Dark Realm: Lord of the Winds Collector's Edition > iPad, iPhone, Android, Mac & PC Game

Overall rating

5 / 5

144 of 153 found this review helpful

This Game Is The Perfect Example Of What I've Been Saying Lately!

PostedSeptember 5, 2016

pennmom36

fromYou did it! No, you did it!

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Skill Level:Expert

Current Favorite:

Phantasmat Collector's Edition

(100)

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

The last several reviews I have submitted have been one and two star ratings. I talked about how lame some of the games from the top dog producers have been, how, in my opinion they are releasing games at a wicked fast pace and seemingly not caring about the quality of entertainment the games provide. I also stated that some of the "lesser known" series are ramping up their game as they try to ...Show more

The last several reviews I have submitted have been one and two star ratings. I talked about how lame some of the games from the top dog producers have been, how, in my opinion they are releasing games at a wicked fast pace and seemingly not caring about the quality of entertainment the games provide. I also stated that some of the "lesser known" series are ramping up their game as they try to compete with the well known series, and are producing some really good games that are highly entertaining. Dark Realm: Lord of the Winds by Mad Head games, is EXACTLY what I've been saying, quality through and through! Is this game perfect? No, there's always room for improvement, but it is very entertaining, has really good graphics, and offers a variety of HOP's and Mini Games.

Queen Valera has made a very important decision, one that could endanger the entire Kingdom and it's peaceful citizens. Queen Valera has offered a Peace Treaty with it's long time rivaling neighbor kingdom ruled by King Harlon. She knows how dangerous it is, but she must lower the protective shield to allow King Harlon to enter so the treaty can be signed. King Harlon offers Queen Valera a gift, but as soon as she opens the chest, a powerful force attacks the Queen, taking her breath away, literally, removing her life force! Both sides panic, both sides begin blaming each other, but the Queen is dying! Queen Valera's best friend and right hand man, Nathaniel, offers to exchange places with the Queen, giving her his breath, so she may live, and save the Kingdom. A local healer is able to exchange the curse, and slow down the process on Nathaniel to buy some time, until the cure can be found. Queen Valera must travel to the Wind Colossus, to reverse the affects of this powerful orb, to save not only Nathaniel, but hopefully, stop the war between the two Kingdoms and establish peace going forward!

Nathaniel has given the Queen his Bow, this is no ordinary Bow, this Bow has unlimited and powerful abilities. The first of many Arrows you have, allows you to retrieve anything the arrow hits. The Arrow will return along with the item that the arrow hit, but of course, there's a Mini Game involved with each use. Each time you use the Bow, you will play a variation of "Blocks" where you move blocks until the arrow has a clear path, each game becomes increasingly more difficult to solve as more blocks are added to the board. Eventually, you will find other arrows that have special abilities, an Arrow that has explosives, and one that freezes it's target, others are added after the demo. This Collector's Edition has bonus features such as 35 Hidden Feathers, one in each scene, Achievements to earn and a Morphing Object in each Hidden Object Scene.

The Hidden Object Scenes are fairly entertaining, which Mad Head is well known for. They have very interesting scenes with Silhouetted Shape finds, Interactive List finds, and even Keywords or Symbol find during a story. One of my favorite scenes is finding shapes that are carved on the Ship's Wheel, turning clockwise or counter clockwise to steer the ship by finding the symbols shown in the center, one at a time.

The Mini Games are also entertaining, not to easy, but not too difficult either. Below are brief descriptions of some of the games you'll encounter during the demo:

1) The Bow and Arrow game of Blocks requiring you to move blocks until the arrow has a straight path to travel from the bottom to the top.

2) Select and rotate the blue rings to create a continuous line for the energy to flow through. Selecting one ring may affect the others.

3) Move sliders to aim the cannon both up and down and left and right, that select the fire bottom to shoot.

4) Find and fill in the shapes indicated on the pillars with corresponding colors. Select the stone shapes to enable or block flow of color. Fill shapes with color by pressing gems.

5) Guide the light through the maze by selecting empty highlighted circles to move the beam of light.

6) Select and guide the ball through the maze without touching the path walls.

This Collector's Edition has 12 Concept Art pictures, 18 Wallpapers, 5 Music Soundtracks, 17 replayable Hidden Object Scenes, Collectible Hunt games, Constellations Mini Games, 14 Achievements, 35 Hidden Collectible Feathers, Morphing Objects within the Hidden Object Scenes, a built in Strategy Guide and a Bonus Chapter, enjoy! Show less

I recommend this game!

