Magnus Imago Reviews

What was that? 10/10

What the fuck did I just play?

I feel like playing this game sober is detractive to the experience. The price of 13 PLN (cheapest there is, ~3 EUR) is almost reasonable, but 9 USD/EUR (in applicable regions) for a game that's ~1 hour long is just way too much.

A short but interesting game with a strange feel. I can't quite explain it, but the games from this developer are simply something special. You can also play the games individually, but it's best to get them in a bundle or in a sale. Since the game is not that long, I recommend that you really get it during the sale. The puzzles aren't that difficult and I didn't have any technical problems.

Strange point n click with an abstract atmosphere accompanied by a very good ambient OST. Very short but intriguing.

Imago might be the most inscrutable of the 4 Magnus quadrilogy games, but it’s more than worth it for the animation sequences alone. Check out the guide for help if you need, it’s worth seeing it through to the end and continuing on to the other Magnus games. I love this series of games. I wrote an essay analyzing them as a collection, speaking with one of the brothers behind them for the piece. Play these games, they are more than worth your time. http://www.pressplaygaming.net/articles/2024/1/19/unravelling-sons-of-welders-magnusnbspgame-series

Full playthrough on normal here: https://youtu.be/UWxoXm9Q1Yo This game has some incredible visuals and if you play it on normal some of the object uses can be really puzzeling, but I'm gonna have to play the first one, because the story made about zero sense to me which the game seems to have a surrealist vibe anyways so maybe it's not supposed to make a whole lot of sense and be abstract either way it has a creepy aesthetic and some really cool things. The DLC wouldn't download for me everytime I hit download it just launches the game, but regardless I think it was worth the price on sale I definitely wouldn't have bought this at full price especially with people who got it for free complaining about the price.

Personally, I really enjoyed the artistry and the atmosphere on the display here, that said, I have several issues with the design of the game when it comes to the interface and how many puzzles are introduced together, potentially being somewhat disorienting - other devs would separate the game into 2 or 3 sections for example, granted those games are usually longer. The game is only 45 to 60 minutes, but generally, I don't subscribe to the idea of game price vs hours, I just want to see a story that has enough time to get the point across. Now the narrative in this game is extremely vague, somewhat thought-provoking, and open for interpretation. I didn't fully understand what is being told aside from some metamorphosis themes, and I mean it in a good way, it's a strange experience that left me wondering about what happened, probably exactly what the developer was going for. Should this game be longer? Well, in terms of narrative I think it's fine to leave it the way it is, if anything I just expected another few sections of puzzles just because I play a lot of games from the 'Cotton Game', which is a golden standard as far as static adventures go. The interface in this game is a bit unusual as far as static adventure games go, you could simplify it in the next game. You should be able to just hover over an item to get the description, no need for a separate panel for each item. One thing I find very strange is that developer removed the pointer highlighter in the normal mode - that is a default feature in most games, and it's there for a good reason, I understand if you don't want to have an automatic system that would do it for you, but if I already found the item, it should highlight my cursor, otherwise, I am just clicking everywhere even if I know where to look. As short as the game is, I spend at least 15 minutes of it pixel hunting, not in a good way, like I missed some very tiny things that I thought I already inspected. Fortunately, if you want to play with a cursor highlight you can turn it on by using the 'easy mode'. -- In terms of the puzzle design, you don't want to introduce too many items and puzzles too quickly, like 5 minutes in I had 10 items, which is a lot of variables for just starting the game. Overall, I did not find most of the puzzles difficult, I was just a bit overwhelmed by having too many locations and puzzles given at one time. On a side note, I solved the number pattern by accident, I am sure there is a logic to it, but I think you can interpret it in multiple ways. I am also wondering if having a fast travel map with unlocked locations would help with navigation a little. [h1] Pros: [/h1] (+) Even though the game is very vague, I enjoyed the various metaphors and the gloomy atmosphere. Following the bread crumbs but never truly finding the bread, if you know what I mean. I thought the 3D visuals and the music player were a good addition as well, just an overall interesting experience in terms of art and immersion. [h1] Feedback: [/h1] [u] Interface [/u] - hovering to get the item info would be more straightforward. You don't need to separate the pointer highlighter into difficulty modes, the game does not have a button press for hotspots as it is, which is more than enough, color change just makes the experience intuitive, clicking on every part of the drawing has little to do with difficulty. [u] Puzzle sections/Length [/u] - you introduced too many items and puzzles right away, so I had a lot of items that were not relevant for a long time. Again I don't really mind the length of this game personally in terms of story, but I assumed there would be another puzzle section or two. I don't like to tell devs how to price the games, it's your decision, just understand what your game is worth because most people have a good idea of what is fair. [b] Overall Thoughts: 6/10 [/b] Maybe I am being a little generous here, but I think the game had some interesting ideas in terms of narrative and visuals, having a mystery full of metaphors that allow you to come up with your own conclusion - I think I like the direction more than the execution. I imagine most people would want a bit more of the 'experience' for the $, personally, I am okay with what I got. You need to work a bit on making the interface more friendly. [code]Review by: http://store.steampowered.com/curator/31294838-Hidden-Gem-Discovery/ [/code]