Dark Canvas: A Murder Exposed Collector's Edition > iPad, iPhone, Android, Mac & PC Game

Overall rating

5 / 5

200 of 242 found this review helpful

There's Skeleton's In All The Closet's Of This Family's Mansion!

PostedSeptember 26, 2015

pennmom36

fromHey, I'm a wedding photographer, get your own aspirin Martha!

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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.
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Skill Level:Expert

Current Favorite:

Phantasmat Collector's Edition

(100)

Fun Factor

4 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

4 / 5

Level of Challenge

4 / 5

Storyline

4 / 5

Frank and Carol's wedding at the Hollow Oak Estate was absolutely beautiful, and they've asked you to return this evening to take one last photograph of Carol and her beloved sister Martha. The storm outside is relentless but the storm inside the Whittle Estate seems to be even more tempestuous! Family secrets never stay secret for long, even poor old dad, Jasper thinks his daughter knows the ...Show more

Frank and Carol's wedding at the Hollow Oak Estate was absolutely beautiful, and they've asked you to return this evening to take one last photograph of Carol and her beloved sister Martha. The storm outside is relentless but the storm inside the Whittle Estate seems to be even more tempestuous! Family secrets never stay secret for long, even poor old dad, Jasper thinks his daughter knows the truth, and this truth is as ugly as it get's!

I've always been a fan of the Dark Canvas series, but I do want to voice my opinion about the games of late that seem to have more makings of a great movie, and less game play. I love the cinematics, but I also love the puzzles which seem to be scarce lately. Because you are a photographer, you are equipped with a camera that will be used to shoot pictures whenever there's a star like symbol (the camera will glow) and the pictures slowly reveal the terrifying history that took place inside the Hollow Oak Estate. I found this feature to be really intriguing, especially once I started taking the pics that began to piece together a storyline I needed to know more about. Some of the inventory items have plus signs that indicate some type of interaction needs to be performed before the item can be used. There are Achievements to earn and my favorite feature, Haunted or Beyond Morphing Objects are available in every scene, AND there's no cursor change to say "here I am" which makes it so much better!

The Hidden Object Puzzles vary, but none are really unique, I will say however, for the first time in a long time, there was an item I had difficulty spotting on the very first listed item HOP (the baby carriage) There are Silhouetted Shape finds, and a couple of them required you to find the item in the green text of a sentence one of which was through a tiny keyhole.

The Mini Games seemed a little on the simplistic side, I was able to finish all of them on the first attempt withing a few seconds, but I've played a lot of games and I've gotten familiar with most of them.

1) Move the colored tokens into the slots that match their symbols using a silver slider device to pick up the token of choice and slide Right or Left to the desired location.
2) Sort through a box of decorations to make matches of related items, the items on top must be matched first.
3) Using codes shown on an ornate box (A+H=3 for example) determine the correct number combination then enter those numbers on the available tumblers.

This Collector's Edition has 25 Concept Art Pictures, 11 Soundtracks, 8 replayable HOP's (that's not very many BF) 10 replayable Mini Games or Puzzles (again not very many BF) 4 Wallpapers, 16 Hidden Photographs, an Attic Room where the photos are kept which allows you to complete portraits revealing the atrocities that took place within the Estate, 30 Haunted Morphing Objects, and a built in Strategy Guide, I gotta go take pictures now, enjoy! Show less

I recommend this game!

+158points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

38 of 46 found this review helpful

No portals or flying islands...

PostedSeptember 27, 2015

OldLady50

fromMcKinleyville, CA

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

Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object

Fun Factor

4 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

4 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

If you like to read "cozy" mysteries (think Agatha Christie) then this is the game for you. Adult story line, no fairies or elves, and no talking frogs to give advice. There are a couple of weak points in the plot, and the music tends to be portentous for no reason, but overall a good game for people who think....

I recommend this game!

+30points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

12 of 13 found this review helpful

Loved this game!!

PostedOctober 4, 2015

yifati

fromIsrael

Skill Level:Intermediate

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

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

At the beginning I was a little surprised that my character is a Photographer since as a detective you can touch things and look around but as a photographer it seems weird, but later on I forgot all about it..
The Graphic was beautiful! The story sent me back in time to the murder mysteries of the 50's. The HO scenes were beautiful and not too hard. The Map was really helpful moving quickly from ...Show more

At the beginning I was a little surprised that my character is a Photographer since as a detective you can touch things and look around but as a photographer it seems weird, but later on I forgot all about it..
The Graphic was beautiful! The story sent me back in time to the murder mysteries of the 50's. The HO scenes were beautiful and not too hard. The Map was really helpful moving quickly from one side of the house to another.

