The "Raven" Casts a "Dark" Shadow on This "Tale"! – Dark Tales: The Raven Review

Warning: There are some violent and bloody images that might disturb some players! My favorite detective is back! Why is he my favorite? Because he is charming, elegant, sophisticated, and most handsome--the last being the most important trait of all! This storyline is very loosely based upon the poem The Raven, originally published in 1845 by American writer Edgar Allen Poe. The settings strictly follow the typical horror-themed template. You will be dismayed by macabre visuals, such as the talking head of a human, with bloodstained scars, white eyeballs, and steel spikes jutting out from his ears. The graphics are embellished with finely hand-drawn details that evince a photographic realism of the environment. The coloration showcases softly muted shades of gray, blue, and brown; the color gray is sometimes representative of pessimistic and depressive feelings, which factor well into this storyline. You can customize your settings. The inventory is labeled and interactive; items require assembly. In custom mode, the teleport map delays travel to labeled locations by a few seconds; but it indicates available actions. Transition between scenes is slightly delayed by about two or three seconds. The sole HOS I came across during the free trial is a word list with slight interaction. As the game progresses, the formats slightly vary; but there is not one scene that caught my attention. Furthermore, scenes are revisited; and this is unacceptable these days. The puzzles are the highlight of this game. Most are entertaining and a bit challenging. Furthermore, some let you enable a preferred difficulty setting. I particularly enjoyed moving the beetle around in the maze. The collectibles are scarce in quantity, but the information each one details is interesting. Considering the brevity of the free trial, I was hesitant to purchase the game; however, once again, my craving for a hidden object adventure lured me into purchasing it. Unfortunately, I am underwhelmed. Gameplay, aside from the puzzles, is elementary and boring. The game delivers an outdated feel, as it fails to offer any traces of innovation to sparkle my imagination. Furthermore, I found some touch-sensitivity issues. During one of the HOSs, I swiftly clicked a few times, causing the screen to zoom up. I could not get the screen to zoom out, even by pinching the screen. So, I had to back out of the scene using the map and then re-enter the scene. Moreover, interacting within the HOSs is tedious; I need to assertively tap around to find that magic spot when combining items. Another quibble--a trivial one--is that it bothers me when the audio dialogue of the main character is silent; I find this to be an archaic practice. Finally, inventory actions are repeated for some items; more specifically, you will have to hammer each nail individually to assemble a ladder. The greater aspects are the graphics, the puzzles, and Detective Dupin's appealing qualities; other than these, I am disappointed with this game. I rate this game 3 stars, mostly due to the enjoyable puzzles. You should play the free trial first to decide for yourselves.
Review by KimTwilight69 on Dark Tales: The Raven.