Ashley Clark: The Secrets of the Ancient Temple Reviews

The story is cute but some of the puzzles are terrible.

Unusual game. There is none of the usual 'bonus chapter', or list of items to collect that is so common with hidden object games. Instead, we have a very basic story - with the game itself focusing more on gameplay, hidden object scenes and puzzles. Loved the subtle musical ambience. Graphics are as per usual - a little rough, with cutscenes barely animated, if you could call it that. I played on normal - even at this setting there is no highlight for searching the screens, but I felt it was fair given some sections pulled me up for a short time. The first cogs puzzle really had me stumped for a while - conversely the match 3 gems puzzle to eliminate selected slots was a lot of fun. There's probably not many puzzles here that you haven't seen in other similar games, but it doesn't make it any less enjoyable. You might have to tap the ? to check what the goal is occasionally as it sometimes lacks an explanation. Hidden object scenes take two forms - mess scenes and a written list, and mess scenes with object outlines. The written lists have roughly half-and-half of easy-to-find, and hard-to-find items - which require a bit of thinking as the clues don't always giveaway where the item is. In terms of story, there isn't much. A few cutscenes here and there, but surprisingly light. I think it's a good thing as I've never been a fan of the stories in these games. _____________ As a game I think if you want puzzles, hidden object scenes, and not much story to get in your way then this is solid enough to get you through an afternoon of bad weather. No missable achievements either.