3 Yrs✓#
Not_Connor
3 Yrs✓#
23/08/2025: Super Mario 3D World + Bowsers Fury
Two posts in one day? Must mean I’ll disappear for weeks after this.
Background
Super Mario 3D World is a 2013 Wii U game that is the sequel to a 3DS game (Super Mario 3D Land) that was ported to the Nintendo Switch in 2021 alongside the expansion Bowsers Fury. There isn’t much noteworthy when it comes to talking about the development of the game, they simply wanted to create a Wii U game for fans of the New Super Mario Bros franchise. They certainly wanted to implement multiplayer for the game which ended up being difficult due to trying to get the perfect camera angle, might also be why they added in Peach as a playable character as they wanted more female representation in the game which I do think its especially important when you want to play as a group. Yoshi was scrapped though, apparently his behaviour was a bit too similar to elements already in the game which is a shame but it makes sense.
Plot
In terms of the story, Bowser kidnaps fairies known as Sprixie princesses, Mario and his friends need to stop him before he uses their power for malicious purposes. It’s a Mario game, never really much going on in the plot...I mean at least it wasn’t Peach this time.
Gameplay
It’s quite hard to talk about Marios controls as not only is it quite iconic and well-polished, but it doesn’t distinguish itself much other 3D Mario games. Mario can still jump, hit, spin, ground pound and all the other moves as well as he always has done in the game, it doesn’t take long to master the controls even when the game has jumped from a Wii U game to a Switch one. Talking about the Wii U, the touchpad functionality using on that system has been replaced with a cursor on this game, although I played on the Switch Lite so I used the touchscreen itself, fairly easy to operate and didn’t impact my controls too much.
Time to go over Marios powerups in this game. I’ll skip the super mushroom, fire flower, super star and 1-up as they are quite common in Mario games and fairly self-explanatory. The Super Bell turns Mario into a cat which is quite fun, does make completing some parts of the level a lot easier and the attack is fairly good so certainly a favourite in the line-up. A Mega Mushroom makes Mario quite large and is very situational, only used it to obtain certain stars and that’s it really. A Double Cherry duplicates Mario and I’m fairly certain it’s so people playing solo can access areas that those playing in groups can also access. Bit too awkward for me to enjoy it but I enjoy the idea. A boomerang flower is basically a fire flower with a boomerang instead of a flame ball, quite funky if a bit unnecessary. The propeller box is fun to use even though it’s present a lot less than it is in Super Mario 3D Land, would be great to see this in a few other levels or have the propeller mushroom make its return. The Cannon Box and Light Box are suitable for handling enemies (the latter just being for ghosts), it’s decent and I don’t really have much else to say for it as, again, doesn’t appear to often. That leaves us with the Super Leaf which is ok but I only tend to use it for gliding down to collect stars. Similar to some other Mario games that released in the 2000s and 2010s, Mario has the ability to store one item for situations where he may need it and it’s as handy as always, saved me numerous times during my playthrough.
The levels are fine. Not in a sense of how they were made, naturally these levels are well created whilst providing a balance between a challenge and fun (particularly those who want to play co-operatively). No these games are fine in that they don’t really bring anything new to the Mario franchise. Like I could see a certain mechanic and go “oh that’s a Super Mario Galaxy” aspect. The fact that Super Mario 3D land arrived before this doesn’t really help too much either. But regardless of that, the levels are still fun and if a person hasn’t played a Mario game before this seems like a comfortable place to begin their adventure, particularly as it balances both the 2D and 3D aspect of the games. For those who’ve played many times before, I’m sure the challenge of collecting all the stars and stamps (because everyone loves collectibles) will provide an enjoyable experience throughout the campaign even if to 100% the game it is required to hit the top of the flag pole on every level (why???).
When going through each world, there’s still around 7 to 8 levels and a boss to get through, although I’d like to take this moment to chat about the other events that occur during travelling across the game. There are challenge rooms that require completing certain things under timed conditions, simple yet effective and a good break from the pace of the game. Captain Toad is a pleasant puzzle game, quite easy to see why he got his own spin-off game as it does make use of 3D quite well. There’s a slot machine that requires matching icons to get the most coins so gambling still exists in a post-Luigi casino world.
I did enjoy the final fight with Bowser, they truly made it cinematic whilst showcasing the 3D nature of the game. The other boss fights were a bit too simple, especially those involving Boom Boom and Pom Pom as it’s mostly the same fight with some small twists. The other random ones weren’t too challenging although they were quite creative and a breath of fresh air compared to the other bosses. Hope to see more of those sorts of fights in the future Mario games.
Presentation
I hate to keep repeating myself but again it’s a Mario game. It’s the same art style and music from the New Super Mario Brothers and Galaxy Game, executed quite well but nothing too new. Even with a few levels that shake up the formula a bit, it’s still the same world biomes with the same enemies with similar looking blocks.
Bowsers Fury
Bowers Fury, the add-on to the switch port of 3D World, is quite different to 3D World! I mean it’s still the same art style although the gameplay has drastically changed. Gone are the individual levels, now it’s a massive world involving collecting multiple cat shinnies to make progress. People tend to compare to Odyssey and I can’t really clarify that as I haven’t played it. The best comparison I have is Mario Sunshine with all the water surrounding the area, the shadow aspect of the game (even if it isn’t the same), collecting lots of coins, and many challenges to collect those shinies (that one is certainly Odyssey inspired).
The inventory has a change also, instead of holding one item spare Mario can use Bowser Jr to hold multiple quantities of various items so that’s quite handy when needing a specific outfit to bypass certain obstacles, saves having to repeat a whole level to retrieve one. Bower Jr can also helped Mario a bit by defeating enemies and collecting certain items so it can speed up completing the game and can easily be switched off too. Nice to see a good balance between those who want an easy experience and those who want the challenge, even if the levels are simply just more of 3D World in a (funnily enough) open world.
All in all, it’s a fun few hours of gameplay, Bowser being perhaps the most intimidating he’s been in a while and fighting him is certainly a unique take on the classic fight between this duo. It’s not perfect though as to fully complete the game, some blocks need to be destroyed by Bowser during a time period where Bowser is aiming at Mario. This is fine and all but it just takes a bit of time waiting for him to show-up and unlock the certain area.
Summary
Super Mario 3D World is a fun if safe 3D Mario game, incorporating the 2D aspects of the game quite well to create some well-designed levels that are sure to be ideal for playing with friends. Just don’t expect anything new or ground-breaking in these levels, it’s just walking on well-trodden ground for the franchise. Bowsers Fury is a short and sweet twist on the 3D World formula by making the action take place all in an open-world, certainly an expansion that provides more 3D fun for those who want more than just playing 3D World again.
Rating: 7/10
Update: Wasn't expecting to finish this today but here we are. I was playing through his until Heretic & Hexen got that remaster, if I knew I had half a day left to get through, I would have posted this first then went onto them...oh well. Now I'll head back to Thief 3, curious to see where the franchise goes from here.
Two posts in one day? Must mean I’ll disappear for weeks after this.
Background
Super Mario 3D World is a 2013 Wii U game that is the sequel to a 3DS game (Super Mario 3D Land) that was ported to the Nintendo Switch in 2021 alongside the expansion Bowsers Fury. There isn’t much noteworthy when it comes to talking about the development of the game, they simply wanted to create a Wii U game for fans of the New Super Mario Bros franchise. They certainly wanted to implement multiplayer for the game which ended up being difficult due to trying to get the perfect camera angle, might also be why they added in Peach as a playable character as they wanted more female representation in the game which I do think its especially important when you want to play as a group. Yoshi was scrapped though, apparently his behaviour was a bit too similar to elements already in the game which is a shame but it makes sense.
Plot
In terms of the story, Bowser kidnaps fairies known as Sprixie princesses, Mario and his friends need to stop him before he uses their power for malicious purposes. It’s a Mario game, never really much going on in the plot...I mean at least it wasn’t Peach this time.
Gameplay
It’s quite hard to talk about Marios controls as not only is it quite iconic and well-polished, but it doesn’t distinguish itself much other 3D Mario games. Mario can still jump, hit, spin, ground pound and all the other moves as well as he always has done in the game, it doesn’t take long to master the controls even when the game has jumped from a Wii U game to a Switch one. Talking about the Wii U, the touchpad functionality using on that system has been replaced with a cursor on this game, although I played on the Switch Lite so I used the touchscreen itself, fairly easy to operate and didn’t impact my controls too much.
Time to go over Marios powerups in this game. I’ll skip the super mushroom, fire flower, super star and 1-up as they are quite common in Mario games and fairly self-explanatory. The Super Bell turns Mario into a cat which is quite fun, does make completing some parts of the level a lot easier and the attack is fairly good so certainly a favourite in the line-up. A Mega Mushroom makes Mario quite large and is very situational, only used it to obtain certain stars and that’s it really. A Double Cherry duplicates Mario and I’m fairly certain it’s so people playing solo can access areas that those playing in groups can also access. Bit too awkward for me to enjoy it but I enjoy the idea. A boomerang flower is basically a fire flower with a boomerang instead of a flame ball, quite funky if a bit unnecessary. The propeller box is fun to use even though it’s present a lot less than it is in Super Mario 3D Land, would be great to see this in a few other levels or have the propeller mushroom make its return. The Cannon Box and Light Box are suitable for handling enemies (the latter just being for ghosts), it’s decent and I don’t really have much else to say for it as, again, doesn’t appear to often. That leaves us with the Super Leaf which is ok but I only tend to use it for gliding down to collect stars. Similar to some other Mario games that released in the 2000s and 2010s, Mario has the ability to store one item for situations where he may need it and it’s as handy as always, saved me numerous times during my playthrough.
The levels are fine. Not in a sense of how they were made, naturally these levels are well created whilst providing a balance between a challenge and fun (particularly those who want to play co-operatively). No these games are fine in that they don’t really bring anything new to the Mario franchise. Like I could see a certain mechanic and go “oh that’s a Super Mario Galaxy” aspect. The fact that Super Mario 3D land arrived before this doesn’t really help too much either. But regardless of that, the levels are still fun and if a person hasn’t played a Mario game before this seems like a comfortable place to begin their adventure, particularly as it balances both the 2D and 3D aspect of the games. For those who’ve played many times before, I’m sure the challenge of collecting all the stars and stamps (because everyone loves collectibles) will provide an enjoyable experience throughout the campaign even if to 100% the game it is required to hit the top of the flag pole on every level (why???).
When going through each world, there’s still around 7 to 8 levels and a boss to get through, although I’d like to take this moment to chat about the other events that occur during travelling across the game. There are challenge rooms that require completing certain things under timed conditions, simple yet effective and a good break from the pace of the game. Captain Toad is a pleasant puzzle game, quite easy to see why he got his own spin-off game as it does make use of 3D quite well. There’s a slot machine that requires matching icons to get the most coins so gambling still exists in a post-Luigi casino world.
I did enjoy the final fight with Bowser, they truly made it cinematic whilst showcasing the 3D nature of the game. The other boss fights were a bit too simple, especially those involving Boom Boom and Pom Pom as it’s mostly the same fight with some small twists. The other random ones weren’t too challenging although they were quite creative and a breath of fresh air compared to the other bosses. Hope to see more of those sorts of fights in the future Mario games.
Presentation
I hate to keep repeating myself but again it’s a Mario game. It’s the same art style and music from the New Super Mario Brothers and Galaxy Game, executed quite well but nothing too new. Even with a few levels that shake up the formula a bit, it’s still the same world biomes with the same enemies with similar looking blocks.
Bowsers Fury
Bowers Fury, the add-on to the switch port of 3D World, is quite different to 3D World! I mean it’s still the same art style although the gameplay has drastically changed. Gone are the individual levels, now it’s a massive world involving collecting multiple cat shinnies to make progress. People tend to compare to Odyssey and I can’t really clarify that as I haven’t played it. The best comparison I have is Mario Sunshine with all the water surrounding the area, the shadow aspect of the game (even if it isn’t the same), collecting lots of coins, and many challenges to collect those shinies (that one is certainly Odyssey inspired).
The inventory has a change also, instead of holding one item spare Mario can use Bowser Jr to hold multiple quantities of various items so that’s quite handy when needing a specific outfit to bypass certain obstacles, saves having to repeat a whole level to retrieve one. Bower Jr can also helped Mario a bit by defeating enemies and collecting certain items so it can speed up completing the game and can easily be switched off too. Nice to see a good balance between those who want an easy experience and those who want the challenge, even if the levels are simply just more of 3D World in a (funnily enough) open world.
All in all, it’s a fun few hours of gameplay, Bowser being perhaps the most intimidating he’s been in a while and fighting him is certainly a unique take on the classic fight between this duo. It’s not perfect though as to fully complete the game, some blocks need to be destroyed by Bowser during a time period where Bowser is aiming at Mario. This is fine and all but it just takes a bit of time waiting for him to show-up and unlock the certain area.
Summary
Super Mario 3D World is a fun if safe 3D Mario game, incorporating the 2D aspects of the game quite well to create some well-designed levels that are sure to be ideal for playing with friends. Just don’t expect anything new or ground-breaking in these levels, it’s just walking on well-trodden ground for the franchise. Bowsers Fury is a short and sweet twist on the 3D World formula by making the action take place all in an open-world, certainly an expansion that provides more 3D fun for those who want more than just playing 3D World again.
Rating: 7/10
Update: Wasn't expecting to finish this today but here we are. I was playing through his until Heretic & Hexen got that remaster, if I knew I had half a day left to get through, I would have posted this first then went onto them...oh well. Now I'll head back to Thief 3, curious to see where the franchise goes from here.
