Phantasmat: Death in Hardcover > iPad, iPhone, Android, Mac & PC Game

Overall rating

5 / 5

53 of 59 found this review helpful

DEATH IN HARDCOVER IS EVERYTHING THAT PHANTASMAT SHOULD BE

PostedNovember 2, 2018

biscuitsmama

fromGripping my chair as I follow a madman

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Skill Level:Expert

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

To be truthful, I lost interest in the Phantasmat series long ago and didn’t even purchase the last game – one of the few that I haven’t since the CE version of games was introduced. With this being the third Phantasmat game released this year I didn’t hold out hope that this would be a good game but what a surprise when I played the demo and found Phantasmat Death in Hardcover to be an excellent ...Show more

To be truthful, I lost interest in the Phantasmat series long ago and didn’t even purchase the last game – one of the few that I haven’t since the CE version of games was introduced. With this being the third Phantasmat game released this year I didn’t hold out hope that this would be a good game but what a surprise when I played the demo and found Phantasmat Death in Hardcover to be an excellent game.

There is no need for me to recap the storyline, which by the way, I found to be excellent and thrilling. It was a storyline that held my interest from the very first scene as I tried to find out why this madman was targeting me and putting my family at risk.

What made Phantasmat Death in Hardcover such a great game? Aside from the well told storyline, what really grabbed me were the very creative HOP scenes. Those scenes were excellent and sometimes challenging with one of them having me a bit confused until I figured it out. The puzzles are terrific and some seemed quite challenging at least for me.

Although I am not a fan of the thriller theme in HOPA games, Death by Hardcover gripped me from the very beginning. As I played there were times I was on the edge of my chair but I still couldn’t stop playing since I had to see how this all ended and if Marcia would be able to rescue her family. This game is fairly intense and one that might not be appropriate for all members of the family. For once, all those warnings that we see in games, really is true. If you are able to handle an intense psychological thriller, then you will most likely love this game. Many gamers, I am sure will agree that this is the game we have been waiting to see: a game that is designed for adults and one that elicits a range of emotions while playing. EIPIX did an amazing job with this Phantasmat that, IMHO, would definitely qualify as a candidate for game of the year. Congratulations on an excellent game! Even though I really found this to be an incredible game, PLEASE try the demo to see if Phantasmat Death in Hardcover is a game you will enjoy. Show less

I recommend this game!

+47points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

14 of 16 found this review helpful

Boy oh boy !! Phantasmat has returned in all it's phsycho glory !!

PostedNovember 3, 2018

netnanna

fromNew Zealand

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

Favorite Genre(s):Brain Teaser

Current Favorite:

Hidden Expedition: The Uncharted Islands Collector's Edition

(43)

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

4 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

Nowhere near finished the game, but I just had to give you a nudge to at least try it, if you liked the first game, you'll enjoy this one too !!

I recommend this game!

+12points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

4 of 4 found this review helpful

Brilliant

PostedJanuary 6, 2019

Mariewhitehead

Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

Loved this game really spooky with a storyline that keeps you hooked

I recommend this game!

+4points

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Overall rating

4 / 5

34 of 41 found this review helpful

MAYBE HE JUST NEEDS A FREIND, HOW BOUT JEFFREY FROM GAME NUMBER 6?

PostedNovember 2, 2018

pennmom36

fromAnd lucky number 13 is just around the corner!

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Skill Level:Expert

Current Favorite:

Phantasmat Collector's Edition

(100)

Fun Factor

4 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

1 / 5

Level of Challenge

3 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

The truth is after 10 tries it's obvious this developer will never be able to duplicate the original Phantasmat's exceptional quality or storyline. The first Phantasmat was by Codeminion and the second was by Ers. I've tried to stick by this series because I'm hoping that someday they'll realize that they're doing it wrong, and not just this series either. The graphics are getting large and lack ...Show more

The truth is after 10 tries it's obvious this developer will never be able to duplicate the original Phantasmat's exceptional quality or storyline. The first Phantasmat was by Codeminion and the second was by Ers. I've tried to stick by this series because I'm hoping that someday they'll realize that they're doing it wrong, and not just this series either. The graphics are getting large and lack detail and each scene has less. By less, I mean fewer zoom zones or areas of interest, less detail, way less detail, in the BC of this game one zoom zone had a tray with a single paperclip and the paperclip didn't even look real! How can you mess up a paperclip?