+135points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

102 of 123 found this review helpful

QUEEN VALERA IS BACK AND ON A NEW ADVENTURE

PostedSeptember 3, 2016

biscuitsmama

fromI will do whatever it takes to save my friend

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

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

4 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

Dark Realm is back with the third game in the series - Lord of the Winds. It has been almost a year since Princess of Ice was release and it is certainly worth the wait. After centuries of war, Queen Valera is about to make peace by signing a treaty with King Harlan of the Wind Kingdom. Although she has some reservations, she believes that this is the only path that will bring prosperity to both ...Show more

Dark Realm is back with the third game in the series - Lord of the Winds. It has been almost a year since Princess of Ice was release and it is certainly worth the wait. After centuries of war, Queen Valera is about to make peace by signing a treaty with King Harlan of the Wind Kingdom. Although she has some reservations, she believes that this is the only path that will bring prosperity to both kingdoms. Things don’t exactly go as planned when a gift from the king spells doom for the treaty. Now Queen Valera is on a mission to save not only her realm but also the life of her childhood friend Nathaniel who has given his breath to save her. With the aid of your valued airship captain you are off and running on a new adventure.

While some developers seem to crank out games faster than I can finish the previous one, this team takes the time to create some games that are definitely a cut above. I have loved each one of the Dark Realm games as well as some others from this team, with each of them being high-quality and rich with some awesome gameplay features. As is most often the case now, Lord of the Winds offers a custom mode for those of you who like to tailor a game for the way you enjoy playing. The graphics are crystal clear and at times quite gorgeous. Even though Nathaniel’s bow fits into the category of being a “gimmick’ it is well-integrated to the storyline and necessary. I happen to love slider type puzzles so I look forward to the times I need to use the bow and must play a puzzle before it can be used.

The HOPS are varied and well designed and as is typical for this developer, we must spot a morphing object hidden somewhere in the scene. Although the puzzles generally seem a bit easy, I did skip one because I simply couldn’t figure out what I needed to do. The instructions were quite vague (which is one downfall for this dev) and made no sense whatsoever. That being said, the puzzles that I did finish were quite good and a lot of fun.

The CE offers the typical fluff along with the collectibles, morphing objects, treasure hunt items, and achievements. One thing I happen to like about the collectibles is that if we happen to miss a couple of them, we have the opportunity at the end of the game to revisit the scenes where the missing collectibles are located. I happen to think this is a nice feature and wish more devs would include it in their CE games. I usually end up kicking myself because I generally will miss those at the dramatic end of a game because I am too involved in the storyline.

I guess by now you know I think this is an absolutely terrific game. It has all of the features that I love blended to perfection to create a game that I am sure to play many times in the future. The story is well-told with enough twists and turns to keep me entertained as I play. Even though I think this is a terrific game, please try the demo to see if you agree. Happy gaming! Show less

I recommend this game!

+81points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

51 of 63 found this review helpful

Lord of Wicked Awesome...Madhead does it again!

PostedSeptember 3, 2016

LunaNik

fromQueen Valera is conquering the elements, one by one. Flame, ice, wind...I can't wait to see where she's going next! Will it be a water kingdom?

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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, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle, Strategy, Word

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

4 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

REVIEW BASED ON
full demo, definitely purchasing as soon as I find a second CE for the sale

I CURRENTLY OWN
493 computer games

ONCE UPON A TIME - 5 stars
Queen of Flames was Valera’s coming of age trial, while Princess of Ice was Valera’s first quest as Queen. Now, her wisdom and resourcefulness will be tested again. A saboteur wreaks havoc on the pending peace treaty between Queen Valera ...Show more

REVIEW BASED ON
full demo, definitely purchasing as soon as I find a second CE for the sale

I CURRENTLY OWN
493 computer games

ONCE UPON A TIME - 5 stars
Queen of Flames was Valera’s coming of age trial, while Princess of Ice was Valera’s first quest as Queen. Now, her wisdom and resourcefulness will be tested again. A saboteur wreaks havoc on the pending peace treaty between Queen Valera and King Harlan of the Sky Kingdom. After generations of war, the two leaders wish peace, but are both anxious about trusting the other.

Just as the proceedings are coming to a close, both leaders believe the other has effected a double cross, and the war resumes. Valera heads off to drain the heart of the wind, but ends up uncovering the traitor. She and Harlan call a truce while she goes on her real quest: a journey into the heart of the jungle to capture the essence of magic itself, defeat the traitor, and save both kingdoms. And, with a little luck, the peace treaty.

PLAY THE GAME - 4 stars
Adventure mode consists of common sense actions, a breath of fresh air from the illogical nonsense we’ve been asked to do in games of late. Things aren’t gratuitously broken or missing parts…unless war destruction or decay has naturally caused it. While there are shaped inlays, they mostly relate to puzzles, not locks.

