The Emerald Maiden: Symphony of Dreams Reviews

I don't recommend The Emerald Maiden: Symphony of Dreams. It is a functional Hidden Object Mystery, but the puzzles are very easy and several of the story's twists turn out to simply be the main antagonist putting on a puppet show for the benefit of the protagonist. The aesthetics are generally good, with some nice underwater resort set pieces in the general vibe of Bioshock. There's a cool technician on staff who is half sea creature. I just... don't feel that the plot holds together very well. There's two simulated areas based on the home of a low-contact South American tribe, both with Hidden Object Puzzles featuring items from Africa, such as tiger and elephant statues. The first area was short and seemed more of a recreation of a dream sequence, so I gave it some slack. The second area was more grounded, so the items from tribal cultures around the world came across as being more out of place. The bonus chapter is good, and helps ground the main story in reality, by revealing who funded the protagonist's trip to the submerged hotel, and how the place was still stocked with supplies years past the disappearance of the protagonist's family. That said, the fetch quests in the bonus chapter are resolved with items found in some pretty absurd locations. Plus, the protagonist doesn't want to break a lot of things throughout the game, but is somehow suddenly fine with shooting a cannon into a storefront...

This was a really good HOG. Good hidden object puzzles, a storyline that you could actually follow, fun imagery and it was pretty consistent too! 8/10