Arkhangel: The House of the Seven Stars Reviews

Avventura molto rozza dal punto di vista tecnico ma che riesce a creare una bella atmosfera, con una narrazione interessante e piena di dettagli. Valida la colonna sonora

Arkhangel is a devoted take on the classic point-n-click adventure genre, but lovingly packed with moody mystery and ominous Lovecraftian flavor. There's so much to find in this world, and I'm still discovering more. If you like immersing yourself in an environment, getting to know its inhabitants, and unraveling a rich story, this is a game for you. The writing and soundtrack in particular are superb. I can't wait to see what each new day holds.

I tried playing an earlier version, and shelved it within 10 minutes due to the clunky movement interface. Giving it another go after the 1.5 Point & Click update, I found the new interface to be MUCH more user-friendly. Thank you so much for making this change, as it allowed me to experience this wonderfully engaging and creepy game! The writing was well done, with fully developed characters and expansive lore. You can sense the conviction and motivations of the island's current and previous inhabitants through documents, letters, and philosophical/religious passages. The incredible orchestral and choral music is, somehow, both soothing and jarring in an eerie way. The visuals are mostly great, with shadows and light used effectively in amplifying the uneasy atmosphere of the remote village setting. There are a couple scenes, [spoiler] (Anya's funeral being the most memorable} [/spoiler] that were overly lit, with no shadows whatsoever that seemed visually inconsistent with the rest of the game. Though this may have simply been a design choice, and didn't detract from the story. My only real issue with the game is that there were two points in Day 6 where I was able to get myself into a seemingly unwinnable state: [spoiler] It's possible to charter the boat to Lilith's mansion before retrieving the key to get in. You can then ride the boat back and get the key, but upon returning to the fish monger, he'll request another pass, which you can't get as the general store is now closed. Also if you come back to the mainland by boat, (instead of the secret tunnel from Lilith's place) and then enter the mines, you won't be able to leave. The lower path is blocked, and the mine entrance is clickable, but using the action icon on it does nothing. [/spoiler] Thankfully, I'd saved just before leaving, so was able to quickly play through a restore from there. Reading through the journal and paying more attention to clues, the game does try to steer you in the right direction. Even with the Day 6 issue I encountered, I thoroughly enjoyed this game and am eager to see what this team does next.

Creepy, compelling and occasionally awkward to play. A 70/100 effort. [b]The good[/b] Tells a good, wholesome, Lovecraftian story. The best kind of wholesome story Dark and oppressive tone maintained throughout Different branching endings Some solid puzzles The QTEs aren't as onerous or as annoying as they can be in other games. In fact, they're too easy You can save at any time. This makes sampling the various endings out a lot easier [b]The bad[/b] Awkward camera angles and moving around Highlighted objects not as bright or as prominent as they could be Some inappropriate background music. Jaunty Russian folk music while traipsing in a dark dungeon, e.g

Arkhangel is a competent enough adventure game, if not a little rough around the edges. The Bad: I encoutered a few bugs such as getting stuck in terrain and my character model became invisible once after a cutscene and didn't return until I completely restarted the game. Not a huge fan of the control scheme. I wish there were straight up mouse controls where I could click on an area or an object and my character would walk themselves there. The walk speed felt a little too fast when inside an enclosed space such as a building, but also a little too slow while walking around the town. I wish I had an option to sprint. Also, the camera would do a dramatic swing when entering a new area which sometimes felt disorienting and felt like it slowed down travel. Quicktime events without any associated animations felt a little bizzare. I never really felt a sense of urgency and felt they could have been a little more complex than just "Mash spacebar" Now it might seem I'm dumping on the game, but I'm still recommending it. I still enjoyed the game, and would like to see a more polished followup. The Good: Never encoutered any "moon logic" puzzles. There was a handy journal to check if I wasn't sure about my next step. I enjoyed the fact that you didn't just play as a single character, which allowed you to view the world through the eyes of someone else. The world and backstory were compelling. Exploring the abandoned mansion was really strong. Music was great

A very good game, nice script, Satisfy my thirst for an occult-lovecraft based adventure. It will remind you a little Eternal Darkness.. I believe the developers should consider to move in this direction, they have a good story which continues..

