Enigmatis 2: Mists of Ravenwood

 
Developer: Artifex Mundi
Steam Release: Sep 2013
Hours Played: 6.5
Similar To: Dark Arcana: The Carnival / Grim Legends / Nightmares From The Deep
Rating: 4/5 Parsnips

GAMEPLAY

E2:MOR is a hidden object / adventure game designed in the usual mould that you'd expect from Artifex Mundi. You'll play the role of a young and vulnerable female protagonist (is it ever otherwise?) who gets literally lost in the woods. She'll investigate the disappearance of a family who have been abducted at Ravenwood Park following an accident with their camper. Collecting clues and filling your inventory with useful objects that can be used in the environments, the story unfolds through a progression of still images that unravel and develop the story one by one. Some will zoom in for further puzzle solving while within others there will be hidden objects to find. You can skip the hidden object sequences by completing a game of pairs instead or you can skip certain mini-games/puzzles completely.

BALANCE & PACE

The game does a fine job in creating an eerie atmosphere and generating an air of mystery but is still as far-fetched as ever. Expect our heroine to be: confronted by a giant spectral raven that snatches and carries off a child; to fall while inside a cable-car from a high-altitude and to survive unscathed; to explore a cellar full of dead bodies stuffed into barrels... and all while both remaining calm and composed throughout the ordeal and left entirely unopposed in the grounds of an evil genius with supernatural powers. You'll get a few cheap jump-scares along the way and, with some able to be completed in a minute and some needing the skip button, the puzzles can seem a little unbalanced at times. Thankfully, despite the tedious story told by the man locked in the basement, the game as a whole does enough to hold attention.        

PRESENTATION & DESIGN

As with most if not all hidden object games from this developer, the visuals and interface are clean and clear with fine attention to detail included on all screens. The UI has: your objectives held within a book; a map that details all the locations; a hint button if you get stuck and a link to an evidence board that pieces the story together. There is a sparkle feature consisting of a group of sparkles that are supposed to highlight where to go next but this seemed broken at times and not always helpful. Random spamming of the left mouse button was also allowed with a few puzzles (that actually worked to solve a few) but I also needed to skip a few as well when I was struck with the odd case of CBA. But this didn't happen so much that it spoiled the overall experience.  

PROGRESS SYSTEM

Soon after discovering the families' grief-stricken daughter at the beginning, you'll be issued with a map giving you the locations of places you'll need to visit. You can fast-travel to certain areas by simply clicking them on the map which is definitely a welcome feature. A location still consists of around four or so pictures/screens so a certain amount of screen hopping is still required when navigating but, again, not so many that it becomes annoying. Along the way, you'll pick up 26 pieces of evidence that are related to the investigation that need to be rearranged on a board. Furthermore an optional task to find 30 illusive objects and 30 butterflies is concealed within all the screens to add a further element to the hidden object dimension of the game.

 

CONCLUSION

This is the second of three in a series entitled Enigmatis and while I have not tried the others, it's the one that gets the acclaim. Truth be told, I'll put it there with Dark Arcana: The Carnival and The Nightmare of the Deep: Cursed Heart. Both of which featured almost exactly the same type of gameplay and all as equally enjoyable as the last. (As a side note I found Grim Legends: Forsaken Bride to be too obscure and I have yet to try the Time Mystery Series and others like Abyss: Wraiths of Eden or Clockwork Tales.) Use of the hint system is always a good indicator showing the quality of a game and with just a few clicks used by yours truly and plenty of solid puzzling nourishment I can safely say that the game offers an enjoyable and leisurely experience.