Halloween Stories: The Neglected Dead > iPad, iPhone, Android, Mac & PC Game

Overall rating

5 / 5

2 of 2 found this review helpful

(HOPA) 2021s Halloween Stories #5

PostedOctober 22, 2022

kerith90angel

fromHappy Halloween!

Key Contributor
This "Key Contributor" plays, rates, and reviews a lot of games. We think you'll trust their thoughts and opinions about games.
Key Contributor

Skill Level:Expert

Current Favorite:

Crossroads: On a Just Path Collector's Edition

(74)

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

BASED ON COMPLETED GAME (& CE bonus chapter)
I purchased the CE version

I did a review under the CE based on the demo that I wish I could change to 5*. This is a ***solid 5*** game when I played it to the end. It has everything I like in a game such as multiple storylines weaving in with the main theme and time of day change.

The SE portion took me 3:07 hr.
The Ce bonus play was 1:04 ...Show more

BASED ON COMPLETED GAME (& CE bonus chapter)
I purchased the CE version

The SE portion took me 3:07 hr.
The Ce bonus play was 1:04 hr.
Total CE play was 4:11 hr. (6 days-custom mode-skipped some MG)

RE: CE screensaver: They let you use the screensaver as you play the game in this one! You still collect the puzzle pieces for it but you can use it right away. It's a cool one too. It has the baddies from the 4 storylines and it has a 3d feel. I thought the Hungry Ghost looked more like an alien. He is standing in front juggling fire.

The notes, photos, brochures & articles, in this game, are all done with care.
I liked the colors they used in this game too. The main game story thread was a few friends are myth debunkers. Each chapter had one of the friends investigating a story of their own. One of the levels has a Day of the Dead theme. And the bonus chapter has its own story too, based on the Mothman. I really liked the CE bonus play. At one point you get to dress up and go to a costume party in this game! It was so well drawn and the music was perfect.

Elephant, I'm so sorry I didn't rate both versions 5* because they both deserve it. The gameplay is excellent in both the SE & the CE but I highly recommend the CE version. I'm so glad I paid the extra money and thought it was worth it. Show less

I recommend this game!

+2points

2of 2voted this as helpful.

Was this review helpful?Yes2No0

Flagged as inappropriate.

Overall rating

5 / 5

2 of 3 found this review helpful

a good HO game

PostedSeptember 15, 2022

denniann2

fromharrisonburg, virginia

Key Contributor
This "Key Contributor" plays, rates, and reviews a lot of games. We think you'll trust their thoughts and opinions about games.
Key Contributor

Skill Level:Intermediate

Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Match 3, Puzzle

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

i played on the custom level. good hint system.

I recommend this game!

+1point

2of 3voted this as helpful.

Was this review helpful?Yes2No1

Flagged as inappropriate.

Overall rating

4 / 5

Mythbusters Turned Ghost Hunters!

PostedOctober 5, 2024

JulzCat

fromCharlotte, NC

Key Contributor
This "Key Contributor" plays, rates, and reviews a lot of games. We think you'll trust their thoughts and opinions about games.
Key Contributor

Fun Factor

4 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

4 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

A team of three myth debunkers find out that ignoring their cultural afterlife can be deadly!

This game was fun and colorful, although I struggled to follow the story because it was constantly shifting. There were three stories, revolving around North American, European, and Asian gods or demons that were plaguing the disbelievers. I enjoyed the puzzles but in particular the stories of the past. The ending was a bit confusing, but that's the hazard with buying SE games...they always seem to give the finale over to the CE games. Show less

0points

0of 0voted this as helpful.

Was this review helpful?Yes0No0

Flagged as inappropriate.

Overall rating

3 / 5

30 of 34 found this review helpful

I would not could not with a CE, I would not could not with an SE

PostedNovember 5, 2021

tesamoine

fromJersey Girl... at home.

