The Curio Society: The Thief of Life Collector's Edition > iPad, iPhone, Android, Mac & PC Game

Overall rating

5 / 5

101 of 128 found this review helpful

STOP A ROGUE AGENT BEFORE HE STOPS YOU!

PostedDecember 6, 2016

biscuitsmama

fromI want one of those anti-gravity things - something that will come in handy as I try to rearrange the living room.

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Skill Level:Expert

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

Agent, your mission is to stop a rogue agent from destroying the Curio Society. Jack, a one-time agent for the society, is on a rampage and bent on revenge after being expelled from the society years ago – and now he is back. In an urgent message from the Chief, his last words before losing the connection were to find the scientist Mary Fincher. Off you go on another mission and this time your ...Show more

The Curio Society games have not always been ones that I have loved but Thief of Life is a terrific game with everything I want in a HOPA. The HOPS are varied and there are many puzzles that will keep me happily engaged as I play through the story. If puzzles take you to your happy place, then I am sure you will enjoy solving the puzzles in this game. If you aren’t swept away by puzzles, the developer has included easy and hard settings for most of the puzzles in Thief of Life. If you want to skip the puzzles, the custom mode of gameplay will allow you to skip them after 15 seconds.

While the game has wonderful, colorful, and crisp graphics the voiceovers and dialog are a bit corny at times. The Custom mode allows you to set the hints and skips in a range of 15 to 90 seconds. Your tools include an interactive map and an antigravity scepter.

The HOPS are varied in style and the items are not too difficult to find. I am not going to give you all the details because discovery is something that makes playing games fun. I will only mention that for me the HOPS are fun and that I enjoyed playing the scenes. The puzzles are terrific, even those toggle types (not my favorite type of puzzle) proved solvable if I took my time. The game developer took the game to another level in my opinion by including the option of either an easy or hard setting for most puzzles.

If you enjoy the CE version of games, this one includes the following extras: two types of collectibles to find throughout the game, morphing objects in some scenes, achievements to earn, a bonus chapter, strategy guide, replay of puzzles and HOPS, wallpapers, concept art, and music. For me the extras represent a decent CE package.

As you have probably guessed by now, “The Curio Society The Thief of Life” is a must-have game for me. I love the storyline and this one isn’t as far-fetched as some of the others. The game has a good pace so I didn’t feel bogged down with too many silly tasks to complete before moving forward. As a puzzle lover this game is perfect for me and an instant buy. Even though I enjoy the game, please be sure to try the demo to see if Thief of Life is one that you will like as well. Show less

I recommend this game!

+74points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

22 of 28 found this review helpful

Bravo, Domini

PostedDecember 6, 2016

driain

fromHighland, Scotland, UK.

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Skill Level:Expert

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

No need for a detailed review after the earlier thorough descriptions. Enough to say it is a puzzler's delight - even before you leave HQ - with the promise of a lengthy adventure.
These devs have been producing consistently interesting and innovative games over the last few years and this promises to be one of their best.
Enjoy!

I recommend this game!

+16points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

116 of 189 found this review helpful

PERPETUALLY IN LOVE WITH DOMINI GAMES - A MASTERPIECE OF INVENTIVE GAMING

PostedDecember 6, 2016

sunnyglow

fromAre Maxwell’s inventions worthless? Not at all. Maxwell could become the “head” of his own company selling these gadgets through infomercials on late night television!

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Skill Level:Expert

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

5 CHAPTERS PLUS A BONUS CHAPTER - REVIEW BASED ON THE DEMO

OVERVIEW: What a great 5-star plus game! Domini has my heart – all wrapped up in coils and wires and placed into a “perpetual motion” machine! It does seem I am perpetually drawn to purchasing their games. This game is a puzzle-lover’s delight! This is a very long game evidenced by a strategy guide which consists of 64 pages! Wow! I loved playing the demo and to me, it has the potential to become one of my favorite games. I don’t think this game will appeal to everyone – however, it will appeal to those who are inventors, engineers, puzzle-lovers, sci-fi- lovers and those whose futuristic dreams and souls are excited and “lifted up” by the awesome potential of anti-gravity devices and mechanical contraptions.