But what I really liked was that the Bonus game was connected in a way that I only understood later and yet knew that even if the Characters of the Bonus game were the characters of the main game- I would enjoy it just as well.
Thank you for this great game, was worth every penny! :) Show less

I recommend this game!

+11points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

103 of 156 found this review helpful

A GHOSTLY MURDER MYSTERY – WHAT COULD BE BETTER!

PostedSeptember 26, 2015

biscuitsmama

fromSettling in for a ghostly great time

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

4 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

What better way could there be to cool off a hot early fall day than to solve a wonderful, ghostly murder mystery set during a dark and stormy day. In Dark Canvas A Murder Exposed, you play a photographer who is hired to take photos at the wedding of Carol Whittle and Frank Gelson. Take a step back to the 1950s as you try to solve a murder and find out who is haunting the Whittle’s Hollow Oak ...Show more

What better way could there be to cool off a hot early fall day than to solve a wonderful, ghostly murder mystery set during a dark and stormy day. In Dark Canvas A Murder Exposed, you play a photographer who is hired to take photos at the wedding of Carol Whittle and Frank Gelson. Take a step back to the 1950s as you try to solve a murder and find out who is haunting the Whittle’s Hollow Oak Estate.

The game offers a choice of four modes of gameplay: Easy, Medium, Hard, and Custom. In custom mode you can set your hints and skips to recharge in a range of 15 to 95. The graphics are excellent and crisp being nice and colorful rather than the dark and grimy ones that we normally find in a ghostly game. The sound effects are excellent and truly set the tone for the game with the thunder that is frequently heard in the background. There are voiceovers that are quite good but sadly the game lacks the lip-sync component. Even though there is no lip-sync with the story being so excellent, after a while I didn’t really notice the lack of lip movement.

Tools include an interactive, transporter type map that is present at the beginning of the game so you don’t have to look for one. You have a camera that will be used to take photos that will show important information that you will use at some later point in the game. You will also use your camera to take hidden photos that can be snapped when you notice a certain symbol.

The HOPS in the game are quite different than normal and at least early in the game none were the standard list type. Some were to find pairs of related items, match items that are again related, a silhouette type and to search a room through a keyhole to find items that are highlighted in a sentence. The puzzles were very easy with the first one being the type where we move tokens to the appropriate space – no thinking required here. The next puzzle was a math type where we use equations to figure out a combination. It appears that the game is well balanced between HOPS and puzzles.

The CE version of the game includes the following extras: Collectibles, Haunted Objects, Achievements, Art Gallery, Hidden Objects, Puzzles, The Attic, and Wallpapers, Strategy Guide, and Bonus game

Dark Canvas A Murder Exposed is a wonderful game. There is so much to discover and so many things to find that at first the game seemed a bit more difficult than usual. Things are not easily found and that alone makes the game better. For instance, we don’t discover that we need a screwdriver and then find it lying on a chair right next to where we need to use it. The entire package blends together to create a game that I love. Because the game seems a bit more difficult I know that I won’t be able to rush through it and will have hours of entertainment ahead. Even though the game is a buy for me, as always, I recommend that you try the demo to see if this is a game you will enjoy. Show less

I recommend this game!

+50points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

11 of 14 found this review helpful

Magnificant Murder Mystery in the Spirit of Clue...

PostedSeptember 29, 2015

skullfun

fromTennessee

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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Skill Level:Expert

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

Current Favorite:

Dark Canvas: Blood and Stone Collector's Edition

(35)

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

3 / 5

Storyline

4 / 5

Sometimes the usual storm can change lives of many people, and that happened with guests of Hollow Oak Estate in Dark Canvas 3: A Murder Exposed Collector’s Edition! When you were driving to the estate, invited as the wedding photographer on the wedding of Carol Whittle and Frank Gelson to enlighten wedding ceremony, you saw how someone changed the sign into “Horror Oak”. Then the storm damaged ...Show more

Sometimes the usual storm can change lives of many people, and that happened with guests of Hollow Oak Estate in Dark Canvas 3: A Murder Exposed Collector’s Edition! When you were driving to the estate, invited as the wedding photographer on the wedding of Carol Whittle and Frank Gelson to enlighten wedding ceremony, you saw how someone changed the sign into “Horror Oak”. Then the storm damaged communications and the whole wedding was left in the darkness, without connections with outer world – it’s year 1955 and no mobile phone has been invented yet. And when you see a shadowy figure outside the house, you understood that something is really wrong… face the danger for your life and life of everyone else in the house in this all-over-the-place Adventure Puzzle Hidden Object Game! The story begins to draw you in as soon as you find the body in the 'dumb waiter' of the house. Reviewer's have already touched on music "which I thought was okay" and the camera with which you photograph clue's for later use in the 'extras' section of the game. I was happy to use the map included in this edition because you travel all over that house gathering inventory clues, puzzles, and HOS to discover the killer. This may not be my favorite edition of the Dark Canvas trilogy but it ranks! The bonus game is short but interesting. Demo this one, I think fans will appreciate this one, and if you haven't played previous ones this is a good place to begin. Show less

I recommend this game!