Key Contributor
This "Key Contributor" plays, rates, and reviews a lot of games. We think you'll trust their thoughts and opinions about games.
Key Contributor

Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Time Management

Current Favorite:

Mystery of the Ancients: Lockwood Manor Collector's Edition

(44)

Fun Factor

2 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

4 / 5

Level of Challenge

1 / 5

Storyline

1 / 5

Well, here we have the rare game for the Halloween season. The time where a few developers come out with their yearly Halloween game. I feel this should give them a little bit of an extra kick to say "hey, let's make a great spooky Halloween game". Not the case here. Not even a tiny scare. Very few HOS. I thought it was short, including the bonus chapter. I had high hopes for all the build up this game received and the first few reviews I saw were 5 stars (but aren't they always)? This is closer to 2 stars for me but I threw an extra one in there for art and color. I sure hope the other developers come out with something better than this for Halloween. I do not recommend. Do better Elephant. Show less

I don't recommend this game.

+26points

30of 34voted this as helpful.

Was this review helpful?Yes30No4

Flagged as inappropriate.

Overall rating

3 / 5

55 of 68 found this review helpful

NO ONE'S EVER GOING TO FEEL THE NEED TO RE-DRAW THIS GAME LOL

PostedNovember 5, 2021

pennmom36

fromRemembering You Is Easy, I Do It Every Day-Missing You Is A Heartache That Never Goes Away ~ Forever in my heart, Loki ❣

Top Reviewer
This "Top Reviewer" is one of our most frequent game reviewers. We think you'll trust what they have to say and find their reviews helpful and informative.
Top Reviewer

Skill Level:Expert

Fun Factor

3 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

4 / 5

Level of Challenge

2 / 5

Storyline

3 / 5

Completed Game approximately 4 hours
(including completion of all mini-games & CE Bonus Chapter)
18 Main Game Scene Locations +7 Bonus Chapter
Difficulty Range: Beginner

Yesterday's masterpiece, Drawn: The Painted Tower was ReDrawn because it no longer worked on the newer 64bit computers. I had to laugh because I thought, 10 to 15 years from today, no one would care if they could no longer play this game on their computer so no one would ever bother to remaster The Neglected Dead. In fact, I can't think of a single newer HOPA that would be worthy enough of a remaster because none of them are as good as they were back in the 2013-2018 timeframe! I'm not saying all HOPAs are garbage nowadays, but when compared to the quality, the gameplay, the amazing storylines, and challenge of the older games, none of the newer ones roll off anyone's tongues when asked what their favorite HOPA game is...what is your all-time favorite HOPA? I'm bettin' it's a game that was developed between 2013 and 2018!

I wouldn't mind the fact that all HOPA games have become so blatantly foolproof if Big Fish would just offer more Adventure games, but they rarely do! (even tho there are far more adventure games available than HOPAs) There are only a handful of beginner players, the majority are at least Intermediate players, most of us have been playing this genre for over a decade! In a sense, we are the ones who put this genre on the map thus, the reason HOPA developers exist today so why not throw us a bone every now and then with a game befitting our skillset?

HELPER/GADGETS:
There are NO gadgets or Helpers in Halloween Stories: The Neglected Dead, however, you'll play a different character in each Chapter. The first Chapter is played as George O'Leary, then you can choose to play as Shen Lee or Catherine Garcia-Gonzales in any order.

AUDIO/VIDEO/GAMEPLAY:
I fell in love with the graphics when I first discovered Mystery Trackers: The Void. No other developer has mastered the creepy, abandoned town scenario like Elephant Games has, the characters are lifelike and move fluently. Although they have had issues with the audio soundtracks in the past, lately I haven't noticed any freeze-ups or awkward silence moments.
The game mechanics seem to be flawless but the story itself seems to have a few hiccups. In the first scene, Cathrine writes a note to tech guru, George O'Leary, that if he can get her safe open he can have anything inside, his prize is Catherine's camera. George even makes the comment that he hopes the safe isn't empty, yet a few scenes later he uses the camera for the first time, and due to unforeseen circumstances, the camera gets broken...of course! Then he complains that Dullaham broke HIS favorite camera? How can it be HIS favorite camera if prior to this single use it belonged to Catherine? Moving on to the next scene, an old, half-blind man is kidnapped by the evil-doer and George makes the comment that he has to save this victim because it's the only way to find out what he did to deserve being kidnapped...say what???

