Dark Romance: Ashville Collector's Edition > iPad, iPhone, Android, Mac & PC Game

Overall rating

5 / 5

50 of 61 found this review helpful

Why I Joined Big Fish

PostedApril 1, 2020

villaman

fromEngland

Skill Level:Intermediate

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

Current Favorite:

Dark Romance: Ashville Collector's Edition

(21)

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

I rarely comment on games these days as to be honest I think most new HO games are rubbish. This is a throw back to the days when I bought BF games regularly. No sci fi. No fantasy. No stupid childlike "helpers". Just ordinary scenes with ordinary things to find & use. Like the colours. Story & voiceovers don't interest me at all. I just like the challenge, which in this case was goldilocks. Not ...Show more

+39points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

32 of 43 found this review helpful

2000 style back to the future

PostedMarch 29, 2020

Penguin29

fromMA.

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Skill Level:Expert

Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Hidden Object

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

I love this game. I really like travelling between 2000 and 1985. I did feel (as another said) this game brought a bit of "The Lake House" movie story line - characters connecting via a diary.
The more I played, the better it got.

I recommend this game!

+21points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

128 of 231 found this review helpful

ZIGZAG THROUGH TIME

PostedMarch 26, 2020

sunnyglow

fromLocation: Somewhere in time – stuck between the past and the future.

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Skill Level:Expert

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

REVIEW BASED UPON THE ENTIRE GAME
5 Chapters Plus a Bonus Chapter – Strategy Guide: 46 pages

OPINION: Zigzag through time as you investigate what caused a mining explosion in the town of Ashville in 1985. Join the tag team of Louise Mitchell, an investigative journalist in the year 2000 as she joins forces with historian, Robert Lawson, residing in the year 1985. This time-challenged duo will work together, communicating through a diary to locate evidence to convict an evildoer of his nefarious crimes! Will our time travelers ever meet? Time will tell.

Loosely based on the premise of the 2006 movie, “The Lake House,” I found this an excellent game. Domini Games always provides more game for the money and this one, to me, is the best one of their recent games. The game is long with an interesting story and an active pace. It contains some unique and creative puzzles and HOP scenes. I found the graphics are better as well. There is less neon green and vivid purple as evidenced in their other games.

There are three collectibles – coins in which to purchase items for Robert’s house, morphing pieces of evidence, and newspaper scraps. I found the information provided by the pieces of evidence humorous. There is a bar on the inventory bar which indicates if there is a collectible within a scene. I found most of the collectibles easy to locate. A diary is used as a correspondence device between the two protagonists.

There are seventeen (17) HOP scenes and one mini-HOP scene. Sixteen (16) of these can be replayed at the end of the game. It is worth playing the game if only to indulge in the wide variety of HOP scenes. They are creatively designed with some unique and innovative flourishes. The scenes include one with ice cream delights which are located by searching for the product which has two of the items listed. In another scene, the player swirls a cup of coffee with a spoon to change the scene to search for items. The scenes are very interactive. Don’t like HOP scenes? There is an alternative Match-3 game provided instead.

There are thirty (30) mini-games. Sixteen (16) of these can be replayed at the end of the game. Most of them have the option to be played in either an “easy” or “hard” version. This difficulty can be set in the main menu; however, if a mini-game seems too challenging or perhaps, not challenging enough, it can be changed while playing the game. My only complaint concerns the lock puzzles. For me, entering a number into a phone is not a puzzle – it is a function of life.

MECHANICS:
• Four (4) levels of play including a customized version.
• 40 achievements.
• Collect 15 morphing pieces of evidence and 15 newspaper scraps
• Collect $100 to be used in purchasing items for Robert’s house
• 15 wallpapers along with concept art, music and video sequences
• Replay 16 HOP scenes and 16 mini-games upon completion of the game
• Tag team between Louise Mitchell and Robert Lawson

BONUS CHAPTER: It is another story. Play a student of mysticism, taking lessons in augury from Anna Lovelace. When your mentor, Anna, is accused of causing the disappearance of a policer officer, Officer Marsh, you are off to investigate. Sheriff Cole believes Anna’s artifacts are the cause. He is on a mission to rid Ashville of magic and artifacts. However, could this member of the local police be using one of those artifacts to his advantage.? I found this chapter very long and creatively designed, worth every penny of the collector’s edition price. There are five (5) HOP scenes and nine (9) mini-games. For me, it is of the same quality as the main game.