3 Yrs✓#
Not_Connor3 Yrs✓#
28/08/2025: Thief: Deadly Shadows
This is Thief 3 but it’s not titled as the third Thief game although it is actually the third in the franchise and it is continuing on from Thief 2.
Background
As mentioned in an earlier blog post, Looking Glass Studios, the developers behind the original two Thief games, closed down due to financial issues. This led to Thief III being scrapped, despite it being close to completion with an “open-ended city” that story that focused on the keepers. In 2000, Eidos Interactive managed to get the rights to the franchise and gave Ion Storm the opportunity to develop it. Ion Storm Austin had already proven themselves by creating Deux Ex in the same year and having some of the Thief II team at hand, so clearly the people creating the game has the expertise despite the company switch. Probably the biggest changed during development was using Unreal Engine 2 instead of the Dark Engine, allowing the franchise to have better lighting and sound. Despite it receiving positive reviews and some awards, the company didn’t meet the financial criteria that only led to the possible cancellation of Thief 4, but also the last game the company made before it got shut down due to financial trouble.
Plot
Seems parts of the original Thief 3 still made it to Deadly Shadows as this is indeed a story that focuses heavily on The Keepers, the faction of the city that Garrett (the thief) was brought up with until he decided to leave for his own purposes. I wouldn’t say this story is as emotional or gripping as The Dark Project or The Metal Age, but the world-building is top-tier as always and delves more into the city itself and characters who only briefly appeared beforehand. It’s certainly a story fans of the franchise would enjoy although not so much those who are playing it for the first time. Still, have to love those cinematics as it really does capture the feel of this games gothic and steampunk atmosphere.
Gameplay
Let’s get this out the way to begin with, the Steam version of the game is (unsurprisingly) broken which I’m sure is no surprise to people who tend to play non-remastered versions of 1990s PC games. Without it, I’d be unable to see any of the cutscenes or be able to lockpick at all. There are probably several other upgrades with the Sneak Update but I didn’t get far enough through the game to get to see them so I installed the fan-made update and played with that.
Garretts arsenal this time around is not only similar but a little smaller. Most of the arrows make their return besides the vine and rope arrow, being replaced with climbing gloves which is ok? Doesn’t feel as satisfying and they are a bit awkward to use but I like the idea of them. Standard, water, moss, fire, gas and noisemaker arrows all perform exactly as they have done in previous games, although the enemies rarely hear noise unless you’re running past them so typically standard, water and fire are the most essential ones with anything being a nice bonus. The blackjack is a bit more awkward to use with how it sometimes hits an enemy unconscious and other times just whacking them a bit, regardless it’s still probably the most important weapon in the arsenal particularly towards the end. The dagger is a bit better here than the sword was, Garrett gets himself into a position where its easy to tell when an instant stealth kill, although again not really much point in using it unless you have to get into combat with the sword but running away and hiding is probably better for health purposes. Also Garrett cannot swim now…..why? I don’t mind there not being swimming sections, but dying from falling into water at the docks is a bit silly. Early 2000s games huh. Lockpicking is still a thing albeit with a different way of opening as it requires Garrett to figure out the right position of each part of the lock as opposed to trying between two different ones, it’s about the same length of time but I do prefer the new method as it’s less convenient having to swap between two different lockpicks.
The biggest aspect that makes this game stand-out is its open-world structure. Quite interesting considering the original planned 3rd game was thinking of using this. Between each level, Garrett needs to go between different parts of the city and it’s a cool concept. Having a world with NPCs and the city guard patrolling all over with various locations to explore with goodies hidden for listening to conversations is some very nice stuff. I will say that it does get repetitive towards the second half of the game as it tends to involve getting past the same guards in the same locations various times, they do try and shake it up a bit with events happening in the town but not enough to make it much more exciting. My thoughts on factions, groups within the city that either help or attack Garrett based on his actions are fairly similar. A good concept but not really fleshed out, it only really helped during a couple of events and for the two factions it really didn’t take long for them to gain support. The loading zones between each section didn’t help either even though it is undoubtedly due to technical limitations of the time.
The levels themselves are fairly solid. The layout of them is of high-quality, no level I would say suffers from bad enemy placement or cheap traps or just dragging on for ages so consider each level a 45-to-60-minute good Thief level. The reason I don’t say great is for a few reasons. Similar to the arsenal, some features in the previous games aren’t here either. Now I’m not gonna say the security cameras or mechs as those were focused on the metal age so their omission is understandable from a story-perspective and a game developing one also. But no alarms, a lack of enemy variety, and almost no traps makes it a bit too easy to go through, the enemies are even easier to hide from as their pathfinding isn’t too ideal. I still do enjoy the levels, it’s full holds many traits of what makes a good Thief level from its atmosphere to how NPCs all interact with one another, it just doesn’t live up to the heights of the earlier Thief games.
Presentation
Even with a different game engine, it’s still has that same look of a Thief game. A dark world with occasional splashes of light, albeit with less colour this time around. The UI has had a bit of an upgrade, the compass now being the bottom centre of the screen which is actually handy for navigating the open world. The levels themselves have the same dark atmospheric feel Thief games tend to have although the open world itself didn’t really capture the same energy, I assume it’s because I’m going through the same area again and again so I know what to expect. The fact that it’s not too appealing to the eye and moderately empty doesn’t tend to help, despite the fact that there are several NPCs giving the time some life. Music was strong as with previous titles if a bit too loud at points, drowning the voices and sounds of the city so I would suggest turning the music down a bit.
Summary A good stealth game which offers the key strengths of its predecessors with the cost of it not having many of the features they had and smaller levels. I would recommend it to fans of Thief The Dark Project and Thief II The Metal Age, but not so much for brand new fans as I don’t think they can get the most out of it from this first impression.
Rating: 7/10
Update: Games with not many differences between its predecessors tend to be the hardest to talk about as what can I say that wasn't already said! Luckily this had just enough changes to prevent it from being too similar to Thief 1 or 2. Next up should be Prince of Persia Two Thrones and that one might end up in that category so we shall see whether I have enough to talk about haha. Thanks for reading :)
This is Thief 3 but it’s not titled as the third Thief game although it is actually the third in the franchise and it is continuing on from Thief 2.
Background
As mentioned in an earlier blog post, Looking Glass Studios, the developers behind the original two Thief games, closed down due to financial issues. This led to Thief III being scrapped, despite it being close to completion with an “open-ended city” that story that focused on the keepers. In 2000, Eidos Interactive managed to get the rights to the franchise and gave Ion Storm the opportunity to develop it. Ion Storm Austin had already proven themselves by creating Deux Ex in the same year and having some of the Thief II team at hand, so clearly the people creating the game has the expertise despite the company switch. Probably the biggest changed during development was using Unreal Engine 2 instead of the Dark Engine, allowing the franchise to have better lighting and sound. Despite it receiving positive reviews and some awards, the company didn’t meet the financial criteria that only led to the possible cancellation of Thief 4, but also the last game the company made before it got shut down due to financial trouble.
Plot
Seems parts of the original Thief 3 still made it to Deadly Shadows as this is indeed a story that focuses heavily on The Keepers, the faction of the city that Garrett (the thief) was brought up with until he decided to leave for his own purposes. I wouldn’t say this story is as emotional or gripping as The Dark Project or The Metal Age, but the world-building is top-tier as always and delves more into the city itself and characters who only briefly appeared beforehand. It’s certainly a story fans of the franchise would enjoy although not so much those who are playing it for the first time. Still, have to love those cinematics as it really does capture the feel of this games gothic and steampunk atmosphere.
Gameplay
Let’s get this out the way to begin with, the Steam version of the game is (unsurprisingly) broken which I’m sure is no surprise to people who tend to play non-remastered versions of 1990s PC games. Without it, I’d be unable to see any of the cutscenes or be able to lockpick at all. There are probably several other upgrades with the Sneak Update but I didn’t get far enough through the game to get to see them so I installed the fan-made update and played with that.
Garretts arsenal this time around is not only similar but a little smaller. Most of the arrows make their return besides the vine and rope arrow, being replaced with climbing gloves which is ok? Doesn’t feel as satisfying and they are a bit awkward to use but I like the idea of them. Standard, water, moss, fire, gas and noisemaker arrows all perform exactly as they have done in previous games, although the enemies rarely hear noise unless you’re running past them so typically standard, water and fire are the most essential ones with anything being a nice bonus. The blackjack is a bit more awkward to use with how it sometimes hits an enemy unconscious and other times just whacking them a bit, regardless it’s still probably the most important weapon in the arsenal particularly towards the end. The dagger is a bit better here than the sword was, Garrett gets himself into a position where its easy to tell when an instant stealth kill, although again not really much point in using it unless you have to get into combat with the sword but running away and hiding is probably better for health purposes. Also Garrett cannot swim now…..why? I don’t mind there not being swimming sections, but dying from falling into water at the docks is a bit silly. Early 2000s games huh. Lockpicking is still a thing albeit with a different way of opening as it requires Garrett to figure out the right position of each part of the lock as opposed to trying between two different ones, it’s about the same length of time but I do prefer the new method as it’s less convenient having to swap between two different lockpicks.
The biggest aspect that makes this game stand-out is its open-world structure. Quite interesting considering the original planned 3rd game was thinking of using this. Between each level, Garrett needs to go between different parts of the city and it’s a cool concept. Having a world with NPCs and the city guard patrolling all over with various locations to explore with goodies hidden for listening to conversations is some very nice stuff. I will say that it does get repetitive towards the second half of the game as it tends to involve getting past the same guards in the same locations various times, they do try and shake it up a bit with events happening in the town but not enough to make it much more exciting. My thoughts on factions, groups within the city that either help or attack Garrett based on his actions are fairly similar. A good concept but not really fleshed out, it only really helped during a couple of events and for the two factions it really didn’t take long for them to gain support. The loading zones between each section didn’t help either even though it is undoubtedly due to technical limitations of the time.
The levels themselves are fairly solid. The layout of them is of high-quality, no level I would say suffers from bad enemy placement or cheap traps or just dragging on for ages so consider each level a 45-to-60-minute good Thief level. The reason I don’t say great is for a few reasons. Similar to the arsenal, some features in the previous games aren’t here either. Now I’m not gonna say the security cameras or mechs as those were focused on the metal age so their omission is understandable from a story-perspective and a game developing one also. But no alarms, a lack of enemy variety, and almost no traps makes it a bit too easy to go through, the enemies are even easier to hide from as their pathfinding isn’t too ideal. I still do enjoy the levels, it’s full holds many traits of what makes a good Thief level from its atmosphere to how NPCs all interact with one another, it just doesn’t live up to the heights of the earlier Thief games.
Presentation
Even with a different game engine, it’s still has that same look of a Thief game. A dark world with occasional splashes of light, albeit with less colour this time around. The UI has had a bit of an upgrade, the compass now being the bottom centre of the screen which is actually handy for navigating the open world. The levels themselves have the same dark atmospheric feel Thief games tend to have although the open world itself didn’t really capture the same energy, I assume it’s because I’m going through the same area again and again so I know what to expect. The fact that it’s not too appealing to the eye and moderately empty doesn’t tend to help, despite the fact that there are several NPCs giving the time some life. Music was strong as with previous titles if a bit too loud at points, drowning the voices and sounds of the city so I would suggest turning the music down a bit.
Summary A good stealth game which offers the key strengths of its predecessors with the cost of it not having many of the features they had and smaller levels. I would recommend it to fans of Thief The Dark Project and Thief II The Metal Age, but not so much for brand new fans as I don’t think they can get the most out of it from this first impression.
Rating: 7/10
Update: Games with not many differences between its predecessors tend to be the hardest to talk about as what can I say that wasn't already said! Luckily this had just enough changes to prevent it from being too similar to Thief 1 or 2. Next up should be Prince of Persia Two Thrones and that one might end up in that category so we shall see whether I have enough to talk about haha. Thanks for reading :)
6 Yrs♥✓#
Civilwarfare101
6 Yrs♥✓#
Deadly Shadows is a weird one. There are things about it I like. I enjoy the ragdoll effects when hitting people from behind with the blackjack, much of the stealth system is intact, the Shalebridge Cradle unsurprisingly is great with lots of build up throughout the game, the final boss even requires stealth to beat, the actual levels are good. The ending I also really like even if it did seem like wanted to continue off of it. Then you would have Thief 2014 being unable to decide if it wants to be a continuity reboot or a sequel since parts of Deadly Shadows can be found in that game.
But as you said, the Steam version is broken even when patched, it's still unstable. Deus Ex Invisible War was also like this. I don't even know if the GOG version fares any better. Going through the City is also boring and a waste of time. It just feels like when a movie adds lots of boring downtime of watching a character get to places. A lot of games with overworlds of any kind can feel this way. The first two games at least cut to the interesting parts. What also annoys me is that getting guard in one loading screen zone means guards will be still be aware when you enter back in leading to a cheap shot.
Deadly Shadows is just weird, there's good and there's annoying things to go along with it.
3 Yrs✓#
Not_Connor3 Yrs✓#
It is a strange one. I do agree with the ragdoll effects, when the new engine works well, it works pretty well and not only captures how it was in Dark Project and Metal Age, but even slightly improves on it. But for every step forward, it takes one step back. You mentioned the guards in the city, I had that happen to me twice plus one time a hammerite(?) mage threw some fire at me as soon as I loaded into a part of the map as it was trying to aim at a pagan so that was "fun".