What an awesome mechanical feast! I loved the fact this is a long demo. It does give the potential player some idea of what the actual game will be like. I also liked the fact the demo includes 14 – yes – 14 puzzles. There are more puzzles than are offered in complete games from other developers. Domini is the only developer who provides both an easy and hard option to their puzzles and it is evident that much work went into creating this game. I played the beta and could not wait until this game appeared!

STORY: The Curio society is back with an agent gone wild. A renegade ex-agent, a scientist, Jack ,is out for revenge against the society. He is attacking fellow agents. You will be aided by Mary Fincher in this game and a score of awesome devices, including an anti-gravity scepter.

PUZZLES: The puzzles are just amazing! Words escape me to describe the amount of work and creativity which went into constructing these puzzles. I played BOTH the easy and the hard versions to get a feel for them. The developer has truly been able to provide puzzles which I believe will appeal to both those who want a low-key game with little challenge and to those who love some brain crushing effort in solving these. I have seen no other developer who provides this variation in difficulty for the puzzles with such expertise. Domini has now become the “inventor” of delightful puzzling masterpieces

HOP SCENES: The HOP scenes are few (only four) in the demo; however, they as well are very creative. I enjoyed playing the matching pairs scene. The spot the differences scene is beautifully rendered. I also like the fact that there is decent puzzle in one of the silhouette scenes.

LEVELS: Casual, Advanced, Hardcore, Custom
Hints and Skips: 15 to 90 seconds

EXTRAS:
Map is given to you at the start of the game
Anti-gravity scepter. A prototype which allows nullifies gravity so you can move objects with ease.
22 Achievements
Collect 20 Maxwell’s inventions. There is also a blinking light which alerts you if you have missed any of the items.
14 Morphing objects: Prototypes of absurd inventions
Collect 24 film strips
Strategy guide - 64 pages
Replay of 17 Puzzles and 18 HOP scenes
10 Wallpapers, 8 Concept Art. Music FIlmstrips

HERE ARE THE DETAILS (SPOILERS) FOR THOSE WANT MORE INFORMATION ON THE HOP SCENES AND MINI-PUZZLES IN SEQUENCE

HOP SCENES: You may play a Match-3 game instead.
A. Sentences. Locate items listed in GREEN letters. Will relate information about the Curio Society.
B. Silhouette items. Very cool. Locate items and then return them to the proper location within the scene. There is a puzzle within this scene. Using arrows, restore a picture on a box.
C. Matching pairs. Very creative. You need to move items around to get at the pairs.
D. Locate the differences between two sides of a trophy case. Very creative

PUZZLES: Choice between easy and hard for most of the puzzles.
A. Assembly puzzle. Rotate rings to restore a picture. Moving one affects the others.
B. Sliding tiles puzzle. Slide 5 spheres into the matching colored slots.
C. Given a phone number, dial the number on an old rotary phone.
D. Maze puzzle. Create a path for each of three gems to travel from left to right.
E. Switch puzzle. Switch tiles to restore a picture.
F. Weights and balance puzzle. Move weights so that the numbers on the weights match up to the number of arrows pointing to the square.
G. Assembly puzzle. 1) Using an ocular, locate symbols in a dark scene. This is more of a HOP scene. (2) Replace the pieces into the proper places.
H. Maze/Gear puzzle. Move a token along lines to an exist using arrows to guide it.
I. Assembly puzzle. Move three pieces of a segmented statue to reassemble it on the left of the screen. You cannot place a piece on top of one which is below it in the original make-up.
J. Assembly puzzle. Using arrows – slide pieces of an owl into the correct locations to reassemble the image.
K. Assembly puzzle. On a chart choose three symbols to create a third which is the combination of the three you have chosen.
L. Domino puzzle. On a board, place domino type pieces into location so that every square is filled.
M. Mathematical puzzle. Do some math calculations to move green gas in each of 3 tubes so that the gas in each tube reaches a green line in each tube. Moving one valves affects the flow of the other tubes.
N. Moving tiles puzzle. Rotate square pieces on a board so that each of four sides of the square match up. Show less

I recommend this game!