Remember the great games of 2011-2013ish that had creepy graphics and something to do in every nook and corner of every scene? Remember the feeling you got when you saw that creaky wrought-iron gate leading to a mansion with boarded up windows because the details were insane even though your computer was probably running XP, Vista or Win7 and more than likely had a subpar graphics card? Remember how they didn't have much of a storyline but at least the storyline was interesting? Remember how original the tasks and puzzles were? Remember how it was nearly impossible to finish a game in one, sometimes two days much less one sitting? Remember the magic, the feeling of "I can't stop playing because it's so good but it's midnight" Remember how you had to navigate through several scenes on your own without a jump-map, and sometimes getting lost or having trouble recalling where it was that an inventory item you just found belonged, because back then, the inventory item you just found didn't get placed in the same scene or the one before! I'm not asking to revert back to the games of yesteryear, I'm asking them to bring back the magic, I'm asking for games to be better than they were back then. It's almost 2019, at a bare minimum, shouldn't the graphics at least be better? I think these devs became so big so quickly that they can no longer see us on the ground waving frantically and they can no longer hear us screaming for something better. (because the other option is that they no longer care?)

As for the differences between the Collector's Edition version and this Standard Edition version, the CE version has 36 Ghostly Signs located in each scene and a Morphing Object in about half of the scenes. There are icons that show the availability of a morph or collectible. It's a good thing considering that the morphs are only in some of the scenes. unfortunately, neither is difficult to spot because a white ghost and a piece of paper with a morphing pumpkin are hard to miss. The good news is that if you do happen to miss one, it does allow you to return to the scene to search for it.

The Bonus Chapter isn't bad, but it's really short as well. It is a sequel which takes place shortly after the incident, starting back at Marcia's house, so you don't even get new scenes to investigate. There are 5 Mini-Games to play in the BC and I believe 4 Hidden Object Scenes. You will search for the remaining 8 Ghostly Signs and 4 remaining Morphs, after completing the BC you can return to 20 of the scene locations to find a souvenir. This feature is rather worthless in my opinion because you only have to find one item in each scene and it literally takes two seconds to spot the object so why bother?

In the Collector's Edition version there are 13 Achievements to earn and you can still earn achievements in the BC and in the Re-playable Hidden Object Scenes and puzzles section, a feature that's not always available after completing the main Game. This is a good, not a great game, but in my opinion, it's a very short game with a very short BC 8 scenes long. Unless you prefer morphs and collectibles, this Standard Edition version is probably the better option.

The Collector's Edition version has 6 Character pictures with before/after slider bar & dialog recordings, 8 Wallpapers, 8 Concept Art pictures, 7 Music Soundtracks, 12 Movie Video Cutscenes, a never-ending -playable Match 3 Game, 14 re-playable Mini-Game Puzzles, 13 re-playable Hidden Object Scenes, 13 Achievements to earn (some available in 3 categories) 16 Scene Location Morphing Objects (11 in Main Game, 5 in BC) 36 Hidden Ghostly Signs (28 in Main Game 8 in BC) a Souvenir Room with 20 Souvenirs (one souvenir in each of the scene locations) 4 Main Chapters +Bonus Chapter and a built-in Strategy Guide.

PHANTASMAT SERIES LIST
Title***Standard Edition Release Date***Average Rating

1-Phantasmat (February 8-2011) 4.6
2-Crucible Peak (January 4-2013) 4.0
3-The Endless Night (February 8-2015) 4.4
4-The Dread of Oakville (August 7-2015) 3.9
5-Behind The Mask (January 15-2016) 4.3
6-Town of Lost Hope (May 6-2016) 3.9
7-Reign of Shadows (November 4-2016) 3.7
8-Mournful Loche (May 12-2017) 3.9
9-Insidious Dreams (October 13-2017) 3.8
10-Curse of the Mist (January 21-2018) 3.7
11-Deja Vu (August 5-2018)
12-Death In Hardcover (November 2-2018) n/a
13-(coming soon)

by: Eipix Entertainment Show less

I recommend this game!