Once again, HO scenes are incredibly varied and each includes a morphing object. During the demo alone, I encountered an interactive list where each object was hiding a fragment, find symbols in the books and scrolls on a shelf, silhouettes presented in a unique format, a recipe where each directive contained an object to find plus an action to take, find two parts of each rune shown, and a repeating one where you find multiples in three scenes while hearing the backstory. So, in my hour demo, there was no repetition of HO scene type…that’s epic!

Of the five puzzles I saw, two were easy, two were of medium difficulty, and the repeating one progressed in difficulty. I’m hoping that means they become more difficult as the game goes on. Here they are:
• Rotate three circles to the correct positions; moving one affects the others (easy, low fun factor).
• In the mosaic, choose the correct birds to color in, then flow the two colors to them by clicking the mosaic pieces to allow or disallow paint flow (medium difficulty, medium fun factor).
• Complete four simple mazes which become parts for a larger maze in which you must move the light to the goal without touching the sides (medium difficulty, medium fun factor).
• Variously sized fish are arrayed at the top of the board, each attached to a line. Their goals are at the bottom. In the middle, the fish lines are a tangled mess. Rearrange the fish at the top so that they’re in the correct order from large to small (easy, medium fun factor).
• A repeating puzzle every time Valera shoots an arrow: move the blocks aside to clear a path for the arrow (progresses in difficulty, low to medium fun factor).

SIGHTSEEING - 5 stars
Stunning visuals have been a hallmark of this series, and this episode is no different. Each scene is enchantingly handpainted with rich color and detail. NPCs are drawn realistically and move in a lifelike manner. Close-ups are so dimensional that they’re almost tactile, with beautiful textures. Even the sepia-toned backstory scenes are gorgeously drawn. And the animation is extremely well done.

SOUNDBOARD - 5 stars
Whoever is composing the music for this series is brilliant. There’s amazing variety, but each piece is lovely whether it’s orchestral, choir voices, small ensemble, or single instrument. One piece reminded me of chamber music, while another would have been appropriate in an epic movie. I definitely recommend downloading it; I always do. (If you choose quieter, ambient pieces, game music makes a wonderful bedtime playlist. Totally serious. I play mine every night on shuffle.)

Environmental sounds are truly awesome; every scene has appropriate sounds to match its scenery. Game sounds are sufficient as notifications, but unobtrusive enough that they don’t disturb immersion. And voiceovers, once again, are superb. (I’m running out of superlatives.)

TOOLBOX - 5 stars
Inventory locks open and includes complex plus items. I never needed the map, so I never looked at it. Sorry about that; I should have peeked at it for this review. No journal, but there’s an objectives icon. Thankfully, adorable animal helpers are nowhere to be found. But you do have a phenomenal bow with arrows that do various tasks.

BUGS & BOTHERS
No technical difficulties with Mac OS 10.11.6.

OOH! PIECE OF CANDY - 5 stars
Visit a different world in the bonus chapter. Find collectible feathers (and some are tough to spot). Grab the morphing object in each HO scene. (And I understand you can go back and get any you missed…yay!) Use the SG and earn performance achievements. Replay HO scenes (but I’m not sure if you can replay puzzles). And check out the dev’s portfolio of sights and sounds.

CONCLUSION - Overall Rating: (5 + 4 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 5) ÷ 6 = 4.8 stars (round to 5)
Since I rated both Queen of Flames and Princess of Ice as five-star games, Lord of the Winds had a couple of overachieving older siblings to live up to…and I believe it did. Dark Realm is Madhead’s best series, and I recommend all three episodes wholeheartedly.

Other notable games by Madhead that I’ve enjoyed include:
• Beyond: Light Advent
• Cadenza: Music, Betrayal, and Death
• Maze: Subject 360
• Nevertales: The Beauty Within AND Shattered Image
• Rite of Passage: The Perfect Show AND Child of the Forest AND Hide and Seek
As always, happy gaming, fishies! Show less

I recommend this game!

+39points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

57 of 79 found this review helpful

EXCELLENT GAME GRAPHICS WITH A TERRIFIC STORYLINE. I'M IMPRESSED!

PostedSeptember 3, 2016

mandms33

fromBradenton, FL

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

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

I'm not one that enjoys too much fantasy in hidden object games, but this one captured me the instant it began and left me wanting more. The storyline is very believable. Two kingdoms at war for ages, finally decide to end it, until an evil man disrupts those plans. The leaders blame each other, and the war is back on! The balance between the interesting mini-games and HOPS is perfect allowing ...Show more

I'm not one that enjoys too much fantasy in hidden object games, but this one captured me the instant it began and left me wanting more. The storyline is very believable. Two kingdoms at war for ages, finally decide to end it, until an evil man disrupts those plans. The leaders blame each other, and the war is back on! The balance between the interesting mini-games and HOPS is perfect allowing plenty of time to complete the demo. The thing that ties it all together is, of course, the musical score which brings you into the story to care about each of the main characters. The game developers gave them personalities and emotions that one can identify with. Thanks for the fun. I highly recommend this game. Show less

I recommend this game!