+43points

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Overall rating

4 / 5

85 of 104 found this review helpful

I'VE NEVER BEEN A FAN OF THIS SERIES BUT I LOVE THE ABUNDANCE OF PUZZLES

PostedDecember 6, 2016

pennmom36

fromBaby it's cold outside, let's sleep in and wake up when the sun actually shines :)

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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

The Curio Society is one of my least favorite game series for several reasons. For starters, the stories are lame, and run of the mill, been there, done that a million times, kind of stories. The Curio Society agents use an array of outrageous gimmicky tools that are supposed to be the latest and greatest devices invented by some of the world's most brilliant scientist, which make this game seem like a cheap generic knockoff of Mystery Trackers (which btw is a series that seems to be taking a nosedive lately anyway) And the graphics consists of purple, blue, red and green hues, but then they got carried away and decided that you can't have too much of a good thing so the addend more purple, then more blue, then more red, some more green, and then they just bumped up the colors full force so the purple smack you in the face, the blue practically blinds you, and the green overwhelms you, by the time you get used to all those colors, red jumps out at you to permanently disable you from seeing colors ever again! Why are there an overabundance of purple hues? It's not a fairytale, is it?

Anyway, although the storyline is just ho, ho ho humdrum, I will give "The Thief of Life" 4 stars instead of the 3 stars I usually give the games in this series, because I was more than slightly entertained by the Mini Games offered, and they are in abundance which, unlike the purple hues, are welcomed by my inner puzzle geek. As I mentioned earlier, this series always has gimmicky weapons at your disposal, and with this game, if you can imagine it, you're probably going to find that device eventually. The "go to" device you can't do without is an Anti-Gravity Scepter, which seems to have enough energy to lift vehicles off the ground and heave giant solid granite boulders! I found this a little ironic because I used my state of the art scepter to lift an overturned car off of my colleague, to undoubtedly save her life, then I rush over to a dilapidated intercom box that looked like it was built in 1960, yank out all the old wires and run about town doing a bunch of meaningless tasks, I just happen to come across a new set of wires that will work perfectly on my intercom system. I return to the intercom box area where I presumably step over my dying colleague lying in the middle of the road, and probably over her purse as well, that I just looted and threw back down on the ground, I toss the new set of wires at (not into) the box and they magically line up where they need to be, I grab my electrical tape (which I knew I'd need when I found the tape earlier) and wrap the wires so nobody would get electrocuted and OSHA wouldn't fine the agency who would in turn deduct it out of my paycheck. Now all that's left to do is close the box and push the giant red cross which calls the Ambulance! If the scientists are so good, why do I need a call box, doesn't the agency provide me with a smartphone, or at least a dumbphone?

This Collector's Edition version has plenty of collectible items, just not that many of each one so this is either a really short game, or many of the location scenes don't have a collectible. There are 20 devices referred to as Maxwell's Inventions (hope they're better than the ambulance call button) and 14 Morphing Objects, most of which are really large and difficult not to spot. There are several Notes that you will come across, and these too are considered collectibles as they are stored in your journal for later reference if needed. Finally, there are Film Strip Collectibles that will eventually be from 6 different reels, 4 strips per reel, I hope we get a cartoon to watch before the reel show.

The Hidden Object Scenes are just okay, nothing to write home about bad nor good. There are Interactive List finds, finding Keywords in a sentence, Spot the difference, finding Matching pairs by moving two items at a time, and Silhouetted Shape finds.

