Paranormal Files: The Hook Man's Legend > iPad, iPhone, Android, Mac & PC Game

Overall rating

5 / 5

46 of 59 found this review helpful

ANOTHER EXCELLENT PARANORMAL FILES THAT WILL “HOOK” YOU ON THE SERIES

PostedOctober 25, 2019

biscuitsmama

fromA wonderful ghostly mystery to kick off the Halloween season

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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

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

Hunky paranormal detective Rick Rogers is back in the third Paranormal Files: The Hook Man’s Legend, a terrific ghostly whodunit mystery. You will have to sort fact from fiction as you strive to find what is real and what isn’t in Ashen Valley. I loved the previous two Paranormal Files games, both of which were rated four plus stars by other gamers and I predict that this one will reach the top of ...Show more

The HOPS were very creative and I particularly enjoyed the one with a slider component. I hate to give away the details in a game so will only say that I believe all of the HOPS are terrific and for me one of the best components of the game, or more accurately they are the best.

Not only are the HOPS excellent, the well-designed Puzzles are possibly even better, and this comes from someone who is not a fan of puzzles. Even though some were based on puzzles I’ve seen in the past, they were somehow changed to make them even better. The great thing about both the HOPS and Puzzles is that there is a fairly equal balance between the two so we don’t have a game that has far too many more puzzles than HOPS.

As with the previous two games the storyline is well developed and told in a manner that unfolds as you find the usual clues and bits and pieces as you move through the game. I enjoyed the way the story unfolded and soon found myself so interested that I kept wanting to learn more about The Hook Man. The gameplay did involve a fair amount of back and forth but as I was hunting for the items I might need, but I liked that I did not have to stop frequently to play a Puzzle or HOP scene that seemed to interrupt the game flow.

Another thing that I really like in some of the more recent games is that more developers are going back to having larger inventories where we are carrying a lot more items with us as we more back and forth between the scenes so that we need to remember where a particular inventory item might be used. In the earlier days of HOPA games, we sometimes had ten or more items in inventory and there was a lot of back and forth in the games as well, which is something that I really liked. At some point, the games became more linear and with that feature they became much easier and so straightforward, losing some of the challenge that was once found in the HOPA games. Now, at least with the larger amounts of inventory items some of the challenge has returned.

Paranormal Files The Hook Man’s Legend is a game that I highly recommend but, as always, please try the demo to see if it is a game that you will enjoy as well. Happy gaming! Show less

I recommend this game!

+33points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

10 of 11 found this review helpful

Great Game All Around

PostedDecember 29, 2019

Reysharo

fromLouisiana

Skill Level:Expert

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

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

I was lucky enough to be one of the Beta Testers on this game. Man it did not disappoint! The graphics are great, the story line is fantastic and a nice change of pace. Puzzles are fun with just enough challenge.

I recommend this game!

+9points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

9 of 10 found this review helpful

Great game

PostedJuly 26, 2020

Lucylulu82

fromEngland

Skill Level:Expert

Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Time Management

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

I love the Paranormal Files games and this was certainly not a disappointment. It was challenging but not to the point of being frustrating.

I thought the artwork was delightful and I especially liked the psychic woman's house and clothing. Really made me want to redecorate my house and change up my wardrobe! :D.

I really enjoyed the music and the voice acting was pretty good. The ...Show more

I love the Paranormal Files games and this was certainly not a disappointment. It was challenging but not to the point of being frustrating.

I thought the artwork was delightful and I especially liked the psychic woman's house and clothing. Really made me want to redecorate my house and change up my wardrobe! :D.

I really enjoyed the music and the voice acting was pretty good. The storyline was interesting and reminded me of Candy Man quite a bit.

The hidden object puzzles were different, some of them were traditional in style but most were unusual.

Definitely recommend this one. Show less

I recommend this game!

+8points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

5 of 6 found this review helpful

Good story line and a logical ending

PostedSeptember 13, 2020

Mephistopheles

Skill Level:Expert

Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

The games are rare, when the story makes sense front to end (especially the ending).This is one of those. The puzzles are challenging and fun. The English translation is superb. I cannot judge the sound quality as I always play without sound. I highly recommend the game.

I recommend this game!

+4points

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Overall rating

4 / 5

5 of 5 found this review helpful

Ok game!

PostedApril 8, 2020

rpggramma

fromMidwest, USA

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):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Puzzle, Strategy

Fun Factor

3 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

4 / 5

Level of Challenge

4 / 5

Storyline

3 / 5

Story is OK, SOMEWHAT CONFUSING, THOUGH.(Dead or Alive?!)
Info stayed on screen so it could be read! Thanks devs! Much appreciated!
Lots of bouncing back and forth, trying to figure out what to do and where to go next.
Puzzles and HOs were pretty good.
Graphics, voice, maps all good.
Lots to do!