SPOILERS: HERE ARE SOME OF THE MINI-GAMES AFTER THE DEMO: (E =Easy, H=Hard)

A. E/H Maze puzzle. Move a policeman to a phone booth avoiding criminals in his path. Pick up a coin as you maneuver through the squares of the grid. The hard version has one more criminal to escape.
B. E/H Tangram puzzle. Placed irregular shaped roofs onto a grid so that all spaces are covered with no empty spots.
C. E/H Paint puzzle. Paint a picture according to a given guide. The easy version has less colors
D. E/H Connection puzzle. Connect like-colored tokens to remove them until none remain. Some tokens have two colors) Easy has less tokens to match. 3X
E. E/H Switch puzzle. Use grabbers to move two fuses at a time to their proper locations based on color – orange on one side and purple on the other
BONUS CHAPTER:
F. E/H Connection puzzle. Connect like colored chips without crossing lines.
G. E/H Sequence puzzle. Shoot the dummy! Using a shotgun, shoot 4 dummies as many times as indicated on the number above each of their heads. You must shoot each dummy before it reaches the front of the range.
H. Logic puzzle. Remove items according to given clues until only one remains. Show less

I recommend this game!

+25points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

2 of 2 found this review helpful

Dark Romance #12 Ashville -- I liked this crime thriller

PostedApril 25, 2020

kerith90angel

from~BOSTON STRONG~ My prayers go out to anyone in this BFG family that's been affected by Covid 19

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Skill Level:Expert

Current Favorite:

Mystery Tales: Her Own Eyes Collector's Edition

(33)

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

4 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

Based on the demo only

You play as 2 people in 2 different time periods while communicating through a mysterious diary that displays text from both time periods. What a fun premise.

You start as Louise Mitchell in the year 2000, and end the demo as a male named Robert Larson in the year 1985. Both of which are investigating a mine explosion; a crime that coincides at the same time in a ...Show more

Based on the demo only

You play as 2 people in 2 different time periods while communicating through a mysterious diary that displays text from both time periods. What a fun premise.

My favorite thing about Domini Games is how they hide reactive items you can interact with in every scene. Be sure to click on everything in a scene to find all these treats. My favorites in the demo are seeing what happens when you click on a yellow dump truck (lower right of scene) in the area called "Blue Pines St." and eating a hotdog at the town's protest.

So much time was spent on detail and color of each scene. The color palette is a perfect mixture of realistic primary colors. Another thing I really enjoyed was the game takes place in modern times with modern objects.

As we first start playing my character, Louise, looks at her reflection in the car's side mirror. That alone made me connect with who I'm playing as and made me feel more a part of the action.

In one scene we get a kitten helper named Toby but he is only used once. I wish we were able to keep him (I especially liked he wasn't a talking cat).

Overall, the demo leaves you wanting more. It has a great crime thriller feel without any flying or gliding monsters and no cutesy animals that talk (in a game that's meant to be more serious). I think my favorite part of the game is playing during the daytime. I grow tired of games that every scene is the same exact color scheme at night.

I really liked this one. This game is a buy for me. Show less

I recommend this game!

+2points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

Excellent Minus Annoying Knocking

PostedJanuary 28, 2024

Maryancy

fromUSA

Skill Level:Intermediate

Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

I really liked and enjoyed playing this game. The Bonus Chapter was really good and long. The mini-games were just right for me although there were a few that did not give specific enough instructions. But the thing that bothered me most was the background sound of knocking on a door. It was in most scenes and was very annoying. No way to stop it.

I recommend this game!

0points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

i like story romance betwween past and present

PostedMay 16, 2022

con052006

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

the story is great and hog ,puzzles great the challleng great the music is perfect the chapters is different i like it

I recommend this game!

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Overall rating

4 / 5

150 of 165 found this review helpful

AMAZING STORY...BUT...BORING REPETITIVE TASKS WON'T EARN MY 5th STAR!

PostedMarch 26, 2020

pennmom36

fromAugury is an ancient Roman religion of interpreting dark omens by observing the behavior of birds. Romulus & Remus, the founders of Rome used their abilities as augur's to decide where to place the city.

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Skill Level:Expert

Fun Factor

4 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

4 / 5

Level of Challenge

4 / 5

Storyline

4 / 5

Completed Game approximately 5.5 Hours
(including completion of all puzzles & CE Bonus Chapter)
41 Main Game Scene Locations +13 CE Bonus Chapter
Difficulty Range: Beginner (unless you enjoy doing the same thing over & over?)

Obviously, a different team was in charge of Dark Romance: Ashville than their previous game in another series. The story was incredibly interesting to me personally ...Show more

Obviously, a different team was in charge of Dark Romance: Ashville than their previous game in another series. The story was incredibly interesting to me personally because I loved how they switched between 1985 as Robert Lawson, and 2000 as Louise Mitchell. Although the story held my attention, Domini seems unable to break away from adding everything but the kitchen sink repetitive tasks where you use a tool, lose a tool, use the same tool, and repeat the same scenario scene after scene. If getting from point A to point B were this repetitious in life, no one would bother to get up off the couch. (Someone's got to keep it real folks!)