The Mini Games is this games saving grace in my opinion, it's the best feature it has going for it. Most of the games allow you to customize the difficulty of the puzzle, either Easy or Hard, which is way cool! Below are brief descriptions of some of the games you'll encounter during the demo:

1) Rotate cogwheels to restore the image, rotating one cog may affect others.

2) Move spheres along the track to their color coded slots.

3) Dial a phone number on a rotary phone dial.

4) Rotate tiles to create a path.from left to right.

5) Restore the image by selecting a tile which will swap the adjacent tile.

6) Place numbered weights on the board where arrows would cross with that specific number of times.

7) Use the Ocular device to search the dark for symbols shown.

8) Place symbol fragments on the outline correctly.

9) Use arrows to move tiles on rows and columns to complete the picture.

10) Move statue pieces from the right peg to the left peg, large pieces cannot go on top of smaller pieces.

11) Guide the green crystal to three different slots to open the door, using the crystal to move cogs until the desired opening direction has been achieved.

12) Move token parts to the center without crossing over one another.

13) Recreate symbols sections.

14) Place dominoes to fill all spaces.

15) Fill tubes to the lines, one valve my affect others.

This Collector's Edition has 10 Wallpapers, 8 Concept Art pictures, 17 replayable Mini Games, 18 replayable Hidden Object Scenes, 5 Music Soundtracks, 6 Film Reels with 4 strips each, 20 Maxwell's Inventions, 22 Achievements, 14 Morphing Objects, Collectible Note pages, a built in Strategy Guide and a Bonus Chapter. Show less

+66points

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Overall rating

4 / 5

23 of 31 found this review helpful

Fun, challenging, interesting...

PostedDecember 6, 2016

dancemom1

fromYakima, WA

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Skill Level:Expert

Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

4 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

Hello friends! Well, we have #3 in this wonderful series. As always, I review mostly on the game play and leave the story to others to review. As usual, the graphics in this game are excellent, very clear and perfectly done, with the exception of a little fuzziness now and then when going in or out of a scene. Fortunately it is not often and not too bad. Animation is so realistic and mouth and eye movements are right on. Voices are very well done and are age and character appropriate, with fear, urgency, the works. I especially like how you can click through the dialog if you read faster than they speak, and not miss any insight into what is happening or why. Colors are bright, clear and true. Music is very nice and moves with whatever is happening in the scene at the time. Sound FX are wonderful and are exactly as they should be for what is happening at the time. The only "helper" you have is actually an anti-gravity scepter, which does come in quite useful frequently. Of course, you do have to recharge it after each use, but you also can't use it if it is not needed in a scene.

HOPs are exceptionally well done and are quite varied, so you don't get bored. We have a combination of highlighted words; interactive silhouettes, match pairs and find the differences so far. If for some reason you want more change, you can switch to a match 3 game. Puzzles are also quite varied and go hand in hand with challenge. The best part is that you can choose easy or hard on every puzzle. They take time and thought to complete and are very well done. Hint system is very helpful, but there is no transport map as such. Instead, the jump map automatically opens and shows you where to go when needed. It also shows you where collectibles are and may have been missed. You can also turn this feature off if you want some extra challenge.

Collectibles! Wow, great collectibles. We need to find pieces of film, which are not hard to see, but easy to overlook. Once you find them, from 4 to 14 pieces in each reel, you watch the reel and get more insight into what is happening and why. I only completed one reel and part of another during the demo. We also have to find 20 of Maxwell's inventions. These can be very weird objects, and different sizes, but haven't been difficult to find. And then we have 14 prototype inventions that morph in and out. Again, large enough to see, but easy to overlook as they morph fairly quickly and are all various sizes and items.

