Dark City: Budapest > iPad, iPhone, Android, Mac & PC Game

Overall rating

4 / 5

22 of 26 found this review helpful

~~DARK CITY #5 IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE WHY I LOVE THIS DEVELOPER!~~

PostedNovember 30, 2020

skullfun

fromDark City: Budapest’s power lies in its stunning visuals and an intriguing storyline, even if its gameplay is somewhat mundane.

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, Hidden Object, Puzzle

Current Favorite:

Whispered Secrets: Morbid Obsession Collector's Edition

(62)

Fun Factor

4 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

3 / 5

Storyline

4 / 5

A stranger’s request brings you to the capital of Hungary to investigate a series of nightmarish attacks. You are then joined by Agatha, a curious partner who provides you with necessary local insights. Are these attacks instigated by a vengeful vampire or do lead to something much more sinister? Find out in in the latest installment of this unique series, Dark City: Budapest!

The talented ...Show more

The talented folks at Friendly Fox (formerly 4 Friends Games) are best known for their fantasy extravaganzas, from the enchanting Living Legends series to the imaginative Bridge to Another World games. However, for the past four Dark City gams, the studio has proven to me that they are equally adept at handling darker subject matters in these intriguing, investigative adventures. In Dark City: Budapest, you get to roam the haunting and beautiful streets and alleys of Budapest, propelled by a suspenseful storyline and a set of well-developed characters.

Dark City: Budapest clearly tries to avoid the pitfalls of a cookie-cutter hidden object game, to debatable success. On one hand, the hidden object scenes and the puzzles are quite creative and cleverly integrated into the storyline. The evidence board is also a nice addition and smartly utilized, as far as HOPA gadgets go. On the other hand, for expert HOPA players, there is minimal challenge offered as well as nothing truly outstanding that is novel for the genre (IMHO).

Whether you enjoy the gameplay or not, there is no denying the beauty of Dark City: Budapest. Every scene is precisely and sophisticatedly crafted in such a fashion that the city of Budapest feels like another character in the game. This level of attention to detail is also carried over to other production aspects, such as cutscenes, soundtracks, plus voice-overs and I really appreciate these details.

Dark City: Budapest has a decent length....it took me about four and a half hours to complete the entire game and I really enjoyed ever moment from beginning to end. Cheers!

Also in this Series:

Dark City: London
Dark City: Munich
Dark City: Vienna
Dark City: Dublin
Dark City: Budapest Show less

I recommend this game!

+18points

22of 26voted this as helpful.

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Overall rating

4 / 5

16 of 20 found this review helpful

Gooood Evening

PostedNovember 28, 2020

doofenschmurtz

fromPort Saint Lucie Fl

Skill Level:Expert

Fun Factor

4 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

4 / 5

Level of Challenge

4 / 5

Storyline

4 / 5

Game is fun all year round Nice tricky ending you don't see coming Happy Holidays to all in the pond

I recommend this game!

+12points

16of 20voted this as helpful.

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Overall rating

4 / 5

9 of 10 found this review helpful

a good HO

PostedDecember 9, 2020

denniann2

fromharrisonburg, virginia

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, Match 3

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

this is a good HO game. i played on the easiest level. good hint system. you have been asked to come to this town to investigate the case of dracula and people missing. a woman summoned you since the local constable doesn't think a woman can be a good detective but she knows she could but he blocks her at every turn. so she helps you since she knows the town.

I recommend this game!

+8points

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Overall rating

3 / 5

42 of 52 found this review helpful

DARK OMENS IN BUDAPEST

PostedNovember 27, 2020

pennmom36

fromWasn't this theme already done by this developer?

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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

Fun Factor

3 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

3 / 5

Level of Challenge

3 / 5

Storyline

3 / 5

Completed Game approximately 5.0 hours
(including completion of all mini-games & CE Bonus Chapter)
20 Scene Locations +8 CE Bonus Chapter
Difficulty Range: Beginner-Intermediate

A lunar eclipse is a dark omen. These are dark times, a time when superstition overrides reality. A time where astrology overshadows science when imaginations were wild and dreams were lucid, vivid enough to predict a person's future or fate! The citizens of Budapest are afraid of this omen because they know that the Lunar Eclipse has awakened the dark knight, the szúnyogok with an insatiable appetite, an unquenchable thirst for blood...human blood!

Collectibles/Morphing Objects:
Unlike the last release by this developer, the collectibles were a huge letdown for me. There is one rather large Playing Card per scene (28 total) that allows you to play a Card Mini-Game once the collection is complete. They are red and nearly impossible to miss, and nothing like the beautiful opaque collectibles we are used to from this developer, not to mention there is only 1 per scene! There are 28 Morphing Bats, although not quite as obvious as the bright red playing cards, they are still rather large and easily spotted in most of the scenes, and once again, there is only 1 bat per scene!!!