The final boss was quite good in that it was threatening and a test of hiding, the other two games had it but one was mostly a straight line to the boss and the other didn't even appear as such. I wouldn't say any level is bad either, all paced well and had everything you could ask for. Again like you said, Shalebridge Cradle was really well built-up and easily stands as one of the scariest in the franchise.
The city part is basically a problem with many open-worlds: how can you make a large open space exciting and worthy of exploring? In this case, I think the city itself is decent. I mean you have plenty of conversations to overhear, optional locations to loot, shops to go to, secrets to get so I do think it deserves some praise for that. The problem I had with it was its repetition. I'm all for world building but I lost count how many times I had to go between Stone Market and the Old Quarter. As you said it's boring and can be seen as filler, I think the open-world could be better if there were more locations to explore to prevent less back and forth, or just cut the open-world and have linear interlude levels.
I do think this game needs a remaster, along with the first two. There's just so much that needs polishing and it deserves a bit of love, especially for their quality and impact. I get that the publishers aren't gonna focus much on a dormant franchise (not counting that upcoming Thief VR game) but it's just a bit of a hassle having to go out of the way to get a mod to fix most of the issues and hope it's both trustworthy and fixes what needs to be fixed. The classic Tomb Raider titles and Legacy of Kain franchise are both Eidos Interactive published games that got remastered recently, Thief had the same publishers so it would be quite nice to see a remastered trilogy in the near future.
Then there's Thief 2014...I haven't heard the best about it. From what you say, it sounds like it has a bit of an identity crisis. It's strange as Deadly Shadows ended on an ideal place to continue on, a lot easier to continue a franchise decades later with that particular plot as most of things that have been setup in those three games have ended one way or another. I'll have to see for myself when I get to it which should be soon (with luck).
6 Yrs♥✓#
Civilwarfare1016 Yrs♥✓#
This is why I have yet to replay the Thief games. We have now reached a point where a remaster or any form of a return for a legacy game can come back at any moment. If we can get System Shock 2 to have a modern port, I got a feeling Thief could be up next. I would love a modern version of Deadly Shadows were it runs stably.
Thief 2014 is one of the games where I haven't played since around the time it came out but I do remember it vividly in some ways. The story was really bad in that awful adaptation of your favorite story kind of way. It probably isn't the absolute worst game you can play but it is easy for me to get annoyed by it when reflecting on it. I'm also forgiving on many over reveiled titles in game franchises. I also have knack for enjoying certain franchises movies that aren't so well liked either. Everyone has their own version of the bad adaptation or continuation of a story they really like. Thief 2014 is one of those for me.
3 Yrs✓#
Not_Connor3 Yrs✓#
I'm probably going to be the same with the replay part. Don't want to go through all the hassle of installing a patch again just for it to still run a bit bad. If a good remaster appears, and I do think there's a decent chance to get a Thief Trilogy remaster, then I'll certainly play it again to see the game at its full potential. About to start Thief (2014) today so thank you for the warning of the plot, I'm both looking forward to it and dreading it as the same time.
3 Yrs✓#
Not_Connor3 Yrs✓#
31/08/25 - Prince of Persia: Two Thrones
The final game in The Sands of Time trilogy, concluding the story told in The Sands of Time and Warrior Within.
The Yearly Release Continues
Naturally, pumping out 3D action games every year is intense so Ubisoft Casablanca began developing the game whilst Ubisoft Montreal added the finishing touches to Warrior Within. Even with two teams it was a stressful time to complete it, especially when they had to scrap some aspects out due to feedback from Warrior Within about it being too much of a change in its tone. It needed to be lighter with a bit of an edge, not having one outweigh the other. Not much else to comment on really, a year gap doesn't tend to yield many new aspects besides lots of stress and a new changes here and there.
A Decent Conclusion
The story for this leaves me a bit conflicted. The events of Warrior Within have undone the plot of The Sands of Time, so the Prince has to stop the Vizier again. And it does work, it's nice to see the few characters in the franchise all working together again, and it shows how the Prince has changed over time with him becoming a better person than he was at the start. That's probably the key strength with this game, these debates with his dark-self on whether he makes the right choices and what it means to be a warrior, that and the story-telling narrator who adds that fairy tale aspect that was greatly missing from Warrior Within. But then I think it needed a bit more time as some of it felt sudden. I won't go into spoilers but I felt like all the characters had a bit of a rushed ending, particularly the first character who is just there for plot which is a bit of a disservice I think. And what about the people of the city? His father? Exploring the emotions of the Prince is a strong idea, I just think they needed to handle the weight of what was happening on the outside more rather than just internally.
Installer Issues
I am absolutely taking a moment to talk about the installing issues in this game, it wasn't great with Thief Deadly Shadows or the previous PoP games I've looked at, but this is pretty rough. I installed the game and downloaded a patch for widescreen support. I'm ok with that, games from the early 2000s and before tend to have these sort of problems. Then it wouldn't load correctly which resulted in me needing to switch off v-sync and then that solved it....partially. The game crashed several times during my playthrough and it was during these loading scenes in particular. Fortunately the checkpoints in the game are moderately generous so I didn't lose too much time. There was also a random crash during one of the boss fights and some areas were so yellow it was basically white. And I know exactly what's caused all this, Ubisoft ported the console version to the PC and added a few tweaks, you can tell as some of the options are showing console buttons and not keyboards. Really hope this trilogy gets a decent remaster or some fixes as while it is certainly playable, it gets frustrating having it crash about 5 times during a ten hour campaign.
Better Combat, Weaker Enemies
The combat in this game is similar to Warrior Within, a variety of moves that can be executed with the ability to use one or two weapons and parry attacks. I think it's probably the best combat system they have, it's not too overly complex and yet rewards those who apply combos than those who just spam the attack button. I didn't use the slow down attack as much as the enemies this time are a lot simpler, most of them either being a simple melee or a simple ranged attack. There are only two other new enemy types: dog-like enemies who sap away sand tanks or a variant of the melee type who can summon other melees. I think these are alright although some more variety is really needed. Where are the enemies that prevent vaulting? Or those that can fly? The short campaign does forgive this fact a bit although it tends to be more noticed towards the end of the game. Some solid bosses in the game also, certainly more fair and balanced than Warrior Within and makes good use of all the Princes abilities, especially the new stealth attack. Yes, the Prince can now stealth kill an enemy which, while certainly very situational, does speed up some of the fighting with some well placed attacks. I don't see it appearing in any of the other games in the franchise but it was certainly enjoyable to use here.
Platforming With A Pessimist
Most of the platforming in the game isn't really evading traps like it has been before, it tends to be manoeuvring from one building to another with swings, jumping, and now platforms to jump off that sometimes work and sometimes don't. There is also the option to use the sword to hang on to certain parts of a wall which is a natural feature to have I think. I do think it's as enjoyable as ever despite the dodgy platforms, it's fluid as ever and platforming is a nice breather between fighting sections. Reversing time to redo certain jumps also keeps the pressure off a little bit, it almost feels relaxing. I said almost but dialogue with the Prince and the Dark Prince tends to happen here, nothing wrong with it. It's actually quite engaging and really fleshed out the Princes character. It's just if I mess up the jump and I need to rewind, that dialogue is gone which sucks. By halfway through the game, I just stopped and let them chat and then continued on. Even if it's not the greatest plot, I do want to hear what's being said.
There are also sections of the game where the Dark Prince takes over and those sections are far from relaxing. Health is constantly draining, only replenished by acquiring sand tanks from either obstacles or killing certain enemies. Despite these sections being around 5 minutes in length, it's probably the most intense sections in the game as you need to be constantly moving or risk starting again. It's cruel yet enjoyable, it's probably the best you can be tested with platforming as there aren't many timed switches about in the game. Combat is actually the safest as health tends to return quickly during those fights. Does the Dark Prince have extra moves during combat? Yes. Did I use them? No. It just seemed to slow the fight down which would be fine if health didn't constantly sap away. So I stuck to standard attack moves during these sections or just ran away if I had the health, no harm in living to see another day.
Also the horse sections which I certainly didn't almost forget about. Twice during the campaign, The Prince takes some horses to race across the land, all while being pursued by his enemies. I mean it's ok, I like to see them shake things up a bit but it does feel like it was just thrown in at the last minute. Not too many variations of obstacles and they are placed in similar positions. The only time I crashed and had to rewind was during tight corners that suddenly appeared, I blame my lack of driving games experience for that. If this element is to return, I hope it's a bit more exciting but it was a welcome addition as random as it was.
It Still Looks the Same
This isn't a criticism, I expect the last game in the trilogy (where the games release annually) to look and sound similar. There is a heavier focus on outside this time which is nice, running across rooftops is a good change that past entries have only dabbled in. Some areas are filled with extra health or sand credits which unlock art work which I didn't take much time to go out my way for, health isn't essential and I'm not big enough of a fan to find all the credits for artwork, as cool as it was. The soundtrack is more akin to Sands of Time so less metal which I think suits the game well particularly as its moving away from the Warrior Within tone. And besides the areas that were too bright, it still feels like a kingdom with its town and areas. Climbing up the tower and looking down at a burning town I felt captured the games atmosphere quite well, gloomy yet hopeful.
Summary: While the story isn't really there, Two Thrones continues the streak of strong platforming whilst taking the tone of Sands of Time, the combat of Warrior Within, and a few new elements to keep it unique. A nice send-off to the trilogy, just be cautious of installing it on PC.
Rating: 7/10
Update: No image of gameplay this time as, not joking here, it crashed twice when I tried to reload a previous save. Typical. Anyway, not too many entries left of PoP to go, I only have the self-titled reboot and The Forgotten Sands left in my backlog, maybe I'll get some of the others sometime but I'll stop here for now. But before I get into the remaining two, I want to finish and complete the Thief franchise by diving into Thief (2014). If you read the above comments, I think it's going to be a very interesting one. I also ditched the old structure to give myself a bit more freedom with how I write. Thanks for taking the time to read!
The final game in The Sands of Time trilogy, concluding the story told in The Sands of Time and Warrior Within.
The Yearly Release Continues
Naturally, pumping out 3D action games every year is intense so Ubisoft Casablanca began developing the game whilst Ubisoft Montreal added the finishing touches to Warrior Within. Even with two teams it was a stressful time to complete it, especially when they had to scrap some aspects out due to feedback from Warrior Within about it being too much of a change in its tone. It needed to be lighter with a bit of an edge, not having one outweigh the other. Not much else to comment on really, a year gap doesn't tend to yield many new aspects besides lots of stress and a new changes here and there.
A Decent Conclusion
The story for this leaves me a bit conflicted. The events of Warrior Within have undone the plot of The Sands of Time, so the Prince has to stop the Vizier again. And it does work, it's nice to see the few characters in the franchise all working together again, and it shows how the Prince has changed over time with him becoming a better person than he was at the start. That's probably the key strength with this game, these debates with his dark-self on whether he makes the right choices and what it means to be a warrior, that and the story-telling narrator who adds that fairy tale aspect that was greatly missing from Warrior Within. But then I think it needed a bit more time as some of it felt sudden. I won't go into spoilers but I felt like all the characters had a bit of a rushed ending, particularly the first character who is just there for plot which is a bit of a disservice I think. And what about the people of the city? His father? Exploring the emotions of the Prince is a strong idea, I just think they needed to handle the weight of what was happening on the outside more rather than just internally.
Installer Issues
I am absolutely taking a moment to talk about the installing issues in this game, it wasn't great with Thief Deadly Shadows or the previous PoP games I've looked at, but this is pretty rough. I installed the game and downloaded a patch for widescreen support. I'm ok with that, games from the early 2000s and before tend to have these sort of problems. Then it wouldn't load correctly which resulted in me needing to switch off v-sync and then that solved it....partially. The game crashed several times during my playthrough and it was during these loading scenes in particular. Fortunately the checkpoints in the game are moderately generous so I didn't lose too much time. There was also a random crash during one of the boss fights and some areas were so yellow it was basically white. And I know exactly what's caused all this, Ubisoft ported the console version to the PC and added a few tweaks, you can tell as some of the options are showing console buttons and not keyboards. Really hope this trilogy gets a decent remaster or some fixes as while it is certainly playable, it gets frustrating having it crash about 5 times during a ten hour campaign.
Better Combat, Weaker Enemies
The combat in this game is similar to Warrior Within, a variety of moves that can be executed with the ability to use one or two weapons and parry attacks. I think it's probably the best combat system they have, it's not too overly complex and yet rewards those who apply combos than those who just spam the attack button. I didn't use the slow down attack as much as the enemies this time are a lot simpler, most of them either being a simple melee or a simple ranged attack. There are only two other new enemy types: dog-like enemies who sap away sand tanks or a variant of the melee type who can summon other melees. I think these are alright although some more variety is really needed. Where are the enemies that prevent vaulting? Or those that can fly? The short campaign does forgive this fact a bit although it tends to be more noticed towards the end of the game. Some solid bosses in the game also, certainly more fair and balanced than Warrior Within and makes good use of all the Princes abilities, especially the new stealth attack. Yes, the Prince can now stealth kill an enemy which, while certainly very situational, does speed up some of the fighting with some well placed attacks. I don't see it appearing in any of the other games in the franchise but it was certainly enjoyable to use here.