I beta tested this game back in August. In fact, I wrote BF yesterday and asked when a number of really good games are going to be released. I was pleasantly surprised to see this one today. I love everything about this series. Unlike others, I do not give five stars to every game that comes along. In fact, I rarely give five stars, unless a game is exceptional throughout. This one comes very close. If it weren't for the occasional blurry cut, it would have it. That said, I still give it a solid 4.75. This one has a really nice story, fun and challenging puzzles, really good collectibles and enough action to keep you moving and wanting more. I think this game will appeal to all levels of players. I am most definitely adding this one to my collection!

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. Thanks for the reviews. Show less

I recommend this game!

+15points

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Overall rating

4 / 5

11 of 16 found this review helpful

A solid game, well done !

PostedDecember 7, 2016

cuorips

fromFrying Pan, CA

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Skill Level:Expert

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

Current Favorite:

True Fear: Forsaken Souls Collector's Edition

(322)

Fun Factor

4 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

4 / 5

Lots of things to do, morphing, good HO's , puzzles have an easy or hard choice or a match3. Not as steam punk as I thought, but I enjoyed it and stayed with it ! 50% off not a bad deal either !

+6points

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Overall rating

4 / 5

1 of 1 found this review helpful

SUPER long game, many brain teasers & gadgets

PostedAugust 18, 2017

ninja226

fromwichita, KS

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Skill Level:Intermediate

Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object

Fun Factor

4 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

4 / 5

Level of Challenge

4 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

This is a super long game when played on advanced mode. Having a strategy guide as part of the game is useful, because several of the mini puzzles are challenging (well, I played on Hard mode, so that is my perspective).All mini puzzles have the choice of Easy or Hard mode that is chosen at any time of game play.

There are more puzzles than HOS, and even some of the HOS items are more ...Show more

There are more puzzles than HOS, and even some of the HOS items are more challenging than usual. However, you have the option of playing match 3 instead of HO. There's even an achievement if you play 5 match 3 games instead of HO.

Instructions for the puzzles are well done, except for one, which I have never seen before and there was no instruction indicating when you have reached a solution.

Collectibles include film strips, Maxwell's inventions, and morphing objects. There is an indicator at bottom center that lights up blue to tell you a morphing object or invention to find in scene, which is extremely helpful to help you keep track of collectibles. I wish all CE games had this function, as I am always missing a few collectibles.

At the end, there is a display room for Maxwell's inventions and morphing objects, which is a collection of gadgets that you wish we had in real life. They are whimsical, creative, and sometimes, outright preposterous. You click on the collectible, and it pops out an explanation of what the gadget's function or purpose is. The filmstrips add up to film reels that give a brief description of what happens to the main characters encountered in the game. That is a nice touch. The written narrative for the film reels flash on the screen for 3 seconds, which is way too fast--I had to play the reels several times just to catch what was written.

The bonus game is long, and explains how the villain in the main chapter went rogue and became a baddie.

The artwork is high def and good, but it's not a fairytale setting with lots of flowers and elegant interiors. It has a masculine and machinistic feel to the setting.

If you like gadgets, this game is for you. HO and mini puzzles are replayable. Concept art, music, and wallpapers are above average.

The devs went over and beyond the usual in creating this game, which has a lot of detail and thought. It's a game you could play again and not be bored.

This game is well worth the price of a CE, and you will get a lot more when you purchase the CE over an SE. Show less

I recommend this game!

+1point

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Overall rating

4 / 5

0 of 2 found this review helpful

enjoyed

PostedDecember 18, 2016

Marja67

fromSpokane, WA

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Skill Level:Expert

Fun Factor

4 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

3 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

I liked this game. Pretty graphics, OK puzzles, OK story line.

-2points

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Overall rating

3 / 5

42 of 51 found this review helpful

Gimmicks, gadgets, and gizmos...good grief! Plenty of puzzles, but not much challenge.

PostedDecember 6, 2016

LunaNik

fromPlease...no more jigsaws, Towers of Hanoi, leapfrog, uncross the ropes, matching pairs, Simon Says, tangrams, peg solitaire, rush hour, all lights on, water jars, etc. We're adults.

