Dark Romance: The Ethereal Gardens > iPad, iPhone, Android, Mac & PC Game

Overall rating

5 / 5

34 of 47 found this review helpful

A DUTIFUL SON OBEYS HIS MOTHER – BUT SHOULD HE?

PostedOctober 4, 2019

biscuitsmama

fromMaybe mother isn't quite as loyal as she seems

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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.
Key Contributor

Skill Level:Expert

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

Dark Romance the Ethereal Gardens is the 11th game in the series, evidence of BFG’s ongoing love affair with never-ending serial, cookie-cutter games. I guess if something worked once you simply kept on doing it again and again and again. The thing with series is that the individual games within said series all have the same premise and basic storyline. In the Dark Romance series, the theme is boy ...Show more

Dark Romance the Ethereal Gardens is the 11th game in the series, evidence of BFG’s ongoing love affair with never-ending serial, cookie-cutter games. I guess if something worked once you simply kept on doing it again and again and again. The thing with series is that the individual games within said series all have the same premise and basic storyline. In the Dark Romance series, the theme is boy meets girl, falls in love, but either their families or an evil entity strives to keep them apart, but love eventually conquers all. That being said The Ethereal Gardens is a game that I very much enjoyed and think is the best of the last several games in the series.

This developer, who I think creates some of the longest and best CE games, is one who listens to the gamers and what we want. They have a Custom setting that allows the gamer to set their favorite way to play a game, plus they allow us to select our preferred range for hint and skip times beginning at “ZERO” seconds.

The HOPS are excellent and I enjoyed all of them but my favorites include the traditional list finds and the ones where we must find a specific pattern that will be found somewhere in one of the paintings on the wall. Most of the scenes were very creative beginning with the first HOP in the game. Surprisingly, I even enjoyed the storybook scenes in this game even though they are usually my least favorite. The PUZZLES are good but some were very difficult for me since the directions were not much help. I had to skip one early in the game, but fortunately that puzzle is included in the Extras section and I will be able to spend time figuring it out later.

For me the game is a long one and I have not yet played the Bonus Game. For the most part, I have found the game enjoyable but it did seem to lag in some parts. Overall, the game is excellent and one that I think other gamers will find entertaining. I happen to enjoy most games from this development team that gives us a lot for the money. Each game is packed full of extras, which is something we no longer find with most CEs from other developers. Even though I think this is an excellent game, please try the demo to see if The Ethereal Gardens is a game that you will enjoy. Happy gaming! Show less

I recommend this game!

+21points

34of 47voted this as helpful.

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Overall rating

3 / 5

17 of 21 found this review helpful

A standard romance

PostedOctober 4, 2019

amchelen

fromLuton, UK

Skill Level:Intermediate

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

Fun Factor

4 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

4 / 5

Level of Challenge

3 / 5

Storyline

2 / 5

This is made by Domini Games and is set in what looks like Medieval times - as are so many games about Kings, Queens and fairies. The main character is a male - a Prince of the royal line, and the plot hinges on the revenge the Prince's mother wants on Queen Celeste, the evil fairy queen. The challenges are quite the usual stuff - the most interesting thing for me was the first HOP, which had ...Show more

This is made by Domini Games and is set in what looks like Medieval times - as are so many games about Kings, Queens and fairies. The main character is a male - a Prince of the royal line, and the plot hinges on the revenge the Prince's mother wants on Queen Celeste, the evil fairy queen. The challenges are quite the usual stuff - the most interesting thing for me was the first HOP, which had sliding vertical panels - an interesting challenge. Other than that I found the colours quite gaudy, the game play quite simple. If you like this kind of game then it's for you Show less

I recommend this game!

+13points

17of 21voted this as helpful.

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Overall rating

3 / 5

36 of 52 found this review helpful

SIX LONG CHAPTERS THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN WRAPPED UP IN FOUR

PostedOctober 4, 2019

pennmom36

fromI see your true colors shining thru...