Platforming With A Pessimist
Most of the platforming in the game isn't really evading traps like it has been before, it tends to be manoeuvring from one building to another with swings, jumping, and now platforms to jump off that sometimes work and sometimes don't. There is also the option to use the sword to hang on to certain parts of a wall which is a natural feature to have I think. I do think it's as enjoyable as ever despite the dodgy platforms, it's fluid as ever and platforming is a nice breather between fighting sections. Reversing time to redo certain jumps also keeps the pressure off a little bit, it almost feels relaxing. I said almost but dialogue with the Prince and the Dark Prince tends to happen here, nothing wrong with it. It's actually quite engaging and really fleshed out the Princes character. It's just if I mess up the jump and I need to rewind, that dialogue is gone which sucks. By halfway through the game, I just stopped and let them chat and then continued on. Even if it's not the greatest plot, I do want to hear what's being said.
There are also sections of the game where the Dark Prince takes over and those sections are far from relaxing. Health is constantly draining, only replenished by acquiring sand tanks from either obstacles or killing certain enemies. Despite these sections being around 5 minutes in length, it's probably the most intense sections in the game as you need to be constantly moving or risk starting again. It's cruel yet enjoyable, it's probably the best you can be tested with platforming as there aren't many timed switches about in the game. Combat is actually the safest as health tends to return quickly during those fights. Does the Dark Prince have extra moves during combat? Yes. Did I use them? No. It just seemed to slow the fight down which would be fine if health didn't constantly sap away. So I stuck to standard attack moves during these sections or just ran away if I had the health, no harm in living to see another day.
Also the horse sections which I certainly didn't almost forget about. Twice during the campaign, The Prince takes some horses to race across the land, all while being pursued by his enemies. I mean it's ok, I like to see them shake things up a bit but it does feel like it was just thrown in at the last minute. Not too many variations of obstacles and they are placed in similar positions. The only time I crashed and had to rewind was during tight corners that suddenly appeared, I blame my lack of driving games experience for that. If this element is to return, I hope it's a bit more exciting but it was a welcome addition as random as it was.
It Still Looks the Same
This isn't a criticism, I expect the last game in the trilogy (where the games release annually) to look and sound similar. There is a heavier focus on outside this time which is nice, running across rooftops is a good change that past entries have only dabbled in. Some areas are filled with extra health or sand credits which unlock art work which I didn't take much time to go out my way for, health isn't essential and I'm not big enough of a fan to find all the credits for artwork, as cool as it was. The soundtrack is more akin to Sands of Time so less metal which I think suits the game well particularly as its moving away from the Warrior Within tone. And besides the areas that were too bright, it still feels like a kingdom with its town and areas. Climbing up the tower and looking down at a burning town I felt captured the games atmosphere quite well, gloomy yet hopeful.
Summary: While the story isn't really there, Two Thrones continues the streak of strong platforming whilst taking the tone of Sands of Time, the combat of Warrior Within, and a few new elements to keep it unique. A nice send-off to the trilogy, just be cautious of installing it on PC.
Rating: 7/10
Update: No image of gameplay this time as, not joking here, it crashed twice when I tried to reload a previous save. Typical. Anyway, not too many entries left of PoP to go, I only have the self-titled reboot and The Forgotten Sands left in my backlog, maybe I'll get some of the others sometime but I'll stop here for now. But before I get into the remaining two, I want to finish and complete the Thief franchise by diving into Thief (2014). If you read the above comments, I think it's going to be a very interesting one. I also ditched the old structure to give myself a bit more freedom with how I write. Thanks for taking the time to read!
6 Yrs♥✓#
Civilwarfare1016 Yrs♥✓#
From your experience with the installer, this is why I would rather emulate 6th gen games rather than play their PC versions.
I do want to come back and play this game again. It is one of my favorite games in the series. I recall it the being the best paced of the bunch. I also like the speed kills as a concept even if furthur you get into the game, it becomes less of a viable option considering how lengthy the kill animations can be and when you kill one guy, he could turn his back and spot you.
I do think the speed kills work wonderfully with Dark Prince.
3 Yrs✓#
Not_Connor3 Yrs✓#
I'll likely have to emulate if this keeps happening. Even if I still have to go a bit out of my way, at least the game will run a lot smoother. I do agree with your points about pacing and the kill animation, bit ironic that the speed kill takes a while to execute (no pun intended) but I'll take them when I can
3 Yrs✓#
Not_Connor3 Yrs✓#
06/09/2025 - Thief (2014)
The fourth and, at time of writing, most recent game in the Thief franchise.
The Ten Year Wait
As I mentioned in the Deadly Shadows post, the developers behind it (Ion Storm) shut down due to financial issues. Publisher Eidos Interactive would get takeover by SCi although eventually Square Enix would then take over them. A bit after this (2009), a new Thief game started to be developed with the Eidos-Montréal division taking control. Eidos-Montréal had already done work on the revival of both Deus Ex and Tomb Raider at that point so they were certainly experienced in this sort of thing. Despite that fact, the team was small so it took a while to get out of the concept phase with ideas such as a new protagonist and a third-person perspective (a bit was implemented, it only shows when climbing pipes). Eventually it would be developed and released in 2014, with pre-orders letting players get Thief-based items for Team Fortress 2 and Dota which is a very random perk. There was a hint of developing a sequel but I think the reviews put an end to that. Let's see what caused the death/hiatus of the Thief franchise.
An Attempt at a Plot
The story of this game is easily the weakest of the franchise and for so many reasons. I feel like the main issue is that it's too cinematic. Think of a generic action film and that's what you have here. Characters with no development and boring personalities, not to mention Garrett is nowhere near as interesting as he was in the first three games. A plot that is all over the place with twists that are easily predictable and not really making much sense. I think the best example of this is the Thief-Taker General appearing in every chapter as a "surprise". Ok but how does he know where Garrett is all the time? Why does he hate thieves so much? Is there a past between them? He just seems like a classic example of a one-dimensional character who is just an antagonist for the sake of being an antagonist. Most of the characters are like that, here's a trait so that's who they are. I wish I could go into more detail but it was so generic I can't really recall the specific details besides the important characters and their basic motivations. I feel like more time was needed for me to care and invest in them, otherwise I'm just shrugging my shoulders going "ok, guess I'll do this now".
It gets even more confusing for Thief as its a reboot with elements from the first three games about but not the same story. So for instance, you may see Garretts eye is missing from the first game and the districts of the city found in the third game, but the hammerites and pagans just don't exist besides little nods here and there. I don't think every element is necessary to be present when you're rebooting a franchise but I do think it's important to either start with a true clear slate or have a continuation of a previous plot, not some weird combination of the two.
It Looks Like a Thief Game
Stupid plot aside, it does capture the look of the previous games well whilst adding that 2010s modern edge to it. And by previous games, I mean Deadly Shadows as I do think that game is the main inspiration out of the three. It's dark yet not impossible to see, could have been more colourful in parts to capture the locations a bit better but the gloominess is fine here. The level of detail with its locations in each chapter is still there, balancing the steampunk elements with the horror sprinkled in, if a little lighter than before. Focus mode (a way of viewing important objects by highlighting them in blue) does ruin the immersion slightly although I do think it's still possible to grab everything you need if you are willing to miss a few hidden items and hit the occasional trap. The music is fine, the sound design isn't as good but it does its job well enough. Could do with a little less repeating dialogue but it's the shortest game in the franchise so I can overlook that.
Great Stealth But Linear Stealth
This is where I think the game both shines and yet makes it forgettable.
Garretts stealth mechanics are somewhat similar with his equipment, yet he has had a few additional moves. He can shift quickly and quietly between dark areas, a nice move that enables quick mobility to keep a good pace going. He can slightly grapple which is ok, quite situational and could have been made a bit more interesting. Arrows are still in use, I like the little lock-in it does when aiming at a certain enemy or object, and it's great to see the rope arrows make their return, their omission in Deadly Shadows was missed and they can actually make some sections of the levels a bit easier. Garrett no longer has a sword or dagger, so blackjacking is the best thing to use although I advise against it as its fairly weak and dodging attacks (another new move) is a bit risky so only use it after a few upgrades. And yes some items and skills require payment to provide certain items to progress. I think its fine, gives an incentive to explore levels more further although some should have been given during the campaign, otherwise you may not even realise if you just want to ignore the shops around the city. Overall I think the stealth mechanics are the best part about this game, I do think it gets it right between balancing the old and the new.
The levels themselves are...well I think this is what upset all the fans of the original trilogy. There isn't too much going on in each of the levels, they feel simpler. Each level is smaller than before and while I do think it still keeps the detail, it just feels less exciting. Maybe its the marker that now appears. I don't need to go through every room, I know exactly where I'm going. Why waste time stealing items in the few other rooms where there is little to do in them besides collecting loot and documents, I have enough loot and I'm not too interested in what those documents say. I do think they are still designed well, the traps are quite sneaky and the enemies are well-placed with lots of painting and chests scattered across each level. The levels are quite replayable too, rewarding the player for finishing off each level how they want so its ideal for playing aggressively or as a ghost. A shame the AI is stupid though, it can detect things that aren't there sometimes and run everywhere but the corner Garrett is hiding in. I tried hiding in the cabinets a few times, cool feature but didn't use it all that much. A few additional hiding spots would've been cool although I reckon that would have been the sequel for this game that never came.
The Open World is Slight Better
In Deadly Shadows, I found the open-world to be a bit dull due to how repetitive it is to transverse the same areas and have to constantly wait between loading zones, whilst having to look at a map. In Thief (2014), I found the open-world to be a bit dull due to how repetitive it is to transverse the same areas and have to constantly wait between loading zones, whilst having to look at a map. I mean I don't think its as weak as Deadly Shadows was, there are plenty of side-missions to do which are fun little levels scattered across the city. I didn't complete them all but it made moving between each part of the city a bit more interesting. It also helps to see the environment change as the story progresses, nothing ground-breaking by any means but it's a nice touch.
DLC is Ok
When I got the game a while ago, it came with the DLC so I'll go over it quickly here. The main one is The Bank Heist, a side mission that has Garrett break into a bank. It's a decent level, I liked the security cameras as the base game did lack a variety of enemies. Besides that, standard level. Only get it if you really enjoyed the levels of the base game and crave for more. Booster packs just get you items in the game early...really don't think its necessary to pay for something like that. The final DLC is a challenge map for the level The Forsaken, again don't see a point in playing an arcadic version of the game particularly as two other challenge maps exist in the game already.
Summary
Thief (2014) is a generic game with a generic plot, although it does implement its stealth mechanics well and does manage to keep the ability to play a level in different styles, despite their smaller size.
Rating: 5/10
Update: Finally done with the Thief franchise, a fun one overall. Even if most of that post was critical, I still had some fun with the game even in a sort of mindless way. I do hope that the Thief franchise continues in the future, it deserves more love especially with how influential it was in the genre. It does make me want to play more stealth games in the future but I'll leave it aside for now. For the moment, I'll return to Prince of Persia with the self-titled 2008 released. Apparently its a second reboot? Didn't think it needed rebooting but I'll see how it goes. Thanks for reading!
The fourth and, at time of writing, most recent game in the Thief franchise.
The Ten Year Wait
As I mentioned in the Deadly Shadows post, the developers behind it (Ion Storm) shut down due to financial issues. Publisher Eidos Interactive would get takeover by SCi although eventually Square Enix would then take over them. A bit after this (2009), a new Thief game started to be developed with the Eidos-Montréal division taking control. Eidos-Montréal had already done work on the revival of both Deus Ex and Tomb Raider at that point so they were certainly experienced in this sort of thing. Despite that fact, the team was small so it took a while to get out of the concept phase with ideas such as a new protagonist and a third-person perspective (a bit was implemented, it only shows when climbing pipes). Eventually it would be developed and released in 2014, with pre-orders letting players get Thief-based items for Team Fortress 2 and Dota which is a very random perk. There was a hint of developing a sequel but I think the reviews put an end to that. Let's see what caused the death/hiatus of the Thief franchise.
An Attempt at a Plot
The story of this game is easily the weakest of the franchise and for so many reasons. I feel like the main issue is that it's too cinematic. Think of a generic action film and that's what you have here. Characters with no development and boring personalities, not to mention Garrett is nowhere near as interesting as he was in the first three games. A plot that is all over the place with twists that are easily predictable and not really making much sense. I think the best example of this is the Thief-Taker General appearing in every chapter as a "surprise". Ok but how does he know where Garrett is all the time? Why does he hate thieves so much? Is there a past between them? He just seems like a classic example of a one-dimensional character who is just an antagonist for the sake of being an antagonist. Most of the characters are like that, here's a trait so that's who they are. I wish I could go into more detail but it was so generic I can't really recall the specific details besides the important characters and their basic motivations. I feel like more time was needed for me to care and invest in them, otherwise I'm just shrugging my shoulders going "ok, guess I'll do this now".
It gets even more confusing for Thief as its a reboot with elements from the first three games about but not the same story. So for instance, you may see Garretts eye is missing from the first game and the districts of the city found in the third game, but the hammerites and pagans just don't exist besides little nods here and there. I don't think every element is necessary to be present when you're rebooting a franchise but I do think it's important to either start with a true clear slate or have a continuation of a previous plot, not some weird combination of the two.
It Looks Like a Thief Game
Stupid plot aside, it does capture the look of the previous games well whilst adding that 2010s modern edge to it. And by previous games, I mean Deadly Shadows as I do think that game is the main inspiration out of the three. It's dark yet not impossible to see, could have been more colourful in parts to capture the locations a bit better but the gloominess is fine here. The level of detail with its locations in each chapter is still there, balancing the steampunk elements with the horror sprinkled in, if a little lighter than before. Focus mode (a way of viewing important objects by highlighting them in blue) does ruin the immersion slightly although I do think it's still possible to grab everything you need if you are willing to miss a few hidden items and hit the occasional trap. The music is fine, the sound design isn't as good but it does its job well enough. Could do with a little less repeating dialogue but it's the shortest game in the franchise so I can overlook that.