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Skill Level:Expert

Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Large File

Fun Factor

3 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

3 / 5

Level of Challenge

3 / 5

Storyline

2 / 5

REVIEW BASED ON completed demo at custom difficulty level (Mac OS 10.11.6)

OVERVIEW
If you don’t care about a decent storyline, and you love lots of easy puzzles, this game might be for you. I encountered a baker’s dozen of puzzles during the demo, but only four HO scenes, so that gives you an idea of the ratio. This game’s also got gadgets and gizmos aplenty. It’s got whosits and whatsits ...Show more

REVIEW BASED ON completed demo at custom difficulty level (Mac OS 10.11.6)

HOW I RATE GAMES (Skip this if you already know my methods.)
Based on having bought 518 computer games dating from Zork to the present (and having demo’d hundreds more), I believe that a well-developed and entertaining storyline, and logical and challenging gameplay are most important, so I give those categories double the weight in my rating. Secondary are intuitive game mechanics, a variety of music an appropriate ambient sounds, professional graphics (regardless of style), and, if the game is a CE, sufficient offerings to warrant the doubled price.

STORYLINE (4/10★)
Alfred, head of the Curio Society, ousted the most eminent scientist, Jack, for testing new weapons, which seems both unscientific—Why would you send agents into the field with untested weaponry?—and shortsighted—Way to unnecessarily create a highly-skilled enemy, dude. Naturally, Jack has it in not only for Alfred, but also for all agents and the Society itself. You are the agent tasked with stopping Jack. Unfortunately, the Society has, apparently, trained its agents to be utterly inept unless armed with an arsenal of arcane gadgets. Here’s hoping you find Mary, the new scientist, and that she loads you down with enough thingamajigs to make Inspector Gadget envious. Otherwise, I fear for your ability to correctly tie your own shoes and properly feed yourself.

GAMEPLAY (6/10★)
Gameplay is about 60% puzzles, 10% HO scenes, 10% adventure, and 20% fixing and using gimmicky gadgets. One gadget is always with you; it’s a scepter that allows you to defy gravity, but you can only use it once before it needs a crystal to recharge it. Fortunately, the crystals are everywhere, and you find them in a conveniently timely manner.

The HO scenes I encountered included (1) find the capitalized words in the narrative; (2) find the symbols using a gadget, then assemble a jigsaw with rotating pieces; (3) a silhouette find-and-replace, then restore the image by moving the rows and columns; and (4) move items in the scene to find matching pairs. The first two were quite easy, while the second two were of medium difficulty.

Puzzles were nearly all simple throwaways that this dev has used before; seven offered a difficulty option. However, even the “hard” option was usually too easy.
• JIGSAWS: (1) A circular image includes six cogwheels. (2) Rotate them to assemble the image, and rotating one may affect others (easy). (3) Swap tiles jigsaw (easy on “hard”). Seriously, enough with the jigsaw puzzles already.
• MAZES: (1) Move the spheres along the lines to their goals (easy on “hard”). (2) Move three crystals to their goals by rotating the maze parts to create paths (medium on “hard”). (3) Move the token to three different goals, using the gears to change the paths (medium on “hard”). The latter two were better, but still could have been more difficult.
• COPY THE CLUES: (1) Dial a telephone number by copying it (waste of game time). (2) Enter code for healing pod by copying the clue (waste of game time).
• Place numbered weights on a grid to match the total number of arrows crossing the grid squares (medium on “hard”). This would have been more difficult on “hard” if the squares didn’t light up when you placed one weight correctly, but only lit up when all weights were correct.
• Towers of Hanoi with pieces of a statue (did this one while asleep on “hard”). This “puzzle” should be banned under the Geneva Convention.
• Select the correct segments for four different symbols (easy because there are no red herrings).

GAME MECHANICS (4/5★)
Even though the interface was crowded, it was designed well. Gorgeous map indicates available actions and transports. There was a bit of cursor lag after animations, and could we PLEASE stop with the ginormous slide-in boxes that take forever to go away?

