Mystery Tales: The Lost Hope Collector's Edition Reviews

Can you free Emmett from an evil spell and save the townspeople from murderous demons? Is your deceased sister really still alive? Only one way to find out! Mystery Tales: The Lost Hope Collector's Edition by Developer Domini Games, Publisher Big Fish Games Several years ago your sister Margaret died. Margaret lived with her husband, Emmett, in a small little village lost in the mountains. After her death, Emmett, overcome with grief, disappeared from the town. Or was he banished? And now many years later, you have received a mysterious letter in which he invites you meet with your dead sister. You are so intrigued by this unexpected letter that you head to the village of Reagan, where your sister had lived and where she was buried. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3169346296 In the Collector's Edition Special Features you will learn the story of tragedy in the bonus chapter. There are 18 achievements, a zoo with intriguing animals and an interface shop that has numerous items. You can re-play hidden object scenes and mini-games. You also get soundtracts, wallpapers and concept art. Pros: * Collectibles * Family Sharing * Fast Travel Map * 18 Achievements * Mystical Creatures * No Issues using Windows 11 Cons: * No Trading Cards https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3169346332 Rating: 8.5/10 Final Thoughts: Beautiful scenery and an interesting story that I can't wait to find out what happened. Is Margaret really alive or is she still dead? Pick this one up and find out! Reasonably priced and an enjoyable game. Would make a nice selection to add to your HOG collection! https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3169346229 [table] [tr] [th] This review was submitted for [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/elitegives]Elite Giveaways[/url], where every game deserves a review. Follow our [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/11978515/]Curator page for lots more honest reviews[/url].

[h1]A short lived waste of time[/h1] Even though the header might indicate differently, the game actually isn't bad. It's a mediochre Hidden Object game. And I do have to admit, that some of the HOG-Scenes were quite challenging made. The story isn't all lemon, but it has some lapses - especially with the additional content. But aside of that, the riddles were quite well executed, the possibility to use Match 3 or Puzzles to solve the game is an additional point. This is an "Collectors" - Edition game, which means it comes with additional content. And thanks to that, you can collect some wallpapers, a soundtrack, some freestyle training for HOGs and Riddles, all inclusive. I have seen better stories in Hidden Object games, but it's not as bad as some people bemoan. Yes, it's kind of childish at times, maybe to be a bit more cheerful in a pretty dark story... And the betrayal within this story runs very, very deep. For some, it might be a drawback that the story offers not the Happy Ending the "Antagonist" wishes to have... Only read on if you don't mind spoilers, I will relate why I think the story is sub-optimal in this game: [spoiler]The story would have been actually quite well. If the Antagonist would have stayed as Antagonist, not changing his demeanor mid game, and even more getting a "Free from all" kind of whitewashing in the Bonus game. Already there is some doubt in this game, as if Emmet was guilty all along, latest when you Talk to Billy... "Nothing scary up there!". In the Bonus game it also was revealed, that the Nephew of the "best friend" of Emmet did create the problems for the then "Protagonist" by invoking an old Demon... just out of jealousy and bitterness... In the end there are too many lose threads that need fixing. What was Emmets agenda, aside resurrecting his wife, why aside for the short notification that his "alchemical experiments" endangered the people of the village was he cast out of the village, and why did he return months after being banished? And for the real culprit, how could he actually hide his real agenda after seeing the woman he loved dying because of his machinations? Yes, insanity, but this guy actually looks in the few scenes far too collected to be called insane... He's not really a cultist with deep knowledge, more a dabbler in the dark arts. And dabbling is what throws you over the edge, all the time - no exceptions. [/spoilers]

This is one of the most boring HOGs I have ever played. The developer did get better over time, but their first game, ( this one) is one of their worst. The rest of the series is more entertaining then this one. It's a great attempt at a first, but over all it's still pretty boring. Not Recommended!

[b][u]Game Information[/u][/b] "Mystery Tales: The Lost Hope" Collector's Edition is a Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game. The game was developed by Domini Games and published by Big Fish Games Studio. "The Lost Hope" is the first episode of "Mystery Tales." Since this is a collector's edition game, it comes with extra features that are not available in its' counterpart; the standard edition. [b][u]The Game Review[/u][/b] 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 four different difficulty game modes to choose from: Casual; Advanced; Hardcore and Custom. The notebook keeps track of progression in the game. Such as story events and clues. There is an interactive map in the game. It allows the player to fast travel between each location quickly without having the need to constantly backtrack. It also indicates that there are a variety of tasks that can be completed at various locations within the game. The interactive map is automatically given at the start of the game. There is a padlock feature that is available to lock the inventory panel in place to make it stationary. There are some interactive items in-game. Some of the interactive items may require extra components before they can be interacted with. All interactive items are marked with a symbol in one of the corners. Alchemical Crucible is a device that allows the player to alter certain items in the game. The zoo features mythical creatures that the player comes across in the game. The crystals that are found in the game are used to bring them to life. The shop allows the player to purchase cosmetic items to change how the user interface looks like, it requires coins, the coins are scattered throughout the game. The hidden object scenes consist of the following: Find "x" amount and Traditional word lists. Some of these hidden object scenes may require little or no interactions. Most of the hidden object scenes can be replayed in the game's extra feature section. Jigsaw puzzle is an optional mini-game that is available during hidden object scenes. Match 3 is an optional mini-games that is available during reverse hidden object scenes. The puzzles are fairly easy to solve without having the need to skip any of them. Most of the puzzles can be replayed in the game's extra feature section as well. There are eighteen different achievements that can be unlocked from playing the game. Each of these achievements does come with some requirements that need to be completed before they can be unlocked. 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 The extra contents: Bonus Hidden Object Scenes; Bonus Puzzles; Soundtracks; Game's Strategy Guide; Wallpapers and Concept Art. Some of these extra features can be accessed only after the entire game is completed. There are five different trading cards to collect. Only three of those trading cars are given out by the game. There are several ways to get the rest of the trading cards: Purchased from Steam's Market; Trade with friends; Booster Packs and it's 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.

The achievements worked as intended unlike about 1/3 of HO games. There is a significant amount of illogic to some of the issues to solve and for a couple mini-games I was like "WT% do they want me to do here?".

One of the most boring HOPA games I’ve played. I don’t have very high expectations for this genre, I need it to be pretty, entertaining and pleasant. Unfortunately, The Lost Hope is none of the above. The story is not logical nor interesting, feels like written as a joke during the lunch break. Plot is full of holes and inconsequent, and when you add a poorly made voice over with ridiculously childish dialogues you get an annoying story that you can’t get into, even if you try. Graphics is ok, music is fine, navigation is intuitive, there is an interactive map and all the things players expect from never HOPA games. There is a bonus chapter, collectibles and the whole gameplay is around 3-3.5 hours. It is sad that the story ruins it all. I have finished the whole game with the bonus chapter only to write a review, as I don’t do that for games I haven’t finished. The only thing I like was the zoo with cute animals, but I don’t think it’s enough to recommend the game.