Great Stealth But Linear Stealth
This is where I think the game both shines and yet makes it forgettable.
Garretts stealth mechanics are somewhat similar with his equipment, yet he has had a few additional moves. He can shift quickly and quietly between dark areas, a nice move that enables quick mobility to keep a good pace going. He can slightly grapple which is ok, quite situational and could have been made a bit more interesting. Arrows are still in use, I like the little lock-in it does when aiming at a certain enemy or object, and it's great to see the rope arrows make their return, their omission in Deadly Shadows was missed and they can actually make some sections of the levels a bit easier. Garrett no longer has a sword or dagger, so blackjacking is the best thing to use although I advise against it as its fairly weak and dodging attacks (another new move) is a bit risky so only use it after a few upgrades. And yes some items and skills require payment to provide certain items to progress. I think its fine, gives an incentive to explore levels more further although some should have been given during the campaign, otherwise you may not even realise if you just want to ignore the shops around the city. Overall I think the stealth mechanics are the best part about this game, I do think it gets it right between balancing the old and the new.
The levels themselves are...well I think this is what upset all the fans of the original trilogy. There isn't too much going on in each of the levels, they feel simpler. Each level is smaller than before and while I do think it still keeps the detail, it just feels less exciting. Maybe its the marker that now appears. I don't need to go through every room, I know exactly where I'm going. Why waste time stealing items in the few other rooms where there is little to do in them besides collecting loot and documents, I have enough loot and I'm not too interested in what those documents say. I do think they are still designed well, the traps are quite sneaky and the enemies are well-placed with lots of painting and chests scattered across each level. The levels are quite replayable too, rewarding the player for finishing off each level how they want so its ideal for playing aggressively or as a ghost. A shame the AI is stupid though, it can detect things that aren't there sometimes and run everywhere but the corner Garrett is hiding in. I tried hiding in the cabinets a few times, cool feature but didn't use it all that much. A few additional hiding spots would've been cool although I reckon that would have been the sequel for this game that never came.
The Open World is Slight Better
In Deadly Shadows, I found the open-world to be a bit dull due to how repetitive it is to transverse the same areas and have to constantly wait between loading zones, whilst having to look at a map. In Thief (2014), I found the open-world to be a bit dull due to how repetitive it is to transverse the same areas and have to constantly wait between loading zones, whilst having to look at a map. I mean I don't think its as weak as Deadly Shadows was, there are plenty of side-missions to do which are fun little levels scattered across the city. I didn't complete them all but it made moving between each part of the city a bit more interesting. It also helps to see the environment change as the story progresses, nothing ground-breaking by any means but it's a nice touch.
DLC is Ok
When I got the game a while ago, it came with the DLC so I'll go over it quickly here. The main one is The Bank Heist, a side mission that has Garrett break into a bank. It's a decent level, I liked the security cameras as the base game did lack a variety of enemies. Besides that, standard level. Only get it if you really enjoyed the levels of the base game and crave for more. Booster packs just get you items in the game early...really don't think its necessary to pay for something like that. The final DLC is a challenge map for the level The Forsaken, again don't see a point in playing an arcadic version of the game particularly as two other challenge maps exist in the game already.
Summary
Thief (2014) is a generic game with a generic plot, although it does implement its stealth mechanics well and does manage to keep the ability to play a level in different styles, despite their smaller size.
Rating: 5/10
Update: Finally done with the Thief franchise, a fun one overall. Even if most of that post was critical, I still had some fun with the game even in a sort of mindless way. I do hope that the Thief franchise continues in the future, it deserves more love especially with how influential it was in the genre. It does make me want to play more stealth games in the future but I'll leave it aside for now. For the moment, I'll return to Prince of Persia with the self-titled 2008 released. Apparently its a second reboot? Didn't think it needed rebooting but I'll see how it goes. Thanks for reading!
6 Yrs♥✓#
Civilwarfare1016 Yrs♥✓#
Oh boy, this game. I usually try not to get overly vulgar and heated when talking about any story or game I dislike especially in a series I enjoy but Thief 2014 can be that for me. It's how say a bad superhero movie can piss off certain people.
I'd say the story of this isn't even a generic action movie. It's almost a story you'd find in something you'd find in a David Cage game or Highlander 2 or any Highlander sequel really. It might be one of the worst stories in a mainstream game. You got the stuff like with the whole can't deciding to be a sequel or continuity reboot. There is also how they try to modernize Garrett by having him be in the "Bat Cave" I mean clock tower. He even has an actual no kill rule or moral code now where before he only not killed people out of professionalism and challenge. He's also like some chosen hero or something. The Thief Taker general hates Garrett because he hates thieves? What kind of name even is "Thief Taker General?" There is also some dumb plan on how the villain wants to turn people into zombies.
The line I remember 2014 Garrett saying is when he says, "thieving is my way of life, it sets me free in the night". There is also a scene where he tries to steal some item but he is better off not bothering. I don't like using the term, "not understanding" a character but that is a great example. They even removed Garrett's pragmatism too. Contradicting the, "I make it a policy to never take a job so sentimental" line.
Outside of the story, gameplay is just okay I guess but not really good enough to save the game. The swoop feature's kind of interesting but the scaled back level design really ruins it. Edios Montreal did make Deus Ex Human Revolution and that had some geniunely solid level design even if the game is ultimately design in a "get from point a to b" kind of way with minimal backtracking. They also made climbling and rope arrows contextual too. AI also isn't super great either from what I remember. The open world also isn't much better since there is load screen to enter doors which was weird considering this was on 8th gen consoles.
Compared to Splinter Cell Blacklist which came out a year prior to this, the level design and mechanics are strongly lacking. It does seem that people who enjoy Thief 2014 kind of like it but don't love it.
I've wrote quite a lot regarding this game and it's kind of amazing how I remember this game so vividly and it's been 11 years since I played it. There is an upcoming Thief VR game but I'm wondering if it will suffer the same fate as Splinter Cell VR. There is at least a trailer for the former.
One good thing of Thief 2014 is that there is this gem of a vid:
3 Yrs✓#
Not_Connor3 Yrs✓#
The story is just not delivering at all. It's a real big disservice and that's the nicest way possible I can put it. That video (hilarious as it was) really showed how much they changed Garrett and not for the better. Even if 2014 Garrett was a brand new character, I really couldn't connect to him in the slightest due to how generic he was. Don't get me started on the pointless inclusion of the clock tower or the thief taker general or anything really, just cheap writing for "explosive" gameplay trailers. I think the VR trailer will determine whether they learnt any lessons from this game, I truly hope so.
I can see why some people enjoy the gameplay, it's almost a puzzle with how to bypass enemies and traps. I just find it a bit too repetitive, particularly with the environments not really changing all that much. It's why I didn't bother with the side missions, the relatively small levels aren't rewarding in its challenge or its reward although I do appreciate it being more related to stealing. Maybe if they made them bigger, removed the tracker, and changed the level design to incorporate Garretts arsenal and moves better, it'd be more enjoyable. Here's hoping for a true sequel in the future
3 Yrs✓#
Not_Connor3 Yrs✓#
Duplicate post
3 Yrs✓#
Not_Connor3 Yrs✓#
13/09/2025 - Prince of Persia (2008)
7th entry in the franchise and there is already another reboot, quite an interesting move but ideal if you want to switch things up from The Sands of Time Trilogy.
A Change in Direction
The knowledge of the game came early when some concept art was leaked online. The idea was to stick to the main elements of the franchise whilst going back to the earlier games for inspiration. For instance, combat is still present but instead of fighting several enemies at once, it has become one single enemy. There was also a switch to the Scimitar engine since it was less linear and more variation in its worlds, makes sense considering Assassins Creed used that same engine the previous year. There was also a focus on cooperative play and by that I mean having two characters to control rather than having two separate players playing the game. Not much else going on in development, seems it was fairly well received and got a couple awards.
The Beginning of Greed?
The plot in itself is straight forward. Evil has taken over the world, go fight its corrupted sections and then defeat the evil bad guy (Ahriman). The game is more detailed in what's going on with Elika, the Princess of the region, explaining what was present before the corruption took affect. While I can't say I cared too much about the antagonist of the game, I did appreciated The Prince and Elikas conversations throughout the game as they can range from funny to depressed, it feels natural even if The Prince is a typical cheesy American protagonist. I feel like it could have been developed further towards the last act of the game but they kept things enjoyable throughout the game.
Ubisoft have released so many games that it's a bit hard to tell when exactly they got their negative reception as a greedy company. I'm certain there are several games that led to this reputation but this one certainly is one of the earlier ones. Why? Well the games true ending is hidden behind DLC which, from what I heard, isn't exactly on the cheap side. Adding to that, it's not available on PC so if you want to play the epilogue then emulation is the best pick.
Back to the Fairytale
The grittiness of previous entry's have gone now, it's a lot more colourful and "friendly" than ever before. I enjoyed this new style, it really evokes the charm of the game as it matches the stories tone. The animations are quite smooth as well, a bit of a jump from The Two Thrones. The buildings across the world are a breathe of fresh air after palace after palace of the linear entries, it really showcases where the franchise can go quite well. The music also compliments the games atmosphere, far away from the metal now and more of the standard music you’d expect in a magical fantasy adventure game. It's not as catchy as any of the other games but it's nice to hear. A few moments where it was a bit loud and I couldn't hear clearly what the characters were saying although it has certainly been worse in the past.
Switching Up the Combat
So 1 on 1 fights, well 2 against 1 technically. On the surface, I think it works well and is a good shakeup to the gameplay. A good variety of moves to tackle each enemy along with making smart use of Elika to make her fight during certain situations, even if it is just spamming one button. Majority of offense and defence isn’t about applying a certain combo or spamming attack, but rather hitting the right button. Despite the last minute quick time event and a few moments where there is too much reliance on trial and error with how quick you need to be, it's a solid change to how combat works before. Not that the previous combat system was flawed but sometimes its nice to shake things up a little and I can imagine a more refined version of this appearing in later entries (not that it did).
The main problem I have with the combat is that it’s quite repetitive. The same four bosses (not counting the final one) have to be fought around five times with only small changes made such as a new move to counter or an environment change, so it can get fairly dull particularly that when “losing”, the fight continues with the boss gaining health. This is not counting the soldiers across the land which can at least be defeated easily or even before they are summoned in. By the end of the game I was bored of the combat, even if it's a good change and works quite well, there isn't much that differentiates the fights that makes it worth enjoying.
Platforming Hasn't Changed Too Much
I mean the controls are slightly different but the obstacles are mostly similar. The Prince can now slowly move down walls with his sword, quite satisfying to use if a bit useless as the classic fall and grab technique still works. The ceiling run is ridiculous but a cool concept, use the handles on the ceiling to go across pillar to pillar. I think that's a natural progression for The Princes moves, especially since wall running is a thing. Unless I'm forgetting something that's it really. Wall running, jumping onto things, hopping between beams, rotating the environment with levers all still exist and handle quite well.
In fact the environment is a lot easier with basically no deadly traps nor really any timed obstacles besides a few here and there. Why no deadly traps? Well as with combat, you cannot die from platforming. Falling off the edge or into corruption simply takes you back to the last safe spot you were at. I’m not bothered if a game is easier than the last entries, this doesn't impact my enjoyment out of a game but I think it hurt the game a bit. It limits what obstacles can be thrown at the game and I think, similar to the combat, repetition kicks in quite quickly and doesn't have anything new to challenge the player by the time they have finished the first boss. I guess that's the issue when you can pick the order of what you want to do, if there's nothing specific to a certain region then the moves become natural and there isn't much to spice things up.
Still the levels aren't bad by any means. Sections like having to slide and jump off an inclined platform or one of the four elemental pads that cause the duo to travel a great distance across the map was great though and did a fantastic job at making the moments that could be dull to travel a lot more enjoyable. There are a few puzzles about as well that made for nice breaks, would have been a bit better if there was one or two more but I'm fine with the number available.
The Open World
It’s decent. The freedom to pick which levels you want to clear first is enjoyable and each region of the world is fairly different from the others. I didn’t enjoy having to collect all the light seeds so that the next section could be unlocked. It broke the pace of the game where I had to go through previous levels again, for up to 20 minutes in some cases, to ensure that I have enough to make progress. I mean is it worth it? I feel like its unnecessary for padding out the game time and collecting anything after 540 (out of 1000 I think) is pointless. I do wish there was more interesting things going on in the world but I did appreciate the fast travel though, it saved a lot of time going between places to get to where I needed to go. Same with the compass ability, pressing a certain button summons some magic stating where the player needs to go. Quite useful, saved me going the wrong way a few times so I appreciate the feature.
Summary
A big change in the Prince of Persia franchise that bravely attempts a non-linear style with a refreshing new combat system. The first half might be enjoyable but the repetition may kill some of that within the second half.
Rating: 5/10
Update: I really need to play some bad games to bring down the 5 to 8 range at some point. We'll see if I ever do that! For now I'll jump to the last PoP game I own which is The Forgotten Sands. This one is a replay and I have a suspicion on what my opinion on it will be so it shouldn't take me too long. Thanks for reading the post!
7th entry in the franchise and there is already another reboot, quite an interesting move but ideal if you want to switch things up from The Sands of Time Trilogy.
