from the Deep 3: Davy Jones, and Grim Legends 2: Song of the Dark Swan. It seems likely I’ll play those eventually, too, but I’m going to spend some time on the works of other publishers first.
Overall: I get the impression that Artifex Mundi has a standard for their games, but I generally like that standard, so that's fine with me. They’re not the greatest a point-and-click adventure game could be, but they’re generally all middling examples of the genre.