It is for the story alone that I gave this game 4-stars, it was well thought out, and unique. Domini could be king, and even though the tasks aren't nearly as dreadful as last week's game, they have got to find a way to release all those chains they keep making me repair game after game if they really want to rise to the occasion. If you are new to this genre or new to Domini games this is a 5-star game, but I find it hard to believe that seasoned players would flip a wig?

Gadgets/Helper:
Dark Romance is usually about 2 lovers being torn apart by unseen forces as you swap between players. This clever writing team (surely someone else was in charge of the tasks?) changed things up a bit with a journal that as one person pens an entry in the year 2000, it appears to the person in the year 1985...Nice! You will still swap between two characters who never meet...or do they?

Collectibles & Morphing Objects (CE Version Only):
Domini always gives you plenty of CE Bling, but these were some of the most uninteresting collectibles and morphs imaginable. You can enable/disable the Collectibles availability Tabs and choose whether or not to show them on the Map as well. There are 15 Morphing Police Evidence Items (with descriptions) 15 Scraps & Notes to go along with a gazillion Missing Notes because in Domini-World everyone litters) 100 Zoom Zone Bucks (because stealing other people's pocket-change coins was immoral so they upped the ante to committing a misdemeanor?) 15 Ugly Boring Furniture Items for Robert's Room (purchase with the stolen hundo, why not, it's harder for the police to trace used furniture, besides some of the money came from the bad guy, totally justifiable)

Hidden Object Scenes:
There are 13 Hidden Object Scenes +4 in the CE Bonus Chapter and an alternate Match 3 Game available, which btw, doesn't allow you to make consecutive matches quickly. (you have to wait for all tiles to stop falling before you can make the next match) They include Interactive List Finds, Silhouetted Shape Finds, Keywords in Sentence Finds, Missing Keywords in Sentence Finds, Replace Items into the Scene, Swatches Finds, This Plus That Equals Finds, and Combo Silhouettes (find items that match the description of two combined items) Unlike their last game, some of these scenes were located in interesting locations or took place over multiple scenes.

Mini-Games:
There are 21 Mini-Games +8 in the CE Bonus Chapter. You can choose to play them in an Easy or Hard difficulty mode and you can choose which mode to have them start out in the Custom Setting (you can still switch between modes for each individual game) I lost count of how many times I had to enter codes to open locks & doors...this is considered a mini-game? Here are a few brief descriptions of some of my personal favorites:

1-Switch levers to connect ladders & bridges to advance (a cool game but way too short)
2-Move officer to phone booth without getting caught by burglars (shouldn't this be the other way around?)
3-Place all shapes onto the grid.
4-Grab 2 fuses at a time and move to correct slots.

Bonus Chapter (CE Version Only)
Your augury lessons from Anna Lovelace (sounds like a lady of the evening name, what's ya been watching guys?) are abruptly interrupted when the police arrive to inform Anna that she is their prime suspect in the disappearance of Officer Marsh...no questions asked there or at the po-po's office...this will all make sense when I am older la la la..."Olaf" This is an above average-length chapter spanning over a whopping 13 scene locations with 8 additional Mini-Games and 4 Hidden Object Scenes. You will continue your search for the final 4 Morphing Police Evidence Items, 3 Pieces of Trash, I mean Scraps & Notes, and 12 Zoom Zone Dollars which allows you to purchase the final decorations for Robert's Room.

Collector's Edition Extra's: (CE version only)
15 Wallpapers, 15 Concept Art Pictures, 5 Music Soundtracks, 29 Movie Video Cutscenes, 40 Achievements (the same achievements offered in all of their games and notice how you earn them in the order shown AND you earn them when you didn't really earn them because they are given to you at specific set-points, not by randomly earning them. In other words, you won't earn the 5th achievement first because that's not when the game is programmed to award them...seems rather disappointing now doesn't it?), 16 Replayable Mini-Games, 16 Replayable Hidden Object Scenes, 15 Morphing Police Evidence Items (with descriptions) 15 Scraps & Notes to go along with a gazillion Missing Notes, 100 Zoom Zone Bucks, 15 Ugly Boring Furniture Items for Robert's Room (purchase with looted money) 5 Main Chapters +Bonus Chapter, and a Built-In Strategy Guide (you won't need it)

DARK ROMANCE SERIES LIST
Title***Collector's Edition Release Date***Average Rating

1-Vampire in Love (February 8-2014) 3.9
2-Heart of the Beast (April 23-2015) 3.8
3-The Swan Sonata (October 17-2015) 3.4
4-Kingdom of Death (April 21-2016) 3.9
5-Curse of Bluebeard (October 13-2016) 4.7
6-Romeo and Juliet (February 25-2017) 2.7
7-The Monster Within (September 7-2017) 3.9
8-Winter Lily (January 18-2018) 4.0
9-A Performance to Die For (July 26-2018) 3.8
10-Hunchback Of Notre Dame (February 14-2019) 3.4
11-Ethereal Gardens (September 5-2019) 3.5
12-Ashville (March 26-2020) n/a

by Domini Games Show less

I recommend this game!