I recommend this game!

+5points

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Overall rating

4 / 5

3 of 4 found this review helpful

A LOT OF FUN

PostedNovember 26, 2019

deddu

fromCalifornia USA

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):Card & Board, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Match 3, Puzzle

Fun Factor

4 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

4 / 5

Level of Challenge

4 / 5

Storyline

4 / 5

Really enjoyed the game as there is a lot to do. The puzzles are good and the hidden objects are varied.

I recommend this game!

+2points

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Overall rating

3 / 5

55 of 69 found this review helpful

WHY CAN'T WE GET A NEW GENRE THAT HAS A REAL SCARE FACTOR?

PostedOctober 25, 2019

pennmom36

fromI'm hooked on a feeling...

Top Reviewer
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.
Top Reviewer

Skill Level:Expert

Fun Factor

3 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

2 / 5

Storyline

3 / 5

Completed Game approximately 5 Hours
(including completion of all mini-games & CE Bonus Chapter)
28 Scene Locations
Difficulty Range: Beginner-Intermediate

Note: The CE version has a ton of interesting morphs & collectibles as well as a very interesting HOP style to unlock with those collectibles.

Rick Rogers, Paranormal Detective extraordinaire, endowed with supernatural Electrodermal ...Show more

Completed Game approximately 5 Hours
(including completion of all mini-games & CE Bonus Chapter)
28 Scene Locations
Difficulty Range: Beginner-Intermediate

Note: The CE version has a ton of interesting morphs & collectibles as well as a very interesting HOP style to unlock with those collectibles.

Rick Rogers, Paranormal Detective extraordinaire, endowed with supernatural Electrodermal abilities, and ready at a moment's notice to de-Haunt the Haunted, Exterminate the Ectoplasm, Grab the Ghostly Grigori Glossolalia, Abduct your Aliens, Banshee your Bigfoots, Cartomancy your Chimeras, or Yeren your Yetis. Rick Rogers has foreseen the unseen and explained the unexplainable but can he rid an entire town of their ghostly ghouls, one of which has a deadly right-hook?

I thought the storyline was way better than the last episode of Paranormal Files, and it took a turn that I should have seen coming but didn't. The graphics were decent and reminiscent of Elephant's earlier games which back in the day were second to none. I also loved that I didn't have to find and place a million "emblems" which was becoming a thing with this developer and super annoying, I also loved that they didn't include every HOPA cliche known to mankind, there are still a few of them here and there, including the ole fish pond/fountain that seems to be where the entire town throws away their junk?

What I found absolutely maddening was an audio glitch of some sort that caused the dialog to stick and stutter on a loop, repeating the same word over and over, like a scratch on a vinyl record, even though I kept playing on, even if I moved on to the next scene. It would literally loop for an entire minute at times, and nothing I did seemed to make a difference. (perhaps the Hook Man was trying to communicate...where's Zak B when you need him, Jason? Grant? Rick?) I also found it to be a constant back and forth, mindless task after mindless task kinda game. I do however, think it is a vast improvement over the last several games by this dev, and I remain hopeful that they will climb to the top again and start making games with the quality they used to insist on in their original blockbusters. They went from challenging games to beginners only game, and got stuck in that mode-rut just like the soundtrack!

In the CE version, there are several "extra's" available, each of the 19 locations in the main game (+9 within the CE Bonus Chapter) has a Morphing Object that morphs way too fast and furious. Each Morphing Object you find will unlock a Jigsaw Puzzle Piece to assemble a 28 piece jigsaw. (because a 30 piece puzzle is just crazy, seriously, what were you thinking?) Each of the scenes also has a Hidden Eye, some of which are very well-blended. When you collect 7-15-25 Eyes, it unlocks a really clever HOP in the Secret Room and keeps track of your Best Time as well as Current Time scores. Twelve of the scenes have a Character Doll collectible which makes no sense to me, even if they are supposed to be voodoo dolls it has nothing to do with the theme of this game??? (another example of the rut this dev is stuck in)