MORPHING OBJECTS/COLLECTIBLES: (CE version only)
Less is More, right? I mentioned falling in love with Mystery Trackers: The Void because of the graphics, but the reason I started to play the series in the first place was that it had Morphing Objects. Originally, Elephant Games had amazing Morphing Objects that were challenging to spot because the morphs were slow and the objects that morphed were things that weren't obvious, such as paintings, windows, or sections of a building that morphed into a similar object. Then they started making the Morphs huge and they were so obvious when a mushroom started flashing at a break-neck speed into a giant, out-of-proportion, and out-of-place white baseball which took away all of the challenge and all of the fun. Now they have just abandoned ship, instead of putting forth more effort, they decided Less is More. I sure do miss the old Elephant Games tradition :( There are 12 Collectible Cards with descriptions of various Halloween evil-doers, and 24 Zoom Zone Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces to assemble a Single Screensaver.

HIDDEN OBJECT SCENES:
There are only 8 Hidden Object Scenes +5 in the CE Bonus Chapter, and a handful of smaller zoom zone HO's that usually precede the main HO scenes. What I am noticing from this developer in the last few games, is a marked improvement in the Hidden Object Scenes. The objects are smaller and less obvious they are clearly making an attempt to blend the objects into the scenery and choosing objects that will blend into the scene rather than stick out like a sore thumb, why can't they apply this method to the Morphing Object scenario? There are Interactive List Finds, Silhouetted Shape Finds, Matching Pairs, Find & Replace Scenes, Keywords in Sentence Finds, and Multiples of the same Item Finds. There are no alternate games available in lieu of the HOs.

MINI-GAMES/PUZZLES:
There are 18 Mini-Games +4 in the CE Bonus Chapter. They did a good job putting twists on standard games to make them Halloween-themed or at least character-related. There seems to be an excessive amount of puzzles that involve moving tiles along a track, such as moving tiles along tracks to complete an image, choosing letters in the correct order so that when the letters slide along a loopy track it spells a specific word, etc. If it wasn't a sliding track puzzle, it was a swap tile scenario which is disappointing because usually, Elephant Games offers a lot of Mechanical type puzzles which are my favorite.

BONUS CHAPTER: (Collector's Edition version only)
Turn back the hand of the clock to debunk the infamous Mothman. Because I am from Ohio, the Mothman legend is very familiar so I kind of enjoyed the Bonus Chapter! There are only 7 Scene Locations so it's on the shorter side but I'm okay with short, I'd just prefer to have quality over quantity. There are 4 additional Mini-Games and 5 Hidden Object Scenes, and you will continue your search for the remaining 3 Halloween Cards and 6 Zoom Zone Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces which allow you to complete your Screensaver. After completing the Bonus Chapter the Mystery Room (replay 12 Mini-Games & 13 Hidden Object Scenes) and Expedition Room (return to scenes to search for missed Collectibles & Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces) are unlocked.

MOTHMAN FUN FACTS:
The Mothman is a cryptid that lives in the area around Point Pleasant, West Virginia, some believe he is a Harbinger of doom, that his presence signifies or warns of an impending disaster, others say the Mothman causes the horrific disaster.

The Mothman is also known as Indrid Cold, or “The Grinning Man” which is a supernatural entity/alien that grins at people who see him. The first known sighting of the Mothman was in November 1966 in Point Pleasant, W.Va., a town of 4,300 people at the confluence of the Ohio and Kanawha rivers, just southeast of and across the river from Gallipolis, Ohio.