+8points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

9 of 12 found this review helpful

If you like to be challanged then you will love this game!

PostedOctober 6, 2015

didersham

fromMckinney, Tx.

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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Skill Level:Expert

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

Current Favorite:

Dark Canvas: A Murder Exposed Collector's Edition

(33)

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

4 / 5

This is the best game I have played in a long time! It is old school in the fact that you have to use your brain again! And not everything is handed to you! The background sound was great in creating an atmosphere of a good murder mystery! there is not a lot of HO scenes, which is great to me! I loved the puzzles! Some were easy and some you did have to think about for the solution. They were not ...Show more

This is the best game I have played in a long time! It is old school in the fact that you have to use your brain again! And not everything is handed to you! The background sound was great in creating an atmosphere of a good murder mystery! there is not a lot of HO scenes, which is great to me! I loved the puzzles! Some were easy and some you did have to think about for the solution. They were not all the same old same old puzzles you see in many games coming out lately. The graphics were great! The lips did not move, which does not bother me. I am more about the game play. I did not have any tech issues and was using windows 7 home premium. Oh, and the bonus it is good too! Show less

I recommend this game!

+6points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

7 of 10 found this review helpful

Lovely old school

PostedOctober 4, 2015

roselleleroux

fromScotland

Skill Level:Intermediate

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

Current Favorite:

Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst ™

(217)

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

4 / 5

Level of Challenge

4 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

I enjoy the more old school games such as these with a nice mystery factor thrown in

Hope to see more of these from Vast

I recommend this game!

+4points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

5 of 7 found this review helpful

Great story

PostedOctober 2, 2015

j62janet

fromFalmouth Cornwall 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.
Key Contributor

Skill Level:Intermediate

Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Adventure

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

I loved the game, I thought the graphics were good, and the story as well.
You are there to take photo's of the wedding, you have a camera as well, and you have to use it to find hidden pictures, there are collectables to find as well, some I didn't manage to, even though went over the screen quite a few times.
You do eventually find out what happens, or at least I think you do, as in the bonus ...Show more

I loved the game, I thought the graphics were good, and the story as well.
You are there to take photo's of the wedding, you have a camera as well, and you have to use it to find hidden pictures, there are collectables to find as well, some I didn't manage to, even though went over the screen quite a few times.
You do eventually find out what happens, or at least I think you do, as in the bonus game, there is a spooky twist!!! Show less

I recommend this game!

+3points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

9 of 16 found this review helpful

SECRETS ALWAYS COME BACK TO HAUNT YOU!!!!

PostedSeptember 26, 2015

HappyMommy332

frombritish columbia canada

Skill Level:Expert

Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

4 / 5

Level of Challenge

4 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

i really really enjoyed this game. it wasn't fast paced but the story was awesome, graphics were good and I liked the characters so it was a nice relaxing game. the story carries well and really makes you want to see what other secrets you could find and how it all ends. I recommend this game. try it I think you will like it as I did. Happy gaming everyone

I recommend this game!

+2points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

3 of 5 found this review helpful

Great old timey murder mystery

PostedOctober 17, 2015

Darkangel20685

fromCayce, S.C.

Skill Level:Intermediate

Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object

Current Favorite:

Dark Canvas: A Murder Exposed Collector's Edition

(33)

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

4 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

I loved this game!!!!! It's a great break from the games developers are putting out now. No cute animal helpers. No fairy tale plot lines. Just a good old fashioned "who done it". With a bit of a ghostly side line, but not enough to make it repetitive. The plot line is really good. It kept me on my toes throughout the game. And the bonus chapter was really cool too. Just enough to hint at more ...Show more

I loved this game!!!!! It's a great break from the games developers are putting out now. No cute animal helpers. No fairy tale plot lines. Just a good old fashioned "who done it". With a bit of a ghostly side line, but not enough to make it repetitive. The plot line is really good. It kept me on my toes throughout the game. And the bonus chapter was really cool too. Just enough to hint at more hidden secrets that you don't know. It's kinda dark and a bit disturbing, but all around a fun game. The running around was a bit trying at times, but is made up for with a teleporting map. The graphics were nice, no overly done color schemes. The puzzles were not hard but a bit original too. I am anxiously awaiting another game of this series. Show less

I recommend this game!

+1point

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	, share your thoughts about this game! Dark Canvas: A Murder Exposed Collector's Edition A photographer exposes a dark family secret. 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.