Gadget/Helper:
As a Detective, you have two Gadgets at your disposal, a Journal to collect Evidence which is done in the form of photos of the suspects or characters in question pertaining to the story. At the end of each chapter, you will go over the journal evidence by playing a repetitive mini-game where you drag the photos from the top of the page to the blank sentences to fill in the gaps of the story with an actual name. This EVIDENCE JOURNAL is used 5 times during the main game and once during the CE Bonus Chapter.

The second Gadget is an EYE DEDUCTION or conclusion of the evidence you have put together. This is done in the form of a repetitive and simplistic Hidden Object Scene where you are tasked with finding 4 or 5 listed objects in the scene that recreates the scene of the crime, followed by a reenactment video clip. This eye deduction gadget is used 5 times during the main game and 1 time during the CE Bonus Chapter.

Hidden Object Scenes:
There are 16 Hidden Object Scenes +4 in the CE Bonus Chapter, including the repetitive Hidden Object Scene associated with the Eye Deduction Gadget (used 5 times in the main game and 1 time in the CE Bonus Chapter) The HO scenes were just okay, some of them were actually kind of boring and the items were very easy to spot. There are Interactive List Finds, Keywords in Sentence Finds, Multiples of the Same or Similar Object, Swatches Finds, and one where you align Constellation Cards to a Globe that automatically highlights when you get anywhere close to the right area :( The Eye Deduction Gadget HO is a very simplistic and repetitive HOP where you are tasked with finding 4 or 5 pieces of evidence in the scene to corroborate the story.

Mini-Games:
There are 24 Mini-Games +8 in the CE Bonus Chapter. Because there is an Evidence Journal Gadget, you will play a repetitive mini-game (5 times in the main game and 1 time in the CE Bonus Chapter) where you place photos of characters into the sentences of the journal logically. You can't go wrong with this game, you can basically drag the photos anywhere close to the correct sentence and it will be accepted, so you technically don't even need to read the sentences! Most of the mini-games are super easy and were time-wasters, none of them were original, they are all games that this developer has used a thousand times before, which really disappointed me after their last superb release, Edge of Realty! Here are a few of my personal favorites:

1-Arrange tokens so the teeth correspond to the solution of a ticket puncher.
2-Move each register key to its matching lock at the top, keys can only move to adjacent matching colors, when a key is selected, the previous key changes colors.
3-Use directional arrows to move crates from left to right, select the hook to pick up and drop crates into position.
4-Select matching pairs of bats whose positions are only shown once selected.

Bonus Chapter: (CE version only)
Monsters are under the bed! Monsters are everywhere and they have superhuman strength, duh, they aren't human! Detective Agatha and Officer Laszlo team up to rid Budapest of their pesky monsters once and for all, who'd have seen that dynamic duo teaming up? There are 8 Mini-Games and 7 Hidden Object Scenes which include the Evidence Journal Mini-Game and Eye Deduction Hidden Object Scene, Gadget scenario. You will continue searching for the final 8 Cards and 8 Morphing Bats which allows you to play a Card mini-game when completed.

Collector's Edition Extra's
9 Wallpapers,12 Concept Art Pictures, 8 Screensavers, 8 Music Soundtracks, 38 Movie Video Cutscenes, 24 Achievements (12 are in 3-categories) 18 Replayable Hidden Object Scenes, 13 Replayable Mini-Games, 28 Morphing Collectible Cards, 28 Morphing Bats, 4 Main Chapters +Bonus Chapter and a Built-In Strategy Guide.

DARK CITY SERIES LIST
Title***Standard Edition Release Date***Average Rating

1-London (December 29-2017) 4.4
2-Munich (December 7-2018) 4.4
3-Vienna (October 11-2019) 3.5
4-Dublin (April 10-2020) 3.6
5-Budapest (November 27-2020) n/a

by: Friendly Fox Studio (4Friends Games) Show less

I recommend this game!

+32points

42of 52voted this as helpful.

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Overall rating

2 / 5

18 of 24 found this review helpful

A HOPA with the emphasis on puzzles and more puzzles

PostedNovember 29, 2020

roaming

fromTexas

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

While there are some objects to find, they are often things to be used in working out a puzzle, or else you have to work through a puzzle in order to find the objects. I dislike puzzles and want to skip them all. Unfortunately, more often than not that isn't possible in this game.
On the positive side -- the graphics are good, the story is intriguing, and the acting isn't awful.
As always, try ...Show more

+12points

18of 24voted this as helpful.

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Overall rating

1 / 5

8 of 11 found this review helpful

Very Short Game - Buck up your ideas Big Fish

PostedDecember 12, 2020

clairepagan

fromnottingham, uk

Skill Level:Expert

Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Strategy, Time Management

Fun Factor

1 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

3 / 5

Level of Challenge

1 / 5

Storyline

2 / 5

Nothing new here and no logic to the game. You repair tools, you use them, you discard them, you repair a very similar tool, use it, discard it etc etc. Very boring. No new game play and nothing we haven't seen before a million times. Puzzles and HO were easy and repetitive. Story was ok but there was no immersion due to stupid tasks. Also very short, I am annoyed I purchased this. I played the ...Show more

I don't recommend this game.

+5points

8of 11voted this as helpful.

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