+35points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

27 of 35 found this review helpful

My Perfect Day!

PostedSeptember 3, 2016

Daxadillion

fromGloucestershire UK

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

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

It started with a long walk with my dog in the sunshine and then dashed home just missing the torrential rain to find this wonderful game.

My review is based on playing the Main Game and the Bonus Chapter.

I loved the storyline, music, scenery and the voices, and the good looking male characters.

My favourite character was Hermit the Frog who lived inside a tree and if I recall he ...Show more

It started with a long walk with my dog in the sunshine and then dashed home just missing the torrential rain to find this wonderful game.

My review is based on playing the Main Game and the Bonus Chapter.

I loved the storyline, music, scenery and the voices, and the good looking male characters.

My favourite character was Hermit the Frog who lived inside a tree and if I recall he protects the archives even though he can't read. It's a shame he was only around for a short time as I loved his slightly croaky voice.

Returning to the Dark Realm world was the captain of the flying ship from the previous game although he has a smaller part than before.

The map is very good and clear, and it transports you quickly.

The puzzles were excellent and varied - they started off fairly easy in the demo but that all changed and they became harder and harder.

The HOS are a good mixture of what these devs usually include and there are some that are quite different. I can honestly say that when I replay them to find the morphing objects I doubt I am going to achieve a gold star for each one. Then again I did manage to get the achievement for 3 objects in 3 seconds!

I became so absorbed with the game I completely forgot to look for the collectibles (feathers) or the morphs in the HOS.

The Bonus game was 'sort of' a follow-on to the main game and at the end hinted at what the next game in this series might be. Show less

I recommend this game!

+19points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

9 of 9 found this review helpful

and beautiful gorgeous Dark Realm

PostedSeptember 8, 2016

crusades

fromfrance

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

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

MadHead are just brilliant at each and every game they make. The graphics are fantastic, crisp & clear: the music is divine, the voices are perfect , the gameplay is just a joy. Morphs and collectibles abound.
I have not yet finished this game but I see looming my worst thing in a game - a monster !! I do wish they would get rid of monsters. I hate them !! Why not just some evil guy/girl wanting ...Show more

MadHead are just brilliant at each and every game they make. The graphics are fantastic, crisp & clear: the music is divine, the voices are perfect , the gameplay is just a joy. Morphs and collectibles abound.
I have not yet finished this game but I see looming my worst thing in a game - a monster !! I do wish they would get rid of monsters. I hate them !! Why not just some evil guy/girl wanting money/power etc like in real life??
However, apart from the dreaded monsters this is just another fantastic game from these devs. Show less

I recommend this game!

+9points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

16 of 20 found this review helpful

Something with a little bit of a twist

PostedSeptember 4, 2016

patricia356

fromNew York state

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):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

4 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

The graphics were great Items easy to see. There is a map.The sound was excellent. I found myself stopping the game play to just listen. Lately I am finding more attention to the sound which I applaud. I used to have to turn off the sound or just play my own music while I played the game. There is a nice twist to the plot. I sort of thought something like it was going to happen but had no idea who ...Show more

The graphics were great Items easy to see. There is a map.The sound was excellent. I found myself stopping the game play to just listen. Lately I am finding more attention to the sound which I applaud. I used to have to turn off the sound or just play my own music while I played the game. There is a nice twist to the plot. I sort of thought something like it was going to happen but had no idea who it would be. If there is any criticism it is that it is a little too easy sometimes. The pace is fast and insistent which I enjoy. Overall an enjoyable game with some interesting characters. Show less

I recommend this game!

+12points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

8 of 8 found this review helpful

BEST GAME EVER!!!

PostedSeptember 15, 2016

marozaki

fromGreece

Skill Level:Intermediate

Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object

Current Favorite:

Dark Realm: Lord of the Winds Collector's Edition

(40)

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

This is the best game i have ever played!!!The scenery is very beautiful!The storyline is interesting and the minigames are very creative! I recommend this game without a doubt!!!

I recommend this game!

+8points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

7 of 7 found this review helpful

What A Wonderful Game!

PostedSeptember 14, 2016

lamp_post

fromPittsburgh, Pa

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):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

Mad Head just keeps getting better and better, if that is possible. This is a gem of a game. I loved meeting up with old friends and meeting new ones.....Good looking ones...Youzer! This game has it all. It only took me about 15 mins. of play to decide to purchase it. Try it and you will have the time of your life.

+7points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

15 of 21 found this review helpful

Wonderful!

PostedSeptember 3, 2016

jmt52

Skill Level:Expert

Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Puzzle

I loved everything about this game from start to finish. It was a beautiful game.

I recommend this game!

+9points

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