Spoiler free dissection. Pros: - UI is responsive and intuitive. The mouse selection pop up deserves standalone mention. It is the sole feature comparable to AA design. - Nice stylized graphics of the environments, which will help it age more gracefully. Naturally the locations the story centers on received the most attention. - The soundtrack consists of tasteful classical oriented music. With a couple variations thrown into the mix within the second half. - Character walking is solid. I played with WASD. Just make sure to avoid level boundaries/edges. It is possible to lose track of where you are in keyboard mode. - It has a rich lore despite the complete absence of voice acting. - The middle portion is nice. It used the prior build up to encourage intrigue and suspense rather well. That's it, now for the bad... Cons: - The stylization could only help it up to a point. Character models are stiffly animated and look like shaded unity assets of the cheap variety. The base essentials are covered, nothing fancy far as the eye can see. - The soundtrack's compositions don't truly suit a slow horror adventure. Tasteful or not, it has the "Epic" property for too much of it's runtime. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_(genre) Needed more lingering, Ambient-like and calm tunes to allow you to settle in and think. They overstayed their welcome and looped quite a few times too. - Repetition ensued when a few of them were re-used. Unsure why that is, a professional composer was hired for the job. - Lack of visual feedback outside static cutscenes. You can walk, run, and perform a pick up motion. Everything else is off-screened. Including QTE sequences. (What?) You need more complex animations in the future in order for the gameplay to feel engaging and satisfying. Fade to black/Fade to white just don't cut it for full-fledged adventures. - The locations are too big for their own good. This is remedied from Day 3 when fast travel is introduced. Why wasn't that a feature from the start? Familiarizing yourself with the city didn't amount to anything by the end anyway. I felt my time was wasted chatting up everyone on Day 1 during my exploration. Because I was worried about missing out on secrets and additional lore. - I didn't like the beginning and end portions. That's 2/3 of the game I found bad. If the game was only Days 3-5 with maybe the first half of 6 it would've been a thumbs up from me. Verdict? Poor. Meh to decent at best, and meh to horrendous at it's worst. Spoilers if you must know why I didn't like the story. Proceed with caution. [spoiler]The name already hinted at this, and none of us could've seen it coming. This is a Christian (Old Testament) + Lovecraft fiction hybrid. And a minor Christian power fantasy. It is reduced to this when you reach Day 7/Chapter 7. The imagery also in an attempt to be edgy turns to fanfiction type stuff. There may be multiple endings, but not even those can salvage it. This is the [b]intended[/b] ending the developers wanted everyone to witness, since you have to really try hard to fail every interaction and QTE to let the horrors win. Cosmic, but for naught.[/spoiler]

I'm just here to jot down my initial impressions of the game, as someone who's new to the point-and-click genre. The controls are a little clunky (at least at first) and it's not very well optimized, but the music is fantastic and the story is engaging, even before I've gotten to the main storyline. Also, if you're a fan of lore, there is a TON so for you to explore at your leisure. It's clear that a lot of thought went into the construction of the story and world. Despite some minor initial frustrations at the controls, I'm enjoying the game and I'm glad I have it. Tl;dr Don't expect it to be perfect, but the main aspects of what you want in a point-and-click game are very well done. P.S. Your journal is in your inventory, and it's your best friend!

Arkhangel: House of the Seven Stars is a classic point-and-click style adventure game for adults. This is a story-driven game with amazing atmosphere and a phenomenal score. It’s not an intensely challenging game. You won’t be stumped by the puzzles or have your reaction time tested. Instead, Arkhangel gives you the chance to dive into a detailed world and a compelling story. The game starts off slowly. Very slowly. But that deliberate pace makes it truly shocking when the horror begins. The controls also take some getting used to. I might have preferred a completely point-and-click interface. But once you get the hang of it, it works. The world of Arkhangel is very developed, with a unique history and mythology. If you like the works of H.P. Lovecraft or the World of Darkness role-playing games, you’ll enjoy the lore spread throughout the game. I also felt the game was the perfect length, and that story came to a satisfying conclusion.

This is a one of the more difficult games for me to write up with an easy recommend / don’t recommend verdict. This is a small budget indie game with some flaws. I’ll break it down and if you’re interested by the end of this, I would say give it a shot. Controls: Clunky! WASD movements and then mouse clicks on characters or interactive items to bring up an interface triangle for Look, Take & Talk. You can’t interact with anybody/thing until you have moved close enough to see your character’s head turn and the tag on the bottom of the screen. Scene shift awkwardness occurs. When you get to the edge of the screen or turn a corner, there is a spin/pause as the perspective changes that I found awkward. Note on Controls: The developers have posted they will add controller support as soon as they can. No ETA on when this will happen. Ambiance: Very nice! The music is beautiful. The main scenes are nice, but what stands out on the graphics is the artwork on the “cut scenes,” which are actually transitions where story unfolds before more game interactivity. Even the darker, horror scenes are quite beautifully done. Challenge: Not so much. There are some puzzles in the game, but not many and I thought pretty simple to get through. There are some quick time events (QTEs), but they are very easy. They consist of either tapping or holding the space bar when a big sign shows up in the middle of the screen telling you to do so. They should not deter anyone that doesn’t like the idea of QTEs. The game world is really intricate. I felt it wanted to take you to the world of Lovecraft. Desperately! At first, it bothered me a bit because it felt so overt and I don't believe this game is based on an actual story of his, but I settled in and was able to just flow with it. There is a ton of reading. What you find lets you in on what is really happening in this dark little town. The dialogue is okay but felt stilted at times. In some instances, your character ignores things that should have screamed a red flag conversation. But by this time I actually thought it was funny - especially when I learned who the "good guys" are in this tale! Once I let go of my frustration with the controls and took this game for what it was, I was entertained by where the developers went with the world they created. There is a definitive end to the game, but it also leaves the possibility of a continuing adventure for the ones that survive. I hope that the developers learn from this experience and improve if they decide to continue the journey.