There are 10 main Hidden Object Scenes and 4 smaller Zoom Zone HO's +6 in the CE Bonus Chapter. There are the standard Interactive List Finds, Silhouetted Shape Finds, Progressive Interactive Finds, Spot the Differences, Finding & Replacing Items and Keywords in Sentence Finds, There are a few interesting scenes such as finding objects that match Swatch Samples (some of the colors, however, were WAY OFF!) another HO scene required using arrows & a slider bar to combine images on 2 wooden cubes. In the CE Extra's section, you can unlock a very unique HOP with the collectible Eyes that I really enjoyed. There are black & white paper cutouts and props that tell a visual story and you are tasked with finding 2 small details at a time. They are very cleverly blended into the drawings and quite entertaining to try to decipher the story being told. (is the rut-curse being broken here folks?...baby steps)

There are 24 Mini-Games +5 in the CE Bonus Chapter that range from fairly easy to medium difficulty. Below are brief descriptions of some of the games I enjoyed throughout the game:

☭Swap tokens according to the progression of day & night time. დ
☭ Select directional arrows to move map pieces into place, using other pieces to stop the continuous movement. დდ
☭ Create a continuous chain through all orbs to connect symbols in the order shown.
☭ Select 2 hand positions that are used to create the shadows shown in the center (would have been awesome if it were a little more challenging) დ
☭ Use directional arrows to control the forklift to push the boxes to the designated slots w/o getting stuck. დდდ
☭ Move through the house while overcoming obstacles by selecting 1-3 character tokens that have different skills. დ

In the CE Bonus Chapter, Rick Rogers returns to Ashen Valley to search for Greg Odell whose father vehemently insists is being possessed by an entity. This is an average-length chapter that takes place across 9 scene locations with 6 Hidden Object Scenes and 5 Mini-Games. You will pick up the remaining 3 Character Dolls, 9 Morphs, and 9 Hidden Eyes that consequentially unlocks the final Bonus HOP with the Eyes, and the Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces to finish the Bonus Art jigsaw with the collected Morphs.

The Collector's Edition version has 10 Wallpapers (Dear Elephant: your scenes are gorgeous, why can't we save images of the artwork WITHOUT a character profile slapped on every one of them??!!??), 11 Concept Art Pictures, 1 Screensaver, 1 Bonus Art 28 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle (receive a Jigsaw Piece for each Morph discovered to assemble the puzzle...completed image rather disappointing) 5 Music Soundtracks, 10 Achievements (two of the achievements have 3 categories or star-tiers and two of the achievements have 5 categories or star-tiers) 14 Replayable Hidden Object Scenes, 13 Replayable Mini-Games, 28 Morphing Objects, 12 Collectible Character Dolls (huh?) 28 Hidden Eyes, a Secret Room to unlock 3 very clever Bonus HOP's by collecting 7-15-25 Eyes, (why are there 28 eyes to find but only 25 are needed to unlock the HOP's?) 3 Main Chapters with 28 different scene locations +Bonus Chapter with 9 new scene locations, and a Built-in Strategy Guide.

PARANORMAL FILES SERIES LIST
Title***Standard Edition Release Date***Average Rating

1-Fellow Traveler (June 29-2018) 4.4
2-The Tall Man (December 14-2018) 3.3
3-Enjoy The Shopping (May 19-2019) 3.2
4-The Hook Man's Legend (October 25-2019) n/a

by: Elephant Games Show less

I recommend this game!

+41points

55of 69voted this as helpful.

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Overall rating

3 / 5

8 of 8 found this review helpful

Made me feel sorry for the hooked man

PostedNovember 8, 2019

Alicun

fromOzark, AL

Skill Level:Expert

Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object

Current Favorite:

Mystery Case Files: Moths to a Flame Collector's Edition

(148)

Fun Factor

3 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

3 / 5

Level of Challenge

3 / 5

Storyline

3 / 5

I have a large screen and even on a large wide screen, graphics were not crisp and sharp. Story was inconsistent and at times didn't comport with common sense. A hooked man apparition is on the loose and you take the slow course such that the heroine that alerted you, the paranormal detective, is placed in greater danger! This was an emergency situation, but many cliche tasks to do before you use ...Show more

I recommend this game!

+8points

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Overall rating

2 / 5

3 of 4 found this review helpful

Dislike

PostedSeptember 23, 2020

sunidayz

Skill Level:Intermediate

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

Fun Factor

2 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

3 / 5

Level of Challenge

1 / 5

Storyline

3 / 5

I have played many games since I use the Big Fish site daily. This game really stumped me. I don't know if it was just me or what, but the game was very confusing including on where to go when, the mini games, the graphics, etc. Maybe it was just a "bad day" for my brain. But I did not enjoy this game at all. (Just played the demo, by the way) Maybe others would not be as disappointed. This is ...Show more

I don't recommend this game.

+2points

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	, share your thoughts about this game! Paranormal Files: The Hook Man's Legend When history returns with a vengeance… 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.