Secrets of the Dark: The Flower of Shadow Collector's Edition > iPad, iPhone, Android, Mac & PC Game

Overall rating

5 / 5

30 of 47 found this review helpful

Slightly on the short side - 4 1/2 stars

PostedJuly 8, 2014

crypsynight

fromWestern Australia

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Skill Level:Expert

Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Marble Popper, Mahjong

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

3 / 5

Storyline

3 / 5

Firstly, I only just clicked that this was a "Secrets of the Dark" game. Very mainstream compared to the others. A lot less emphasis on the dark and light hopping.
Not sure why it copped such bad reviews - I really enjoyed it.
Can't place what it was that held my interest, it just had a "different" feel about it when playing it.
Had everything i'd expect in a CE game, although achievements were ...Show more

Firstly, I only just clicked that this was a "Secrets of the Dark" game. Very mainstream compared to the others. A lot less emphasis on the dark and light hopping.
Not sure why it copped such bad reviews - I really enjoyed it.
Can't place what it was that held my interest, it just had a "different" feel about it when playing it.
Had everything i'd expect in a CE game, although achievements were only very basic.
Storyline was a little thin and weak - but still flowed well.
The game itself was a little on the short side and the bonus chapter was also very short.
This game will very quickly end up in the "forgotten about" pile of games that i have played, nothing unique or exceptional to stick in my memory. But whilst playing the game, my interest was fully drawn in.
Will definitely recommend this game, but would probably lean towards the SE version due to its length. Show less

I recommend this game!

+13points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

87 of 145 found this review helpful

Fun Fantasy Adventure

PostedJuly 5, 2014

DeadRiver

fromOrange County, California

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Skill Level:Expert

Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

Based on the Demo

A pilot's only daughter, Maria, unwraps a gift without a card. A malevolent metaphysical beast comes out of the box and kidnaps her. Her father, desperate to find the sixteen year old Maria, employs your help.

The soundtrack is great, with just the right eerie and spooky background music. The creepy music is consistent with the theme of the game.
Voiceovers are very realistic ...Show more

Based on the Demo

A pilot's only daughter, Maria, unwraps a gift without a card. A malevolent metaphysical beast comes out of the box and kidnaps her. Her father, desperate to find the sixteen year old Maria, employs your help.

The soundtrack is great, with just the right eerie and spooky background music. The creepy music is consistent with the theme of the game.
Voiceovers are very realistic and well done. The visuals are beautiful : full color, very well illustrated.

There are collectible flowers and morphing objects to find. Hidden object scenes are the silhouette type, totally interactive. The scenes are very well drawn, consistent with the story. They were a little more involved than the usual hidden object games.
Mini games were fun, unusual, and pretty challenging.
To help with gameplay there is a hint button, a journal, a map, a strategy guide, a metaphysical "transformer" to change locations, and my personal favorite: a cute little animal helper that clinched the sale for me.
This game has something for everyone. Show less

I recommend this game!

+29points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

17 of 29 found this review helpful

Loved it !

PostedJuly 10, 2014

greenshade

fromCincinnati, OH

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Skill Level:Intermediate

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

Current Favorite:

Cadenza: Music, Betrayal and Death Collector's Edition

(237)

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

I don't understand why this game hasn't gotten better reviews. I loved it, was challenged, the HOs were totally interactive (until you got toward the end of the game and then they got "lazy" and reverted back to standard list types)

I should have reviewed right after I played the game so I could say more about it but I loved the game and bonus and will definitely play this one again!

I recommend this game!

+5points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

2 of 2 found this review helpful

Loved it, worth the money.

PostedMarch 15, 2015

tutortime

fromFlorida

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Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

So glad I got the CC edition. Even the bonus game was excellent. I found the game to very long and the mini games were not the typical games. Really liked playing this game.

I recommend this game!

+2points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

13 of 24 found this review helpful

Great game!!!

PostedJuly 17, 2014

pisces3959

fromWoodstock, GA

Skill Level:Expert

Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

4 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

4 / 5

Try this despite the negative reviews..it's great!!!

I recommend this game!

+2points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

46 of 95 found this review helpful

A Total Surprise!!