+27points

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Overall rating

4 / 5

11 of 14 found this review helpful

not so hard cover

PostedNovember 2, 2018

bcorsica

fromCharleston, SC

Skill Level:Intermediate

Favorite Genre(s):Large File

Current Favorite:

Lost Lands: Ice Spell

(21)

Fun Factor

4 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

4 / 5

Level of Challenge

4 / 5

Storyline

4 / 5

Not sure about that one. I played the demo and was very excited to play it and ended to be a little disappointed. Oil can, bees smoke....all more than deja vu. Hidden object are good and a little challenging. Something is missing, maybe some action? It is one scene after the other one, no much interaction beside the bad guy leaving voice mail or message or appearing with a "scary" laugh. It is not ...Show more

Not sure about that one. I played the demo and was very excited to play it and ended to be a little disappointed. Oil can, bees smoke....all more than deja vu. Hidden object are good and a little challenging. Something is missing, maybe some action? It is one scene after the other one, no much interaction beside the bad guy leaving voice mail or message or appearing with a "scary" laugh. It is not I did not like it but I just did not get into it at all. Too bad since I am looking to buy anew game and was really hoping it will be it. Maybe better down the road if you buy the whole version but not temped it. Not going to recommend or not recommend.... Show less

+8points

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Overall rating

3 / 5

11 of 12 found this review helpful

~~A MEDIOCRE EDITION TO THIS ON GOING SERIES.~~

PostedNovember 3, 2018

skullfun

fromDeath in Hardcover is a psychologically thrilling adventure, even though it leaves room for improvement from the development team at Eipix.

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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

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

Current Favorite:

The Legacy: The Tree of Might Collector's Edition

(43)

Fun Factor

3 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

3 / 5

Level of Challenge

3 / 5

Storyline

3 / 5

While Marcia Clay, the acclaimed writer of several horror novels, is off on her book tour, her daughter Joan is out with her friends enjoying their road trip. Things take a dark turn when Marcia receives an anonymous call that her daughter has been kidnapped by a deranged enthusiast of her work and she needs to go to the abandoned town of Rose Bay immediately! What would you do if a horrifying ...Show more

While Marcia Clay, the acclaimed writer of several horror novels, is off on her book tour, her daughter Joan is out with her friends enjoying their road trip. Things take a dark turn when Marcia receives an anonymous call that her daughter has been kidnapped by a deranged enthusiast of her work and she needs to go to the abandoned town of Rose Bay immediately! What would you do if a horrifying story that you wrote actually played out in real life? Can you help Marcia connect the dots and save her daughter? Gamers who are sensitive to this kind of story theme are warned during the intro and with due cause!

The main concept in Death in Hardcover is definitely intriguing, and the rich backstory adds some depth to the storyline. Unfortunately, the execution does not hit all the right notes. A few moments are completely illogical and the half-baked horror atmosphere does not do anything to make this installment an improvement from the last addition of this otherwise great series. It seems to me that as the series progresses, Phantasmat games distance themselves further and further away from the creepy and atmospheric original game. Phantasmat: Death in Hardcover does resume some of the psychological thriller aspects established by some of the recent Phantasmats (with some assistance from old-school horror elements) but it's not enough to make this game CE worthy.

I think Phantasmat: Death in Hardcover would certainly benefit from a more atmospheric approach to the graphics and special effects. This does not mean that the game is not visually-captivating as it is, but an increase in the creepy factor would be appreciated. As for the soundtracks and the voice-acting, they are perfectly orchestrated as usual. The dramatic and suspenseful background music drives the sense of urgency in the game, and the voice-overs really succeed in delivering engaging dialogues IMHO. The hidden object scenes are smartly-layered but a bit mundane, with clichés and tasks that we have solved a thousand times before. The adventure part of the mystery is plagued with puzzles which were quite difficult for me and less than enjoyable to play. That's one factor as to why I gave this edition only 3 stars. The other being that this edition wasn't worth the CE price, the bonus game and the bling weren't all that. You'll enjoy the SE without the extras and may wish to use a free coupon as well.

I completed Phantasmat: Death in Hardcover CE in four and a half hours, bonus chapter included, because even though the game was not perfect, I was captivated by the storyline. After twelve (12) installments of this series I am still a fan of Phantasmat, I just think Eipix needs to explore more unusually creepy story concepts for their next installment. Cheers!

In this series so far:
• Phantasmat
• Phantasmat: Crucible Peak
• Phantasmat: The Endless Night
• Phantasmat: The Dread of Oakville
• Phantasmat: Behind the Mask
• Phantasmat: Town of Lost Hope
• Phantasmat: Reign of Shadows
• Phantasmat: Mournful Loch
• Phantasmat: Insidious Dreams
• Phantasmat: Curse of the Mist
• Phantasmat: Déjà Vu
• Phantasmat: Death in Hardcover Show less

I recommend this game!