A Change in Direction
The knowledge of the game came early when some concept art was leaked online. The idea was to stick to the main elements of the franchise whilst going back to the earlier games for inspiration. For instance, combat is still present but instead of fighting several enemies at once, it has become one single enemy. There was also a switch to the Scimitar engine since it was less linear and more variation in its worlds, makes sense considering Assassins Creed used that same engine the previous year. There was also a focus on cooperative play and by that I mean having two characters to control rather than having two separate players playing the game. Not much else going on in development, seems it was fairly well received and got a couple awards.
The Beginning of Greed?
The plot in itself is straight forward. Evil has taken over the world, go fight its corrupted sections and then defeat the evil bad guy (Ahriman). The game is more detailed in what's going on with Elika, the Princess of the region, explaining what was present before the corruption took affect. While I can't say I cared too much about the antagonist of the game, I did appreciated The Prince and Elikas conversations throughout the game as they can range from funny to depressed, it feels natural even if The Prince is a typical cheesy American protagonist. I feel like it could have been developed further towards the last act of the game but they kept things enjoyable throughout the game.
Ubisoft have released so many games that it's a bit hard to tell when exactly they got their negative reception as a greedy company. I'm certain there are several games that led to this reputation but this one certainly is one of the earlier ones. Why? Well the games true ending is hidden behind DLC which, from what I heard, isn't exactly on the cheap side. Adding to that, it's not available on PC so if you want to play the epilogue then emulation is the best pick.
Back to the Fairytale
The grittiness of previous entry's have gone now, it's a lot more colourful and "friendly" than ever before. I enjoyed this new style, it really evokes the charm of the game as it matches the stories tone. The animations are quite smooth as well, a bit of a jump from The Two Thrones. The buildings across the world are a breathe of fresh air after palace after palace of the linear entries, it really showcases where the franchise can go quite well. The music also compliments the games atmosphere, far away from the metal now and more of the standard music you’d expect in a magical fantasy adventure game. It's not as catchy as any of the other games but it's nice to hear. A few moments where it was a bit loud and I couldn't hear clearly what the characters were saying although it has certainly been worse in the past.
Switching Up the Combat
So 1 on 1 fights, well 2 against 1 technically. On the surface, I think it works well and is a good shakeup to the gameplay. A good variety of moves to tackle each enemy along with making smart use of Elika to make her fight during certain situations, even if it is just spamming one button. Majority of offense and defence isn’t about applying a certain combo or spamming attack, but rather hitting the right button. Despite the last minute quick time event and a few moments where there is too much reliance on trial and error with how quick you need to be, it's a solid change to how combat works before. Not that the previous combat system was flawed but sometimes its nice to shake things up a little and I can imagine a more refined version of this appearing in later entries (not that it did).
The main problem I have with the combat is that it’s quite repetitive. The same four bosses (not counting the final one) have to be fought around five times with only small changes made such as a new move to counter or an environment change, so it can get fairly dull particularly that when “losing”, the fight continues with the boss gaining health. This is not counting the soldiers across the land which can at least be defeated easily or even before they are summoned in. By the end of the game I was bored of the combat, even if it's a good change and works quite well, there isn't much that differentiates the fights that makes it worth enjoying.
Platforming Hasn't Changed Too Much
I mean the controls are slightly different but the obstacles are mostly similar. The Prince can now slowly move down walls with his sword, quite satisfying to use if a bit useless as the classic fall and grab technique still works. The ceiling run is ridiculous but a cool concept, use the handles on the ceiling to go across pillar to pillar. I think that's a natural progression for The Princes moves, especially since wall running is a thing. Unless I'm forgetting something that's it really. Wall running, jumping onto things, hopping between beams, rotating the environment with levers all still exist and handle quite well.
In fact the environment is a lot easier with basically no deadly traps nor really any timed obstacles besides a few here and there. Why no deadly traps? Well as with combat, you cannot die from platforming. Falling off the edge or into corruption simply takes you back to the last safe spot you were at. I’m not bothered if a game is easier than the last entries, this doesn't impact my enjoyment out of a game but I think it hurt the game a bit. It limits what obstacles can be thrown at the game and I think, similar to the combat, repetition kicks in quite quickly and doesn't have anything new to challenge the player by the time they have finished the first boss. I guess that's the issue when you can pick the order of what you want to do, if there's nothing specific to a certain region then the moves become natural and there isn't much to spice things up.
Still the levels aren't bad by any means. Sections like having to slide and jump off an inclined platform or one of the four elemental pads that cause the duo to travel a great distance across the map was great though and did a fantastic job at making the moments that could be dull to travel a lot more enjoyable. There are a few puzzles about as well that made for nice breaks, would have been a bit better if there was one or two more but I'm fine with the number available.
The Open World
It’s decent. The freedom to pick which levels you want to clear first is enjoyable and each region of the world is fairly different from the others. I didn’t enjoy having to collect all the light seeds so that the next section could be unlocked. It broke the pace of the game where I had to go through previous levels again, for up to 20 minutes in some cases, to ensure that I have enough to make progress. I mean is it worth it? I feel like its unnecessary for padding out the game time and collecting anything after 540 (out of 1000 I think) is pointless. I do wish there was more interesting things going on in the world but I did appreciate the fast travel though, it saved a lot of time going between places to get to where I needed to go. Same with the compass ability, pressing a certain button summons some magic stating where the player needs to go. Quite useful, saved me going the wrong way a few times so I appreciate the feature.
Summary
A big change in the Prince of Persia franchise that bravely attempts a non-linear style with a refreshing new combat system. The first half might be enjoyable but the repetition may kill some of that within the second half.
Rating: 5/10
Update: I really need to play some bad games to bring down the 5 to 8 range at some point. We'll see if I ever do that! For now I'll jump to the last PoP game I own which is The Forgotten Sands. This one is a replay and I have a suspicion on what my opinion on it will be so it shouldn't take me too long. Thanks for reading the post!
3 Yrs✓#
Not_Connor3 Yrs✓#
15/09/25 - Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
Well that bold new direction for Prince of Persia didn't last very long.
Oh Yeah There Was a Movie
Development for the game began at the same time of Prince of Persia (2008) although this would act as a tie-in to the 2010 film "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time". I haven't heard much about the film, heard it earned a lot of money at the box office but the sequels were cancelled because it wasn't that good. So you'd think The Forgotten Sands would be similar to the film although it isn't. A delay in the film meant that the game could take longer to be developed so the team decided to return to The Sands of Time gameplay so that it can act as a return of the old and as "reboot of the series" (that part is a bit strange considering the game takes place between The Sands of Time and Warrior Within). The main version of the game (the Windows, PS3, and Xbox 360 version) was developer by Ubisoft Montreal and Ubisoft Singapore and still uses the Anvil engine that the previous game had. Ubisoft Quebec focuses on the Wii and PSP versions whilst Ubisoft Casablanca got to work on the DS version. There was even a browser version by Ubisoft Montreal and Explosive Barrel (a browser developer) which was used to promote the main game! Quite a few versions of the same game, but I'm focusing on the main one on the PC as that is the "official" one.
And despite all this, The Forgotten Sands would be the last PoP title for a while. I mean sure there were a few smaller titles for mobile devices but it wouldn't be until 2024 when a new main entry was provided (The Lost Crown). A game known as Prince of Persia Redemption was in the works although it didn't get as far as a concept. A shame it didn't continue as I'm certain there were more ideas to be had yet I think Ubisoft were more interested in the Assassins Creed franchise by that point, might as well go for that than a smaller franchise...
PoP-Lite Plot
The plot in itself is easily the most straight-forward one and has a bit of wasted potential. The story focuses on the Prince and his brother Malik attempting to fight off an invasion at a palace but, naturally, nothing goes to plan and the supernatural is unleashed by Malik in an attempt to halt the invaders. As with most PoP entries, the most interesting part is the dialogue between The Prince and another key character. In this case, I think it's done well with his brother but could have been explored a bit further, particularly towards the ending that felt quite sudden. The same goes for Razia as well, a queen within the spiritual realm whose just really there for progressing the story and some useful upgrades. The story itself is a classic "stop evil before it's too late", nothing too exciting but action-packed and engaging enough to keep going with it. I will say though, I can at least appreciate to a certain extent why The Prince became edgy by Warrior Within as it gives him a good reason for him to be angry. I'm not sure if the events of this story provides the entire reason but I can at least where the rage comes from.
Sand and Water
In terms of actual gameplay, it is indeed very similar to The Sands of Time trilogy especially with the first in the trilogy. The Prince can execute most of the moves with some decent precision such as the classic wall run, jumping, rolling, crossing beams and pillars, and the ability to rewind time using one of the sand tanks (which are now called energy slots). These work as strong as ever, precision can be a bit off sometimes so the Prince can launch off somewhere completely different but for the most part it's fast action with evading various traps which is what I want in a PoP game. This time around, The Prince does have a few extra abilities such as freezing water in place temporarily to navigate to the next section, the ability to have a massive leap if an enemy is on a far platform as a way to get that platform, and to restore a specific platform from the past to progress through an area. Interesting ideas, I especially like the freezing water on, it can leave to some unique ways of getting across rooms that didn't really happen in the past games. Restoration is a bit similar to the water and didn't really get the chance to shine but I'm alright with it, made for some intense platforming sections towards the end. The enemy leap is quite situational and just feels like one extra button to make progress, and it didn't give the enemies who could fire projectiles a chance to really be used as they were just bait for this. Despite the last part, I'm glad to see a strong platforming move set that compliments both the old and the new.
Basic Combat
The combat is a... hack and slash? No that's not right. It's true there are now a lot more enemies on the screen than every before, with around 20 enemies fighting the Prince at one time. But most of what made the combat interesting before is gone. No combos from Warrior Within, no teamwork like the self-titled, not even a deflect! It's simply either an attack, a power attack (which I rarely used) a roll to dodge, and an aerial attack from above. Now granted you can gain four additional powers to take out the enemies although I never used them as they were behind an upgrade system. I mean why should I gain extra moves when I can simply upgrade the damage and health of the Prince, it made the combat trivial by the end of the game. While I don't think the combat or simple XP system to unlock new moves is bad by any means, it does lack the enjoyment the previous combat systems had where it's more of a chore than an actual fight. The final boss at least shook things up a little bit and I do appreciate the variety of enemies for the 6 to 7 hour campaign the game had. I just wish there was more to it than that.
This image appears from the survival challenge mode. It's also a bit disappointing as not only is it very short and in a simple room, it doesn't even use all the enemy types in the room.
Still Sandy
The levels themselves, the music of them, the sound of them, the look of them, is hard to really talk about as it is simply the same style as before just with a bit of a polish. I mean it makes sense, if there's a movie coming out then keep it simple and try not to go too far away from the look that the franchise is now known for. I think the jump between the 6th and 7th generation was done quite well, it tends to capture what worked with The Sands of Time trilogy (ok maybe not so much Warrior Within) fairly well with the magic of the world and the fall of a kingdom. I think some of the feeling was lost with the jump though, colours don't tend to stick out as much as they tend to and there is a lot of greyish areas. Regardless, I do appreciate how well the game ran (on PC! the PS3 version I know has some graphical bugs) and the animation was fairly smooth throughout.
Summary
An underrated entry in the Prince of Persia franchise, the combat is a bit weak but it makes up for it with some new mechanics in its platforming and provides an engaging 7 hours of gameplay.
Rating:7/10
Update
I remember playing this game when I was a kid and I didn't really enjoy it then, I'm glad to return to it and find more enjoyment from it. The combat was what I expected but I'm grateful that the PC version is a lot smoother than the PS3 version and that the platforming was thrilling. Anyway, that's all I'm covering for Prince of Persia at the moment, I'll likely return to it at some point in the future but I'm happy to have played the games I had. It's an entertaining franchise with some mechanics you don't often see in platformers. I'll likely play some random games now just to mix things up a bit. Thanks for stopping by and reading :)
Well that bold new direction for Prince of Persia didn't last very long.
Oh Yeah There Was a Movie
Development for the game began at the same time of Prince of Persia (2008) although this would act as a tie-in to the 2010 film "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time". I haven't heard much about the film, heard it earned a lot of money at the box office but the sequels were cancelled because it wasn't that good. So you'd think The Forgotten Sands would be similar to the film although it isn't. A delay in the film meant that the game could take longer to be developed so the team decided to return to The Sands of Time gameplay so that it can act as a return of the old and as "reboot of the series" (that part is a bit strange considering the game takes place between The Sands of Time and Warrior Within). The main version of the game (the Windows, PS3, and Xbox 360 version) was developer by Ubisoft Montreal and Ubisoft Singapore and still uses the Anvil engine that the previous game had. Ubisoft Quebec focuses on the Wii and PSP versions whilst Ubisoft Casablanca got to work on the DS version. There was even a browser version by Ubisoft Montreal and Explosive Barrel (a browser developer) which was used to promote the main game! Quite a few versions of the same game, but I'm focusing on the main one on the PC as that is the "official" one.
And despite all this, The Forgotten Sands would be the last PoP title for a while. I mean sure there were a few smaller titles for mobile devices but it wouldn't be until 2024 when a new main entry was provided (The Lost Crown). A game known as Prince of Persia Redemption was in the works although it didn't get as far as a concept. A shame it didn't continue as I'm certain there were more ideas to be had yet I think Ubisoft were more interested in the Assassins Creed franchise by that point, might as well go for that than a smaller franchise...