PostedJuly 5, 2014

biscuitsmama

fromSacramento, CA

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Skill Level:Expert

Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Marble Popper, Puzzle, Mahjong

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

When Secrets of the Dark: Temple of Night was released, I was blown away by the innovation and creativity of the game. It was so different to find a game where the reality would change from real life (or perhaps perceived real life) to an alternate reality. The second game, Eclipse Mountain, was also very good. But by the time the third game came along, something changed and I found it boring and ...Show more

When Secrets of the Dark: Temple of Night was released, I was blown away by the innovation and creativity of the game. It was so different to find a game where the reality would change from real life (or perhaps perceived real life) to an alternate reality. The second game, Eclipse Mountain, was also very good. But by the time the third game came along, something changed and I found it boring and tedious to say the least. When I played the beta for The Flower of Shadow it was such a mess that I left some less than glowing remarks for the developer. I am sure that I was not the only one to scream “what on earth has happened to a great series” because now it seems like the developer listened and made some impressive changes.

Instead of the mess that was originally presented, The Flower of Shadow now seems like it will be an excellent game. The graphics are much better and the game at least starts out with more presentation. The Overall sound package including music, ambient effects and voice overs is really quite good, although there is no lip-syncing – always a disappointment to me now.

For tools you have a special device (looks like a robotic bull’s head) that allows you to dispel magic spells. You have to fiddle with your device frequently in order to use it but that only adds to the gameplay. The journal is set up so that it contains tabs where you can access your objectives, your map and the strategy guide. The map is interactive, which is great since in the last game in this series the map was virtually useless and it was a mess navigating. Fortunately the developer improved that feature for this game.

There are various types of interactive HOPs, which are quite different than the ones we normally see. I won’t go into what they are because I hate to give too much away. The puzzles in the game may seem familiar but they are really a bit difficult at times. Some of the puzzles I enjoyed but others not quite as much. I always have difficulty when it comes to those puzzles that require “mousing” expertise – lol.

We have collectibles and morphing objects to find. The collectibles look like lilies on steroids and they are scattered throughout the game. We also have 16 morphing objects to find and some of them are not obvious. Aside from that we have the standard CE content, but we can replay the puzzles – a feature I always enjoy. Of course we have the strategy guide which will most likely come in handy for this game, particularly if you are new to the HOPA genre.

I was so impressed with the changes made by the developer since the beta was released that I now think The Flower of Shadow will be on par with the first two games in the series. I was so surprised by the changes and also that I found myself actually enjoying the game. I didn't finish the demo since I couldn’t wait to hit the buy button. As always, I recommend that you try the demo to see if this is a game you will like. Show less

I recommend this game!

-3points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

9 of 23 found this review helpful

Loved the demo but why purchase the game?

PostedAugust 3, 2014

mrm2006

fromBelton MO

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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):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Card & Board, Mahjong

Current Favorite:

Enigmatis: The Mists of Ravenwood Collector's Edition

(166)

Fun Factor

4 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

4 / 5

Level of Challenge

4 / 5

Storyline

4 / 5

Loved it!
Loved the game, no point in purchasing ...
August 3, 2014
mrm2006
Belton MO

Key Contributor

Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Adventure, Match 3, Large File, Mahjong, Card & Board

Current Favorite:
Enigmatis: The Mists of Ravenwood Collector's Edition

Fun Factor
Good
Visual/Sound Quality
Good
Level of Challenge
Good
Storyline
Good
When a reviewer (and a ...Show more

Loved it!
Loved the game, no point in purchasing ...
August 3, 2014
mrm2006
Belton MO

Key Contributor

Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Adventure, Match 3, Large File, Mahjong, Card & Board

Current Favorite:
Enigmatis: The Mists of Ravenwood Collector's Edition

Fun Factor
Good
Visual/Sound Quality
Good
Level of Challenge
Good
Storyline
Good
When a reviewer (and a moderator lets this through) gives the ending to the main story AND the bonus story in the CE version, there's no point in my wasting time to give my review of this game NOR purchasing it.

BF needs NOT reject this review because everyone who reads it needs to know they have to watch reviews carefully. It's bad enough that there are those who rate everything 5 stars just to get their reviews read first but this, this is just beyond bad form. Show less

I don't recommend this game.