+10points

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Overall rating

2 / 5

19 of 25 found this review helpful

DEAD.....AND SHOULD BE BURIED

PostedNovember 2, 2018

cathybobcat

fromChicago, IL

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

2 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

2 / 5

Level of Challenge

3 / 5

Storyline

2 / 5

Another poorly constructed and SHORT game. One of the worst aspects is the horrid graphics.....haze and fog....a lack of clarity in scenes causing eye strain and nausea. How is not being able to see clearly in a game enjoyable? It isn't. If that isn't bad enough, this is a very depressing story with an ending that is no ending at all. What was that all about???? If I read a book like this, I would ...Show more

Another poorly constructed and SHORT game. One of the worst aspects is the horrid graphics.....haze and fog....a lack of clarity in scenes causing eye strain and nausea. How is not being able to see clearly in a game enjoyable? It isn't. If that isn't bad enough, this is a very depressing story with an ending that is no ending at all. What was that all about???? If I read a book like this, I would take it back for a refund.

Much of the time is spent with time consuming puzzles, some of which I did enjoy....BUT....if you don't do puzzles, then you could probably finish this in an hour because there are too many puzzles making this seem to be a longer game than it really is. I think that is why they do it.

The HOS are very poorly done, hard to see....too many small box ones that you can finish in 5-10 seconds. This, the short length, number of puzzles and depressing story... and the extremely inferior graphics make this a loser of a game. DOA...that's dead on arrival. Show less

+13points

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Overall rating

1 / 5

7 of 10 found this review helpful

I Quit Before the Demo Was Over

PostedApril 30, 2019

roaming

fromTexas

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

Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object

I really have to agree with sjkmh45... not even the demo was any kind of fun.

The graphics are terrible... washed out, fuzzy, and primitive, as if the entire game was simply thrown together in a hurry. This is such a far cry from the excellence of the first Phantasmat, which won awards for best hidden object game, it hardly deserves the name.

The story... well, let me ask you this. If your ...Show more

I really have to agree with sjkmh45... not even the demo was any kind of fun.

The graphics are terrible... washed out, fuzzy, and primitive, as if the entire game was simply thrown together in a hurry. This is such a far cry from the excellence of the first Phantasmat, which won awards for best hidden object game, it hardly deserves the name.

The story... well, let me ask you this. If your daughter and three of her friends had been kidnapped and tied up and you know who the perp is and also have a memory stick with video, what would you do? Call the police or go charging off on your own in a boat left for your use by... wait for it... the kidnapper?

Also, please don't follow the example of using fertilizer in a bottle to make a smoke bomb, lighting the rag wick and then carrying it around for awhile while you fiddle around with gasoline. It won't end well. Show less

I don't recommend this game.

+4points

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Overall rating

1 / 5

5 of 10 found this review helpful

As bad as it gets

PostedNovember 5, 2018

Rainmanuk

fromWales United KIngdon

Skill Level:Intermediate

Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object

Current Favorite:

Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst ™

(217)

Fun Factor

1 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

2 / 5

Level of Challenge

2 / 5

Storyline

1 / 5

Have most of the other Phantasmat games so I thought I would give this one a go with a free credit. What a waste of a credit.
There is a plot, sort of, if you dont mind completely suspending all belief in anything logical. The puzzles were obscure in what was required, the HO were OK. But what you were meant to do with various items was a complete random mess. One of those games that was meant to ...Show more

Have most of the other Phantasmat games so I thought I would give this one a go with a free credit. What a waste of a credit.
There is a plot, sort of, if you dont mind completely suspending all belief in anything logical. The puzzles were obscure in what was required, the HO were OK. But what you were meant to do with various items was a complete random mess. One of those games that was meant to be frightening bus wasn't, just boring.
I dont recommend Show less

I don't recommend this game.

0points

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Overall rating

1 / 5

1 of 3 found this review helpful

Terrible All Around Hidden Object Game

PostedDecember 30, 2019

mysterylove

fromBuckeye, Az

Skill Level:Expert

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

Fun Factor

1 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

1 / 5

Level of Challenge

1 / 5

Storyline

1 / 5

Not Enough Help and the game ended without nay idea to what happen to the main characters. I wasted y money

I don't recommend this game.

-1point

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