PoP-Lite Plot
The plot in itself is easily the most straight-forward one and has a bit of wasted potential. The story focuses on the Prince and his brother Malik attempting to fight off an invasion at a palace but, naturally, nothing goes to plan and the supernatural is unleashed by Malik in an attempt to halt the invaders. As with most PoP entries, the most interesting part is the dialogue between The Prince and another key character. In this case, I think it's done well with his brother but could have been explored a bit further, particularly towards the ending that felt quite sudden. The same goes for Razia as well, a queen within the spiritual realm whose just really there for progressing the story and some useful upgrades. The story itself is a classic "stop evil before it's too late", nothing too exciting but action-packed and engaging enough to keep going with it. I will say though, I can at least appreciate to a certain extent why The Prince became edgy by Warrior Within as it gives him a good reason for him to be angry. I'm not sure if the events of this story provides the entire reason but I can at least where the rage comes from.
Sand and Water
In terms of actual gameplay, it is indeed very similar to The Sands of Time trilogy especially with the first in the trilogy. The Prince can execute most of the moves with some decent precision such as the classic wall run, jumping, rolling, crossing beams and pillars, and the ability to rewind time using one of the sand tanks (which are now called energy slots). These work as strong as ever, precision can be a bit off sometimes so the Prince can launch off somewhere completely different but for the most part it's fast action with evading various traps which is what I want in a PoP game. This time around, The Prince does have a few extra abilities such as freezing water in place temporarily to navigate to the next section, the ability to have a massive leap if an enemy is on a far platform as a way to get that platform, and to restore a specific platform from the past to progress through an area. Interesting ideas, I especially like the freezing water on, it can leave to some unique ways of getting across rooms that didn't really happen in the past games. Restoration is a bit similar to the water and didn't really get the chance to shine but I'm alright with it, made for some intense platforming sections towards the end. The enemy leap is quite situational and just feels like one extra button to make progress, and it didn't give the enemies who could fire projectiles a chance to really be used as they were just bait for this. Despite the last part, I'm glad to see a strong platforming move set that compliments both the old and the new.
Basic Combat
The combat is a... hack and slash? No that's not right. It's true there are now a lot more enemies on the screen than every before, with around 20 enemies fighting the Prince at one time. But most of what made the combat interesting before is gone. No combos from Warrior Within, no teamwork like the self-titled, not even a deflect! It's simply either an attack, a power attack (which I rarely used) a roll to dodge, and an aerial attack from above. Now granted you can gain four additional powers to take out the enemies although I never used them as they were behind an upgrade system. I mean why should I gain extra moves when I can simply upgrade the damage and health of the Prince, it made the combat trivial by the end of the game. While I don't think the combat or simple XP system to unlock new moves is bad by any means, it does lack the enjoyment the previous combat systems had where it's more of a chore than an actual fight. The final boss at least shook things up a little bit and I do appreciate the variety of enemies for the 6 to 7 hour campaign the game had. I just wish there was more to it than that.
This image appears from the survival challenge mode. It's also a bit disappointing as not only is it very short and in a simple room, it doesn't even use all the enemy types in the room.
Still Sandy
The levels themselves, the music of them, the sound of them, the look of them, is hard to really talk about as it is simply the same style as before just with a bit of a polish. I mean it makes sense, if there's a movie coming out then keep it simple and try not to go too far away from the look that the franchise is now known for. I think the jump between the 6th and 7th generation was done quite well, it tends to capture what worked with The Sands of Time trilogy (ok maybe not so much Warrior Within) fairly well with the magic of the world and the fall of a kingdom. I think some of the feeling was lost with the jump though, colours don't tend to stick out as much as they tend to and there is a lot of greyish areas. Regardless, I do appreciate how well the game ran (on PC! the PS3 version I know has some graphical bugs) and the animation was fairly smooth throughout.
Summary
An underrated entry in the Prince of Persia franchise, the combat is a bit weak but it makes up for it with some new mechanics in its platforming and provides an engaging 7 hours of gameplay.
Rating:7/10
Update
I remember playing this game when I was a kid and I didn't really enjoy it then, I'm glad to return to it and find more enjoyment from it. The combat was what I expected but I'm grateful that the PC version is a lot smoother than the PS3 version and that the platforming was thrilling. Anyway, that's all I'm covering for Prince of Persia at the moment, I'll likely return to it at some point in the future but I'm happy to have played the games I had. It's an entertaining franchise with some mechanics you don't often see in platformers. I'll likely play some random games now just to mix things up a bit. Thanks for stopping by and reading :)
6 Yrs♥✓#
Civilwarfare1016 Yrs♥✓#
This game is strange in that it felt like it started off life as a movie licensed game but then it got retroactively made into a midquel instead. It's probably why it never truly explained what caused the creation of the Dahaka and why the Prince at the start of WW is the way he is. It's a shame because it has the potentially to be a geniunely great story if they embraced the concept.
I do agree with most of what you said, I did like the freezing water ability and how it made for interesting quick thinking jumping puzzles. Combat is on the weaker side but it's still kind of fun. I just really wished they kept the attempt at combining platforming and stealth like Two Thrones did.
The game does have an interesting art style but that is weird thing with Ubisoft games. When it comes to visuals, their games deliver most of the time.
I pretty much enjoy all the PoP games Ubisoft has made. The series may have had a number of weak entries before SoT but generally speaking when the company makes a title in the series, they usually bring their A game.
3 Yrs✓#
Not_Connor3 Yrs✓#
Regarding the story, my guess is that they wanted to play it safe and keep it as one self-contained story. I do agree that having elements of the other games tying the overall arc together could have been a smart idea, but I'm guessing they just couldn't figure out a way to incorporate WWs story in a manner that feels natural. The abrupt ending feels like it was rushed in the story aspect also, really deserve a little more care.
I think for the stealth to work, the enemies would need to be changed as they are a little weaker in the game. Like one to three hits for most of them, and they only tend to spawn when the Prince reaches the platform and in large numbers at that. I would enjoy seeing that stealth mechanic reappear as it was a great mechanic in TT, but Forgotten Sands wouldn't work with it too well.
Good point with the art style and the franchise from SoT onwards. It's quite consistent in quality and each entry brings something a little different to the table. I hope a new 3D PoP appears in the future. Even if it doesn't polish up this story, I think it'd be cool to see what new mechanics could be brought up along with strong combat mechanics and to see it in a modern game engine, would be interesting to see what visuals will be brought in after a gap of around 15 years.
3 Yrs✓#
Not_Connor3 Yrs✓#
19/09/25 - Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask
Haven't been feeling the best this past couple weeks so I figured to play something I know about than something completely new.
Entering the Third Dimension
This puzzle game is the 5th in the franchise, taking place after the events of the 4th game The Last Spectre and the animated film The Eternal Diva (although both are only brought up very briefly in the games plot). It was originally going to be released for the Nintendo DS in 2010 but the introduction of the Nintendo 3DS along with the games released for that system led to the game being redeveloped so that it would be less "psuedo-3D" and more 3D. There isn't too much else said about the development besides that, seems they kept details vague until it was actually released.
A Non-Mystery Mystery Game
I'm going to get the biggest complaint I have about the game out of the way now, the story is very basic. I mean it's not a bad story by any means, just that it's quite predictable even very early on which leads to some of the more emotional scenes being less impactful and the third act being quite rushed out. The characters are strong though, even if a lot of development is given to Layton with his companions, Luke and Emmy, being kept to the side for most of the game. Sure, the plot does revolve around Layton quite a lot although I think they needed more time to shine, and to maybe add a few more twists that don't end up leading to cliffhangers for the next entry in the franchise.
Puzzles as Strong as Ever
It's hard to talk about the gameplay of the game as it's quite similar to all the Layton games before it. Good range of puzzles, both in terms of quantity and in style. The inclusion of an undo button (thank god!!!!) in certain puzzles made it easier to jot things down even if its style a bit awkward to use. A lot more trick questions this time around, quite sneaky but they all made sense. It didn't use the 3D as much as I thought, even the logical puzzles with 3D elements were mostly 2D on the bottom of the screen so at least turning the 3D on is completely optional. The minigames still served as a fun distraction as random as they are (training a rabbit to act?) and the hints were still plentiful and helpful in certain cases. I feel that if you've played a previous Layton game and enjoyed it, you should be right at home.
There was also, bizarrely, a long top-down action-adventure that was just randomly included in. I mean it had to be just to amaze people with its 3D. Or maybe its because they want to throw in more rpg-elements into the game. Either way it's quite out of place and goes on for far too long (about an hour). I don't mind elements like this, there was an ok horse chasing scene at the start of the game, but that outstayed its welcome and I was so glad when it was done. Bold attempt at changing the formula but a no from me. Another puzzle involves moving the 3DS about to access certain spots which is cool although it was a shame it was a one-off, could have been in a few more puzzles at least.
Moving Around Town
For the most part, it's a very similar style to the previous games with a few 3D tweaks here and there. Cutscenes are still in 2D for the most part which is great since that works a lot better in that simple format. The 3D models are fine for the most part, I'm not too off-put by them besides when they start moving about as it can look a bit robotic. The town itself is the usual wackiness with plenty of detail about to explore. Not only have they prevented spamming the whole area with the stylus thanks to a magnifying glass that lights up when something is present, but there are certain areas can be zoomed in to reveal another section. These sections don't appear much although I would like to see more of it in future games as it expands locations even more than just looking at a snapshot of each part of the area. The music and sound effects have barely changed, nothing wrong with that even if it could be slightly refreshing to hear something new occasionally.
Summary
Miracle Mask is a solid jump to 3D for the Layton franchise. Despite a weak story, it kept its identity quite well and embraced the new technology without it affecting the puzzles quality or its style. Worth a go if you've played any of the previous Layton games.
Rating 6/10
Update: A short review but that's what happens when things don't change all that much between the previous game and the current one. Can't exactly review all 150 puzzles otherwise i'd be there all day but it was a pleasant to return to the franchise, even if it is the weakest one so far in my opinion. I'll probably jump to Azran Legacy sooner or later but for now I'll give it a little break and see which game I should return to next. Thanks for stopping by!
Haven't been feeling the best this past couple weeks so I figured to play something I know about than something completely new.
Entering the Third Dimension
This puzzle game is the 5th in the franchise, taking place after the events of the 4th game The Last Spectre and the animated film The Eternal Diva (although both are only brought up very briefly in the games plot). It was originally going to be released for the Nintendo DS in 2010 but the introduction of the Nintendo 3DS along with the games released for that system led to the game being redeveloped so that it would be less "psuedo-3D" and more 3D. There isn't too much else said about the development besides that, seems they kept details vague until it was actually released.
A Non-Mystery Mystery Game
I'm going to get the biggest complaint I have about the game out of the way now, the story is very basic. I mean it's not a bad story by any means, just that it's quite predictable even very early on which leads to some of the more emotional scenes being less impactful and the third act being quite rushed out. The characters are strong though, even if a lot of development is given to Layton with his companions, Luke and Emmy, being kept to the side for most of the game. Sure, the plot does revolve around Layton quite a lot although I think they needed more time to shine, and to maybe add a few more twists that don't end up leading to cliffhangers for the next entry in the franchise.
Puzzles as Strong as Ever
It's hard to talk about the gameplay of the game as it's quite similar to all the Layton games before it. Good range of puzzles, both in terms of quantity and in style. The inclusion of an undo button (thank god!!!!) in certain puzzles made it easier to jot things down even if its style a bit awkward to use. A lot more trick questions this time around, quite sneaky but they all made sense. It didn't use the 3D as much as I thought, even the logical puzzles with 3D elements were mostly 2D on the bottom of the screen so at least turning the 3D on is completely optional. The minigames still served as a fun distraction as random as they are (training a rabbit to act?) and the hints were still plentiful and helpful in certain cases. I feel that if you've played a previous Layton game and enjoyed it, you should be right at home.
There was also, bizarrely, a long top-down action-adventure that was just randomly included in. I mean it had to be just to amaze people with its 3D. Or maybe its because they want to throw in more rpg-elements into the game. Either way it's quite out of place and goes on for far too long (about an hour). I don't mind elements like this, there was an ok horse chasing scene at the start of the game, but that outstayed its welcome and I was so glad when it was done. Bold attempt at changing the formula but a no from me. Another puzzle involves moving the 3DS about to access certain spots which is cool although it was a shame it was a one-off, could have been in a few more puzzles at least.
Moving Around Town
For the most part, it's a very similar style to the previous games with a few 3D tweaks here and there. Cutscenes are still in 2D for the most part which is great since that works a lot better in that simple format. The 3D models are fine for the most part, I'm not too off-put by them besides when they start moving about as it can look a bit robotic. The town itself is the usual wackiness with plenty of detail about to explore. Not only have they prevented spamming the whole area with the stylus thanks to a magnifying glass that lights up when something is present, but there are certain areas can be zoomed in to reveal another section. These sections don't appear much although I would like to see more of it in future games as it expands locations even more than just looking at a snapshot of each part of the area. The music and sound effects have barely changed, nothing wrong with that even if it could be slightly refreshing to hear something new occasionally.
Summary
Miracle Mask is a solid jump to 3D for the Layton franchise. Despite a weak story, it kept its identity quite well and embraced the new technology without it affecting the puzzles quality or its style. Worth a go if you've played any of the previous Layton games.
Rating 6/10
Update: A short review but that's what happens when things don't change all that much between the previous game and the current one. Can't exactly review all 150 puzzles otherwise i'd be there all day but it was a pleasant to return to the franchise, even if it is the weakest one so far in my opinion. I'll probably jump to Azran Legacy sooner or later but for now I'll give it a little break and see which game I should return to next. Thanks for stopping by!