The sightings continued for the next 13 months from over 100 credible witnesses, such as couples, firefighters, and larger groups of people culminating in the collapse of the Silver Bridge, a disaster that killed 46 people. Afterward, The Mothman vanished as quickly as he arrived!

Since 2002 the town of Point Pleasant has celebrated the “Mothman Festival” on the third weekend of every September, they even have a 12-foot tall statue of the Mothman in Point Pleasant! To this day people claim to have seen the Mothman before disasters like 9/11 and the collapse of the 35 west bridge in Minneapolis.

COLLECTOR'S EDITION EXTRA'S:
5 Wallpapers, 1 Jigsaw Puzzle Screensaver, 4 Music Soundtracks, 21 Achievements, 12 Collectible Halloween Cards (with descriptions) 24 Zoom Zone Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces, Mystery Room (replay 12 Mini-Games & 13 Hidden Object Scenes), Expedition Room (return to scenes to search for missed Collectibles & Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces) 3 Main Chapters +Bonus Chapter, and a Built-In Strategy Guide.

I'd love to see you at my new forum, thewoodsforum.boards.net Show less

I don't recommend this game.

+42points

55of 68voted this as helpful.

Was this review helpful?Yes55No13

Flagged as inappropriate.

Overall rating

2 / 5

6 of 6 found this review helpful

The dead aren't all that got neglected here.

PostedSeptember 10, 2022

mary_mcmurran

Skill Level:Expert

Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle

Current Favorite:

Mystery Case Files®: Fate's Carnival

(133)

Fun Factor

1 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

2 / 5

Level of Challenge

2 / 5

Storyline

1 / 5

For a short while I found the clumsy animation and laughable CG kind of charming, but after getting out of the initial room, the charm began to fade rapidly, and by the end of the first chapter I just walked away and uninstalled. Only five locations in the chapter, I think three or four HOS (only one of which had more than five items to find), and two puzzles... awful puzzles. Both are ...Show more

Voice acting quality is best typified by the fairy I couldn't help but dub "Cindy" when her ludicrously out-of-place accent, like a petulant valley girl who wants to talk to your manager, made me laugh out loud.

To explain what really kicked me out of the story for good would entail spoilers; suffice to say that there are two basic ways this thin premise could go, and they chose the stupid easy one.

Tastes vary; you might enjoy what I don't. But even if this game's style *does* tickle your fancy, unless the following two chapters are considerably longer and more varied than the first, there's just not enough substance here to justify paying the same price as any number of meatier and better made titles on the site. Show less

I don't recommend this game.

+6points

6of 6voted this as helpful.

Was this review helpful?Yes6No0

Flagged as inappropriate.

Overall rating

1 / 5

Doesn’t load

PostedMay 26, 2023

Oreo160212

Fun Factor

1 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

1 / 5

Level of Challenge

1 / 5

Storyline

1 / 5

This game does not load on iPad.

I don't recommend this game.

0points

0of 0voted this as helpful.

Was this review helpful?Yes0No0

Flagged as inappropriate.

Browse by Genre:

Browse by Genre:

Halloween Stories: The Neglected Dead

Reviews

Halloween Stories: The Neglected Dead

, share your thoughts about this game!

Halloween Stories: The Neglected Dead

Heres what your review will look like once it’s posted.

Click Submit if you’re happy. Your review should appear soon. To make changes, use the Edit or Cancel buttons.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts about this game!

You’ve already shared your thoughts about this game.

Thanks for submitting the review below.


	, share your thoughts about this game! Halloween Stories: The Neglected Dead Sometimes Seeing is Believing! Heres what your review will look like once it’s posted. Click Submit if you’re happy. Your review should appear soon. To make changes, use the Edit or Cancel buttons. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about this game! You’ve already shared your thoughts about this game. Thanks for submitting the review below.