+135points

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Overall rating

4 / 5

14 of 17 found this review helpful

Romance?

PostedMarch 31, 2020

dancemom1

fromYakima, WA

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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):Adventure, Card & Board, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word

Fun Factor

4 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

4 / 5

Storyline

4 / 5

Hello friends! Another addition to this series. I've lost count. As always, I review mostly on the game play and leave the story review to others who do a much better job than I. Graphics are very well done, even with the occasional blur when moving in and out of close ups. Colors are very bright and true but the least bit over powering. Animation is very well done, even with the occasional stiff body movement. Facial movements are extremely well done. Game play was excellent, with no problems during the demo. Voices are well done, being are age and character appropriate, and they do show emotion when needed. Sound FX are well done, even the background sounds were more than just music. Music is unobtrusive and moves with whatever is happening at the time.

HOPs are a variety of missing word/silhouettes (something new), silhouettes, and find and use items in scene. Not bad, but hoping for a little more variety as the game progresses. Scenes are very clean and clear and items were not difficult to find. Didn't pay attention as to whether you could switch to something else or not. Puzzles were not difficult, and did not take any time or thought to complete. I found them to be fairly simple. We can still choose between easy and hard for the puzzles and the full game play as well, for those who want more challenge. Hint system is very helpful and it does transport to longer locations, by opening the map and showing you where your next move is going to be. This dev has the perfect map. You can choose to have or not have the extra hint of where the collectible has been missed on the map.

Collectibles aren't bad in this series. Some are quite challenging to find, mostly due to size. We need to find 15 notes/newspaper pieces (there are a lot of papers all over the place, so look around for them); 100 bundles of money (bills) to buy items for our house; and 15 varied evidence pieces that also morph. These can be anywhere and different sizes.

This game flowed very well and was easy to follow. We do switch players in this one, as in the others in this series, but it seems to just happen whenever needed. There really isn't a lot of challenge in this game, but there is a lot of action. You are constantly on the move, and yes, a lot of back tracking. This could be an interesting story, but I find I need to play it out to find out what is really happening. There wasn't a lot of character interaction, but enough to keep you going. I did have to laugh at the use of a seam ripper to cut out the ticket. Anyone who sews would know better than to ever use one for that! Even at that, I think most all levels of players will find this one entertaining. I gave this one a 4.5. Yes, I am adding it to my collection of CE games.

As always, try it for yourself and see what you think. We all have different tastes in games and you may not care for this one at all. Play on! Show less

I recommend this game!

+11points

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Overall rating

4 / 5

4 of 4 found this review helpful

Not much Romance

PostedMay 5, 2020

RPgames

fromNM

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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):Hidden Object, Puzzle

Fun Factor

4 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

4 / 5

I liked this game . Didn't have much Romance to me Then again in this age Romance is different I guess.
There was some surprises and plot twist but good fun game.\

There is many items to find so if this bothers you maybe not like this game. Didn't bother me much since the ones found are used right away.
Not spooking or suspenseful but good steady game.

The bonus game was hard to follow and ...Show more

I liked this game . Didn't have much Romance to me Then again in this age Romance is different I guess.
There was some surprises and plot twist but good fun game.\

There is many items to find so if this bothers you maybe not like this game. Didn't bother me much since the ones found are used right away.
Not spooking or suspenseful but good steady game.

The bonus game was hard to follow and not as good.

No way to look for the dollars missed one collects after finishing a game nor any other collectable which is a must for a Collectors game . Almost tempted to change it to a 4 star because of this. I think I will . Only bonus in this game is the bonus chapter and it is not worth the Collector's Edition price.Wait for the standard game. Show less

I recommend this game!

+4points

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Overall rating

4 / 5

2 of 2 found this review helpful

Loved the City

PostedApril 14, 2020

Kimmycoo

fromVirginia USA

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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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Fun Factor

4 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

4 / 5

Level of Challenge

4 / 5

Storyline

4 / 5

I really loved the city scenes! I enjoyed everything about this collector's edition except for how the achievements were set up. I always enjoy building a room with coins or dollars and this collectors edition had that. I loved the evidence you collect and the stories that went with it. I recommend the game in CE version!

I recommend this game!

+2points

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	, share your thoughts about this game! Dark Romance: Ashville Collector's Edition When tragedy bridges the past and present.. 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.