-5points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

25 of 60 found this review helpful

A fortune teller, a pilot, and a 16 year old girl

PostedJuly 5, 2014

MSBAM100

fromTampa, FL

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Skill Level:Expert

Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management

Current Favorite:

Dark Parables: Ballad of Rapunzel Collector's Edition

(120)

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

4 / 5

This is the fourth in this series and it does not disappoint. A sixteen year old girl was taken by a terrible beast, after she opened a magical birthday present. Her father was a test pilot, who is also attacked and loses his memory. While piloting a plane, he crashed into the creature, which is perhaps why the creature has targeted his daughter. The creature needs 3 innocent souls to restore his ...Show more

This is the fourth in this series and it does not disappoint. A sixteen year old girl was taken by a terrible beast, after she opened a magical birthday present. Her father was a test pilot, who is also attacked and loses his memory. While piloting a plane, he crashed into the creature, which is perhaps why the creature has targeted his daughter. The creature needs 3 innocent souls to restore his master, which appears to be a giant flower!

While the story is a bit convoluted, it slowly works itself out into an interesting journey, allowing you to pass between the normal world and the dark world by using a device. The device needs a lot of maintenance, however -- a new battery, a repair, a rescue from the creature. All quite challenging and fun! There is also a mysterious fortune teller that gives you glimpses of the story as well.

To help you in your journey, you have an interactive map with activities marked. You have a hint button that will actually take you to another scene if necessary. And you have a device you repaired that lets you remove magical spells from doors or items. Plus a strategy guide, if needed.

The HOS are interactive picture lists, requiring you to use items found in order to find the next item. Also, there are the "place the items in the scene" form of HOS. Both are challenging and required me to use the Hint Button. The mini-games, however, are easily solved. Some are unique, and some are common.

There are 4 modes of play, including custom, 30 collectible flowers, achievement awards and points, plus morphing objects. The morphing objects fit into the scene they were found in, turning the darkness into the normal -- a nice twist.

I played the demo for 63 minutes, and at the end, the fortune teller promises to show you "how to save Maria." What she actually shows you is a preview of all the upcoming scenes and dangers -- another nice touch.

I really enjoyed the demo and plan to buy it. You should try it and see for yourself! Show less

I recommend this game!

-10points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

21 of 57 found this review helpful

A Flower With Plenty of Power!

PostedJuly 6, 2014

TeachumWell

fromSouth FL 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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Skill Level:Expert

Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Card & Board, Marble Popper, Puzzle, Mahjong

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

4 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

The story caught my attention (changing world within worlds) and the graphics (the lamp, magic effects) got my attention. After the opening cut scene, (where I thought the visuals were a bit blurry) the game had me in my chair for the demo and it's a buy for more, more, more! Sure we've played the "missing child" story before, but not often with such creative flair. The puzzles are fair and #in ...Show more

The story caught my attention (changing world within worlds) and the graphics (the lamp, magic effects) got my attention. After the opening cut scene, (where I thought the visuals were a bit blurry) the game had me in my chair for the demo and it's a buy for more, more, more! Sure we've played the "missing child" story before, but not often with such creative flair. The puzzles are fair and #in the demo# are new takes on tried and true ideas, but except for those pesky fireflies, not overly difficult #some thought required#. The flower hint button recharges quickly and the guide is terse but clear and the photos in it are good. The voices are appropriate if occasional unclear #there's text to read# and the collections #glowing flowers and morphs# are relatively but not overly easy to spot. The high point for me is the transition from our ordinary world to a surreal #but clear# world of....whoops, no spoilers here, fishies! With customization and CE perks, this is a sure buy for me. As always , though, try it first #Thanks BF for the longer trial times! Super!# and you may just get captured by it's "flower power"! Show less

I recommend this game!

-15points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

13 of 45 found this review helpful

Great Game

PostedJuly 5, 2014

lynnisrich

fromSydney, Australia

Skill Level:Intermediate

Favorite Genre(s):Word, Hidden Object, Card & Board, Brain Teaser, Time Management, Puzzle, Mahjong

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

I was very happy that I was picked to do the beta trial of this game.Yes,its a little different to the others in this series but it works very well.
The characters and voiceovers are great.
There are lots of different puzzles to do along the way.I love the graphics...very colourful and clear.
I recommend this game

I recommend this game!

-19points

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Secrets of the Dark: The Flower of Shadow Collector's Edition

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	, share your thoughts about this game! Secrets of the Dark: The Flower of Shadow Collector's Edition Save Maria from everlasting darkness! 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.