3 Yrs✓#
Not_Connor3 Yrs✓#
27/09/25 - Snapbreak Bundle
As I wanted a little break from some of the longer posts/essays/blogs/ramblings, I decided to look through my free games backlog trying to find some games that I can put together in one post. To my surprise, turns out I have several puzzle games from the same publisher Snapbreak in my collection. Seems like an ideal time to post them! This post will cover the following puzzle games: Escape Machine City: Airborne, Boxes: Lost Fragments, Tiny Robots Recharged, the Faraway Trilogy and The Abandoned Planet.
Escape Machine City: Airborne
Most of these games were developer by Big Loop Studios who have appeared on this blog before with Doors Paradox. That was a nice little game that had a unique approach to the genre with its art style but had a weak plot and repetitive puzzles,
Anyway this one is pretty boring. This game focuses on a pilot sent on a mission to stop a flying ship carrying a city from crashing into another city. It’s a very one dimensional story, you may think it gets a bit more interesting with glimpses of machinery on the ship or pilots nearby being destroyed but it doesn’t really do much besides getting a brief acknowledgement from a voiceless radio at the start of each level. Talking about the levels, they are very straightforward. It may cause a bit of confusion if people are new to these sort of point and click puzzle games as the tutorial is very rushed yet it is almost mindless to complete the whole game. Get an item, use an item, and then either select the right number “hidden” in the room or select the right pattern. I’m not against games that don’t pose much of a challenge but I do see potential for it being more engaging and varied rather than similar repetitive puzzles I’ve seen several times before. I did appreciate it going a bit more 3D in parts even if it was brief. It looks ok, some technical glitches involving translucent plants (either that or they really need watering) but it is certainly having a mobile look to it. Overall, not exciting enough for new or veteran players of the genre.
Rating: 4/10
Tiny Robots Recharged
This one is a lot better, mostly because it has some personality in it. This one is certainly aimed more at kids, involving a robot attempting to defeat an evil robot who wants to control all the robots. It’s similar to Doors Paradox, 48 small levels that require a door to be unlocked by solving little logical puzzles and seeking out the correct objects. The puzzles were limited but scaled up nicely, also encouraging exploration with hidden batteries which keeps the robot charged throughout each level. No graphic issues seen here, even a robot doing some silly little moves at the bottom of the screen and short cutscenes which really made it feel more alive than Escape City ever did. Also I enjoyed the random Crossy Road style bonus game, cheeky little bonus. I wouldn’t say it’s at the same level as Doors Paradox, but this is a fun little 2 hours for kids who want to have a bit of a challenge.
Rating: 6/10
Boxes: Lost Fragments
It looked like a The Room copy going in and it was certain a The Room copy. But it is a good copy, they kept the main elements of what made that mobile game work with large opening boxes that combine switches, logical puzzles, and optical illusions all in one to create a decent replicated experience. The story is still weak though, one of those where its more of a setup for a sequel than an actual story. A few crashes occurred as well but each box was generally smooth to operate and the background music wasn’t too tedious to hear. Even if it doesn’t have much of an identity outside of it copying another franchise, it was still an enjoyable few hours and had some challenging puzzles.
Rating: 7/10
The Abandoned Planet
This is a sci-fi point and click with a 1990s art style to it. With all the games in this post, it's a short game with most of it coming from trying to figure out what item to use and where. It's quite responsive, hints are given at a generous amount and I like how things interact with each other to make progress. I think the puzzles themselves are a tad easy at times, ranging from completing themselves to just trying to find the right pattern. There were also random 2D moments which are more annoying than fun, even if it make it feel more of a movie at times. It did incorporate a journal, an item which holds cryptic clues for solving puzzles, quite well. Art style is fantastic, think it blends the 1990s and the genre quite nicely. The voice acting is pretty poor though, can't take the story (if the little amount of it) seriously in the slightest. Still a decent 4 to 5 hours with this, I'd be down to see a decent follow up (with improvements) which continues this story in the future.
Rating: 6/10
Faraway: Puzzle Escape
I was hesitant going into this one since reviews for this were minimal and ranging on the “ok” side on Steam. Adding to that, the game isn’t shown on the company website at all, almost like they are embarrassed by it. Even more surprising is that the fact that we are now focusing on different developers! This time it's focusing on Pine Studio who are mostly known for this genre of games besides a random FPS that combines Quake 3 and Super Meat Boy (their words not mine).
I wouldn’t say it was the worst game ever but it sure made me come close to quitting several times. This mostly stems from puzzles ranging from good to repetitive to why did they think it was a good idea? The worst ones tend to be quite vague with even the answer being a bit random such as ordering certain panels in a particular order twice with no identification it needed to occur twice. Some really questionable choices being made, along with the usual vague plot that tends to continue in the sequel rather than having enough to be interesting in the first part. Controls are also a bit awkward, certainly more of a mobile game which makes walking about quite surprising at all. Every area also has the same sort of sandy look to it, makes me wonder if they could have gone inside one of the several temples just to keep things a bit refreshing over the 18 levels. I think the directors cut adds a couple levels but they aren’t anything worth writing home about.
Rating: 4/10
Faraway 2: Jungle Escape
This one is slightly better than the sequel. Puzzles tend to be a lot less vague, relying more on logical problems on a 2D “screen” with hints nearby rather than going all over the map trying to identify what vague shapes are needed. It scaled up nicely also in terms of difficulty and scope, and I did enjoy seeing each level having more of an identity such as climbing up a tree or travelling through treetops. It’s far from perfect though, interactivity is still awkward especially when trying to climb obstacles or use a boat. A few more bugs this time around, causing me to exit and re-enter the game. If they gave this a little bug fix update, the only thing I could really complain about is the story as it doesn’t really make me care for it much at all. Regardless, a fine game and I’m glad to see it learnt from the first one.
Rating: 5/10
Faraway 3: Arctic Escape
I could say everything I said about 2 and say it here. Not as many bugs this time at least, interactivity is still an issue although isn’t as bothersome as the last one. The puzzles are the same level as the previous one albeit slightly more repetitive. The story ended in a decent way but lacked the punch I think it needed to prevent the final level from being the same as any other level. The terrain I’m mixed on as sometimes it has some good locations such as on a ship but other times it can get a bit too white so it’s a bit uncertain where I can go and where an invisible wall is impeding progress.
On the whole, Faraway is a decent puzzle trilogy, has some good challenges and a nice pace for an afternoon game but lacks some polish in its story as well as some of the graphics and bugs.
Rating: 5/10
Update
Similar to the Big Fish Studios bundle, there isn't too much substance to give a real deep dive into them, especially with games like Faraway where the third entry is very similar to the first entry and the second entry. I did find this bundle more fun than the Big Fish Studios one since, while it was mostly the exact same genre, it was presented in a variety of ways and art styles whilst just keeping to the same one. Not sure when I'll do another one of these bundles again but it'll be a bit I'm sure. For now I'll likely move onto a horror game as October is approaching. Thanks for checking this post out!
As I wanted a little break from some of the longer posts/essays/blogs/ramblings, I decided to look through my free games backlog trying to find some games that I can put together in one post. To my surprise, turns out I have several puzzle games from the same publisher Snapbreak in my collection. Seems like an ideal time to post them! This post will cover the following puzzle games: Escape Machine City: Airborne, Boxes: Lost Fragments, Tiny Robots Recharged, the Faraway Trilogy and The Abandoned Planet.
Escape Machine City: Airborne
Most of these games were developer by Big Loop Studios who have appeared on this blog before with Doors Paradox. That was a nice little game that had a unique approach to the genre with its art style but had a weak plot and repetitive puzzles,
Anyway this one is pretty boring. This game focuses on a pilot sent on a mission to stop a flying ship carrying a city from crashing into another city. It’s a very one dimensional story, you may think it gets a bit more interesting with glimpses of machinery on the ship or pilots nearby being destroyed but it doesn’t really do much besides getting a brief acknowledgement from a voiceless radio at the start of each level. Talking about the levels, they are very straightforward. It may cause a bit of confusion if people are new to these sort of point and click puzzle games as the tutorial is very rushed yet it is almost mindless to complete the whole game. Get an item, use an item, and then either select the right number “hidden” in the room or select the right pattern. I’m not against games that don’t pose much of a challenge but I do see potential for it being more engaging and varied rather than similar repetitive puzzles I’ve seen several times before. I did appreciate it going a bit more 3D in parts even if it was brief. It looks ok, some technical glitches involving translucent plants (either that or they really need watering) but it is certainly having a mobile look to it. Overall, not exciting enough for new or veteran players of the genre.
Rating: 4/10
Tiny Robots Recharged
This one is a lot better, mostly because it has some personality in it. This one is certainly aimed more at kids, involving a robot attempting to defeat an evil robot who wants to control all the robots. It’s similar to Doors Paradox, 48 small levels that require a door to be unlocked by solving little logical puzzles and seeking out the correct objects. The puzzles were limited but scaled up nicely, also encouraging exploration with hidden batteries which keeps the robot charged throughout each level. No graphic issues seen here, even a robot doing some silly little moves at the bottom of the screen and short cutscenes which really made it feel more alive than Escape City ever did. Also I enjoyed the random Crossy Road style bonus game, cheeky little bonus. I wouldn’t say it’s at the same level as Doors Paradox, but this is a fun little 2 hours for kids who want to have a bit of a challenge.
Rating: 6/10
Boxes: Lost Fragments
It looked like a The Room copy going in and it was certain a The Room copy. But it is a good copy, they kept the main elements of what made that mobile game work with large opening boxes that combine switches, logical puzzles, and optical illusions all in one to create a decent replicated experience. The story is still weak though, one of those where its more of a setup for a sequel than an actual story. A few crashes occurred as well but each box was generally smooth to operate and the background music wasn’t too tedious to hear. Even if it doesn’t have much of an identity outside of it copying another franchise, it was still an enjoyable few hours and had some challenging puzzles.
Rating: 7/10
The Abandoned Planet
This is a sci-fi point and click with a 1990s art style to it. With all the games in this post, it's a short game with most of it coming from trying to figure out what item to use and where. It's quite responsive, hints are given at a generous amount and I like how things interact with each other to make progress. I think the puzzles themselves are a tad easy at times, ranging from completing themselves to just trying to find the right pattern. There were also random 2D moments which are more annoying than fun, even if it make it feel more of a movie at times. It did incorporate a journal, an item which holds cryptic clues for solving puzzles, quite well. Art style is fantastic, think it blends the 1990s and the genre quite nicely. The voice acting is pretty poor though, can't take the story (if the little amount of it) seriously in the slightest. Still a decent 4 to 5 hours with this, I'd be down to see a decent follow up (with improvements) which continues this story in the future.
Rating: 6/10
Faraway: Puzzle Escape
I was hesitant going into this one since reviews for this were minimal and ranging on the “ok” side on Steam. Adding to that, the game isn’t shown on the company website at all, almost like they are embarrassed by it. Even more surprising is that the fact that we are now focusing on different developers! This time it's focusing on Pine Studio who are mostly known for this genre of games besides a random FPS that combines Quake 3 and Super Meat Boy (their words not mine).
I wouldn’t say it was the worst game ever but it sure made me come close to quitting several times. This mostly stems from puzzles ranging from good to repetitive to why did they think it was a good idea? The worst ones tend to be quite vague with even the answer being a bit random such as ordering certain panels in a particular order twice with no identification it needed to occur twice. Some really questionable choices being made, along with the usual vague plot that tends to continue in the sequel rather than having enough to be interesting in the first part. Controls are also a bit awkward, certainly more of a mobile game which makes walking about quite surprising at all. Every area also has the same sort of sandy look to it, makes me wonder if they could have gone inside one of the several temples just to keep things a bit refreshing over the 18 levels. I think the directors cut adds a couple levels but they aren’t anything worth writing home about.
Rating: 4/10
Faraway 2: Jungle Escape
This one is slightly better than the sequel. Puzzles tend to be a lot less vague, relying more on logical problems on a 2D “screen” with hints nearby rather than going all over the map trying to identify what vague shapes are needed. It scaled up nicely also in terms of difficulty and scope, and I did enjoy seeing each level having more of an identity such as climbing up a tree or travelling through treetops. It’s far from perfect though, interactivity is still awkward especially when trying to climb obstacles or use a boat. A few more bugs this time around, causing me to exit and re-enter the game. If they gave this a little bug fix update, the only thing I could really complain about is the story as it doesn’t really make me care for it much at all. Regardless, a fine game and I’m glad to see it learnt from the first one.
Rating: 5/10
Faraway 3: Arctic Escape
I could say everything I said about 2 and say it here. Not as many bugs this time at least, interactivity is still an issue although isn’t as bothersome as the last one. The puzzles are the same level as the previous one albeit slightly more repetitive. The story ended in a decent way but lacked the punch I think it needed to prevent the final level from being the same as any other level. The terrain I’m mixed on as sometimes it has some good locations such as on a ship but other times it can get a bit too white so it’s a bit uncertain where I can go and where an invisible wall is impeding progress.
On the whole, Faraway is a decent puzzle trilogy, has some good challenges and a nice pace for an afternoon game but lacks some polish in its story as well as some of the graphics and bugs.
Rating: 5/10
Update
Similar to the Big Fish Studios bundle, there isn't too much substance to give a real deep dive into them, especially with games like Faraway where the third entry is very similar to the first entry and the second entry. I did find this bundle more fun than the Big Fish Studios one since, while it was mostly the exact same genre, it was presented in a variety of ways and art styles whilst just keeping to the same one. Not sure when I'll do another one of these bundles again but it'll be a bit I'm sure. For now I'll likely move onto a horror game as October is approaching. Thanks for checking this post out!