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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.
Top Reviewer

Skill Level:Expert

Fun Factor

3 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

4 / 5

Level of Challenge

3 / 5

Storyline

3 / 5

Completed Game approximately 6 hours
(including completion of all mini-games & CE Bonus Chapter)

Once again we have a story about a poisoned King and a Queen who pleads with her son to take on an entire rival by himself, to save the day and resurrect dear ole dad from the dead. I know how this dev likes their King & Queen run Kingdoms but the plot is slooow and boooring.

There are 12 Hidden ...Show more

Completed Game approximately 6 hours
(including completion of all mini-games & CE Bonus Chapter)

Once again we have a story about a poisoned King and a Queen who pleads with her son to take on an entire rival by himself, to save the day and resurrect dear ole dad from the dead. I know how this dev likes their King & Queen run Kingdoms but the plot is slooow and boooring.

There are 12 Hidden Object Scenes +5 in the CE Bonus Chapter. There is Interactive List Finds Keywords in Sentences Finds, Multiples of the same Object Finds, Silhouetted Shape Finds, Replace or Reverse Finds, and my favorite was finding object placements by selecting items in the scene that match swatch tokens.

There are 19 Mini-Games +10 in the CE Bonus Chapter. The games can be played in an Easy Mode or Hard mode and you can choose your difficulty preferences in the custom settings, but you can change to the mode you want individually before starting the game. I thought the games were decent but very easily solved even in the Hard mode.

The Collector's Edition Bonus Chapter fast-forwards to focus on Prince Liam's now-grown daughters and Queen Henrietta's sister and an icy battle between them. There are 5 Hidden Objects Scenes, and 10 Mini-Games and you will find the remaining 3 Morphing Celeste's Jewlrey, 3 Beastiary Pages, and 7 Amulets to finish the garden collectibles.

The Collector's Edition Extra's include 10 Wallpapers, 19 Concept Art Pictures, 5 Music Soundtracks, 44 Movie Videos, 17 Replayable Games, 17 Replayable Hidden Object Scenes, 39 Achievements, 70 Collectible Amulets to purchase 14 Garden Items, 15 Bestiary Book Pages, 15 Morphing Celeste's Jewelry, Missing Journal Pages to find, 6 Main Chapters +Bonus Chapter and a Built-in Strategy Guide.

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

1-Vampire in Love (March 9-2014) 3.7
2-Heart of the Beast (May 22-2015) 4.0
3-The Swan Sonata (November 15-2015) 3.8
4-Kingdom of Death (May 20-2016) 4.0
5-Curse of Bluebeard (November 11-2016) 4.4
6-Romeo and Juliet (March 26-2017) 4.4
7-The Monster Within (October 6-2017) 3.3
8-Winter Lily (February 16-2018) 4.2
9-A Performance to Die For (August 24-2018) 4.0
10-Hunchback of Notre Dame (March 8-2019) 3.4
11-Ethereal Gardens (October 4-2019) n/a

by: Domini Games Show less

+20points

36of 52voted this as helpful.

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Overall rating

2 / 5

15 of 16 found this review helpful

Game made without love

PostedNovember 27, 2019

Celestien

fromNetherlands

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

Current Favorite:

Dreadful Tales: The Fire Within Collector's Edition

(45)

Fun Factor

3 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

3 / 5

Level of Challenge

2 / 5

Storyline

2 / 5

I missed the commitment in this game. Just played the demo for about 15 minutes and I quit. Why?
- the story is told too quickly, too easily
- I already have a hunch about the mother
- the colour scheme is this bright gold-purple scheme that is used more often these days, which makes the scenes look like a Christmas sweet shop (not anything near reality and just ugly, IMHO)
- the scenes are ...Show more

I missed the commitment in this game. Just played the demo for about 15 minutes and I quit. Why?
- the story is told too quickly, too easily
- I already have a hunch about the mother
- the colour scheme is this bright gold-purple scheme that is used more often these days, which makes the scenes look like a Christmas sweet shop (not anything near reality and just ugly, IMHO)
- the scenes are clotted with items to find and notes to read (which do not seem to add much new, so far)
- there is no real puzzling or exploring, you just pick up everything and read the notes, not hard at all

It just seems like another modern game to me, an easily made one, no thinking, no love in it. Show less

I don't recommend this game.

+14points

15of 16voted this as helpful.

Was this review helpful?Yes15No1

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