Apothecarium: The Renaissance of Evil - Premium Edition

Apothecarium: The Renaissance of Evil is a routine mobile ported hidden object casual puzzle/adventure game with a alchemy/renaissance theme. Solving various puzzles and hidden object minigames progresses the plot and unravels the mystery. As with most mobile ported HOGs, there's a simplistic interface, locked/unchangeable screen resolution, next to no customisability, and somewhat low resolution graphical assets. All of this puts this game below minimum standards for a contemporary PC game. It's also reportedly extremely buggy to the point it simply can't be finished by some gamers. Once more we see greedy mobile devs trying to scam PC gamers. On Steam, this is $10, on app stores, it's completely free. Mobile devs must learn PC gamers are not here to be gouged, and can't be expected to pay money for a free mobile game just because it's been lazily dumped on Steam. This is unacceptable disrespect for PC gamers.

While this piece tries to do a fresh take on the HOG-puzzle genre, I personally think it was not executed well. What I really liked was the art style; it was fitting to the theme and there is a huge variety of different scenes for a HOG. However, the story that was supposed to accompany this brilliant art was not well-developed enough to be interesting; I had actually forgot there was a plot until I had read the synopsis of the game on Steam. Also, I did not like the shape-shifting feature that some items have; it made the HOG unnecessarily confusing as you would have to wait for the item to shift between forms to see if it was on the list. If you happen to miss its phase-shift, then you'll need to wait for its next phase-shift, which really ruins the immersion. Also, while the Match-3 feature was built as an alternative (and fresh) way to look for items in the HOG scenes, I feel it is gimmicky in nature and breaks the immersion of the already non-existent plot/story. Nowhere is it explained how the Match-3 minigame is tied to the mechanics of the story so it just feels out of place for me. Puzzles are alright, but frustrating since you either figure out how to do them yourself or you skip it entirely; there isn't like a feature where it briefly explains what you need to do to solve the puzzle. Overall, it was an adventurous effort with poor execution. I cannot recommend this.

Apothecarium is truly a mixed bag, and the reviews reflect this. On the good side, you have a rather interesting main plot which gets less attention towards the end than it deserves. The music is standard fare, and the graphics are well-done. The mix of shapeshifting and static objects during the HOG scenes added a bit of variation from the standard scenes. Additionally, the optional puzzles were challenging but fun. Unfortunately, the game also has a lot of drawbacks. Pixel hunting often affected gameplay, especially for objects too close to the pop-out coin bag at the upper right. Adventure puzzles were often frustrating enough to require the use of hints, and (while a neat idea) the hidden coins and store feature were essentially fluff. I can understand why a lot of people don't like this game, but it kept Rainbow and me entertained overall. Pass if you can't stand hitting the hint button. Otherwise, it's a good title to snag when on sale.

Things I did not love: * pixel-hunting in some situations to find the one correct one that will register the item I've found * the game penalizing me if I click too many times in the same area trying to find that one pixel * morphing objects in the hidden object puzzles. I get why it's done, I just don't dig it. * some of the puzzles were very obscure with the answers, others were so blatantly obvious that I was still stumped because how could the answer be that obvious. Fortunately, no penalizing usage of the hint button. Things I loved: * when that dopamine hit, it hit like it meant it. * I got to shoot down a(n unoccupied) hot air balloon, which I'd never realized was something I really wanted to do until now * badges.

Leider ist dies eines der SCHLECHTESTEN Wimmelbildspiele, dass ich je gespielt hab. 95% nur Schieberätsel, Tonnen an Übersetzungsfehler, vollkommen unlogische Aufgaben und die Geschichte kommt direkt aus der Hölle. Ich habe hier viele Hilfestellungen genutzt, da ich kein Bock mehr hatte. Weiterhin hat öfters das Menü gestreikt, oder ich konnte die Szene nichtmehr wechseln. Auch einen Crash gab es.

This captivating hidden object game combines mystery, adventure, and puzzle-solving. Explore beautifully detailed scenes, find hidden items, and unravel a dark story set in a Renaissance-inspired world. Engaging and immersive.

Giocato in Modalità Difficile (senza aiuto e persino senza spiegazione dei minigiochi), davvero bello e impegnativo: lo consiglio a tutti gli amanti del genere. Una menzione a parte alla grafica con i suoi stupendi e surreali sfondi. :-)

There are so many better HOG out there. This one is not worth the time.

The puzzles are meh at best, the logic between each puzzle element is so mediocre and so far fetched you will constantly need to rely on the tips. Like, for example, at one point, you need to break some glass. You have a perfectly fine hammer in your inventory but nope, you have to go play a few more puzzles to get... An even bigger hammer. Because a regular hammer just wouldn't do, apparently... Got a random Da Vinci invention reproduction? Good luck guessing where that goes...! And the cherry on top: I crashed the game so hard last night it won't even open anymore... So I can't even finish the goddarned game unless I wipe my saves (probably). Good job...

Be warned, you cannot change the language. I am forced to play it in German and it looks like it's been Google Translated. Item names are translated very badly, so youl'll spend ages looking for a thing that is not even there because of a bad translation. So be aware you are forced to play in a probably very bad translation if your system is set in one of the available languages.