LOGIC & COMMON SENSE (3/5★)
I just added this category, because I’m tired of being yanked out of immersion by violations of the laws of physics and blatant ignorance of common sense. Gold doubloons don’t make good screwdrivers. Gold is soft, doubloons are thick, and coins don’t provide enough torque. Screws turn counterclockwise when they unscrew (unless you’re in Mirror World). If a car from that era, which weighs approximately 1½ tons, flips through the air and lands on you from a height of 10 feet, you won’t need an ambulance; you’ll need a hearse. I’m perfectly willing to accept the villain with the backpack laser; that complies with the laws of the game universe. Backwards-threaded screws don’t.

GRAPHICS & ANIMATION (2/5★)
I found the palette consistently garish, especially in the depiction of light, but also in nearly every area where color was used. The tones were gratingly bright. Unnaturally-placed shadows lent an unreal look to the scenes. (If you look at the first screenshot above, you can see light streaming from behind the fishbowl…and a shadow also behind the fishbowl, where no shadow would naturally be, given the direction of the light source.)

Close-up animation was smooth, as was cutscene animation, but the NPCs were a touch robotic, although they were well-drawn. Lastly, the lack of depth of field made the scenes appear flattened rather than dimensional.

MUSIC & SOUND (3/5★)
Voiceovers were done well, with Alfred sounding like a Boston gangster from the ’30s and Jack appearing to be a typical petulant villain. Ambient sounds could have been improved, although those in conjunction with actions were appropriate. Music was ok.

COLLECTOR’S EDITION EXTRAS (3/5★)
Collectible strips of film, inventions, and huge morphing objects that are obvious. Replay some puzzles and HO scenes. (Why not all of them? It costs the dev nothing.) New mystery in the bonus chapter. Performance achievements and the SG. Dev’s portfolio includes wallpapers, concept art, and soundtracks. I don’t find this to be worth the doubled pricetag.

CONCLUSION (Overall Rating = 25★ ÷ 9 = 2.78★ rounded to ★★★)
It’s not for me. I prefer a logical, engaging storyline and more challenging gameplay. If you like easy to medium puzzles, this game is full of them, so I recommend you try the demo to see if you like it.

RECOMMENDED BY THIS DEV
I’ve only purchased one game from this dev, and I didn’t care for it, so I have no other recommendations from them. However, if you like this type of storyline—secret societies, investigative agents versus villains—then you might like one or more of these games, which I rated at least ★★★★ at the time of their release. Some may be older, so please compare your system specs with the game requirements before downloading. Happy gaming!

• New York Mysteries: Secrets of the Mafia CE, High Voltage CE
• League of Light: Dark Omens CE, Wicked Harvest CE, Silent Mountain CE
• Portal of Evil: Stolen Runes CE
• Alex Hunter: Lord of the Mind
• Mystery Trackers: The Void, Raincliff, Black Isle, Four Aces CE, Silent Hollow CE, Raincliff’s Phantoms CE Show less

+33points

42of 51voted this as helpful.

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Overall rating

3 / 5

12 of 14 found this review helpful

Not Too Bad

PostedDecember 6, 2016

nontechiegrannie

fromEl Mirage, AZ

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):Card & Board, Hidden Object, Mahjong

Fun Factor

3 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

3 / 5

Level of Challenge

3 / 5

Storyline

3 / 5

I found this game much better than the last several games that have been offered. HOS are upgraded from the usual find everything on a list. The mini games are engaging. Some I liked better than others. Mouth movements are still wonky and the graphics are amateurish at best. Story line goes back & forth which can be tedious at times. I just want to get going with the game & move along. Having to ...Show more

I might consider buying the SE as I don't need/want too find morphing objects & other things the games says you need to accumulate. Show less

I recommend this game!

+10points

12of 14voted this as helpful.

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The Curio Society: The Thief of Life Collector's Edition

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