Argonus and the Gods of Stone

When the creators of Shadowgate formed a new game development company 25 years after its 1987 release, they ultimately took to Kickstarter to ask whether anyone still remembered; if so, was there any interest in a re-imagined version of the game? Their query was met with unmistakable affirmation and some fanfare followed from fans of the classic adventure game, both at the announcement and the successful release of the new Shadowgate shortly thereafter. In stark contrast, Zojoi's brand new game, Argonus and the Gods of Stone, came as a whisper amid a cacophony of other releases and slipped by unnoticed, which is a shame because it's one of the more engrossing settings I've experienced in a genre sorely lacking notable new entries. An original story steeped in Greek mythos and expertly narrated aloud in epic verse by the muse Calliope, it is the tragic tale of a shipwrecked Argonus waking on unknown shores to a nightmare in which everything that could have possibly gone wrong has. Taking stock of his new surroundings, Argonus finds the ship Argo obliterated upon jagged rocks after its crew was lulled to the island by a lilting sirens' song—a song which can still be heard in the distance and that has ensorcelled a nearby colossus now towering 200-men-tall over the coast. More pressingly, his fellow Argonauts and the inhabitants of the isle have been turned to stone while he slept. It isn't long before the villain of Argonus and the Gods of Stone makes an appearance and those familiar with Greek fables have their suspicions confirmed, but how can a simple historian and mapmaker hope to face such horrors and live to tell the tale, and why was he alone spared? Fortunately for Argonus, the goddess Athena has taken a curious interest in the comings and goings of simple sailors and assists in guiding him to safety, assuring him he will complete his journey and meet his shipmates once again if only he trusts her. Along the way, Argonus encounters many well-known creatures from Greek mythology and must visit the temples of other deities and perform services in their honor in exchange for their favor, but what does Athena want in exchange for hers? Clearly, the story is surprisingly substantial and dwarfs that of Shadowgate, but what of the rest? Perhaps most notable is the absence of death and the time limits which once resulted in it; consequently, nothing in the game is missable and you can return to earlier areas at your leisure to find anything you've overlooked. Fans who loved Shadowgate primarily for its stressful, macabre atmosphere and brutal punishment of player failure may be disappointed in the highly forgiving nature of Argonus and the Gods of Stone; those who were scared away by the very same things will find it more approachable. Puzzles are quite logical and straightforward, and none are particularly cryptic; combined with the fact items are relatively few in number and show a special inventory icon when the correct solution to a problem, you'll never be tripped up for hours on a single puzzle. Admittedly, the game lacks some traits that made Shadowgate memorable but it is admirable the devs went into uncharted territory rather than merely mimic their previous formula for success. It's not particularly challenging, and does show its budget in some regards; it's a game I'd recommend playing for its story and immersive setting over its adequate puzzles. If you need complex, challenging problems to solve in your first-person adventures, don't value story or lore, and lack measurable interest in Greek mythology, you can skip this one; personally, I find great puzzles in the genre are easier to come by than even passable, bare-bones stories and dialogue, so Argonus and the Gods of Stone is a rarity whose worth lies in offering what others in the genre do not, despite being average at aspects shared by all.

Argonus and the Gods of Stone is just an awful game. I am so sorry ZOJOI that I am writing these lines but I just cannot do otherwise. I love Shadowgate and will love it to death but I just cannot recommend your Argonus by any means. First of all, this is not an adventure game, this is a walking simulator. If you expect devilish hard puzzles, deep gameplay or interesting story, you'll be sucked (thank you Tak Fujji from Konami's E3 2010 conference), because everything you'll get is hours of walking, listening to a narrator's voice when you click on an object, few trivial "puzzles" and an mediocre story about finding who and why have turned everybody on the island to stone. Well, it's Greek mythology, guess who can turn people to stone... For example, one of the gods will help you if you bring him a treasure stolen from him. It was stolen by a griffin sitting on a cliff nearby. The griffin does not want you to take it back, so you must do something. There is a spot next to him so you immediately know something must be put there. Ok, you need to look around. After a few meters you find a basket full of golden apples, so you put it on the place you have already found and voilá it worked. You had distracted him for a while and took the treasure. Bear in mind that that basket was actually a single proper thing you could find in this enviroment (well except a coin on a table in a house). And this is how the whole game looks. It is very schematic. You continuously open up parts of the island and every part contain the same mechanic. There is a temple of an ancient Greek god who will help you when first you help him and that's it. There is the first temple, Poseidon's, after helping you you will find Hera's and after the help you get from her you find another one and another. And every single one problem can be solved just like I described it in the previous paragraph. Solutions are literally just meters from your problem. So simple, so primitive, so straightforward. Graphics-wise the game is absolutely ugly. There are literally places without any trace of ambient occlusion or literally shadows whatsoever (mainly in buildings). Argonus looks like a late PS2 game and I am dead serious. Despite its awful visual you can sometimes experience framedrops, especially when there is running/splashing water in the scene. I met also bugs when I jammed and could not move anymore so loading my last save was my saviour. The best thing about this game is music, which it is not perfect tho. Rich, do you really thing every bloody track need to have a choir? I do not think so because due to this every track sounds like the previous one. But despite my nitpicking I enjoyed the soundtrack. The second best is the forth chapter, which finally contains something which can be described as a puzzle. There is a big maze with turnable walls that you can turn on special places and by doing this you can get to various new locations. In my opinion this is how the whole game should have looked like from the beginning. Oh boy, and what an ending. If you have managed to get everything you could (and I do not think this should be a problem), then the fifth chapter is literally about going from a point A to a point B and watching a stupid ending with your eyes wide open thinking "Is this really what I have been doing all the stuff for on the island? You must be kidding me!" Forget the brilliance of Shadowgate, Argonus is not an adventure game, this is a walking simulator pretending to be an adventure. What a shame. 3/10

This will not be a mega-detailed review, for I've only played the game for a relatively short time since purchasing it. But I give it a thumbs up so far. Here's why: -Unlimited saves. UNLIMITED SAVES. Did I mention unlimited saves? A godsend nowadays in the PC gaming world. -On my 4-yr old Dell XPS (Win 7, Radeon 7700) this game, even on maxed out settings and with a lot of environmental activity, seems to run very well. Pretty decent optimization even on my somewhat dated rig. And my guess is if you've got a better setup than mine (most people do), the game will run VERY well for you. -Great story line thus far. Admittedly I'm a real fan of mythology, and this game hits all the spots therein. -Beautiful narrator's voice, although it's a bit loud, with no way of separating/sliding a narrator's voice from the rest of the sound. I think I read the DEVs were going to look into this. -People have written that the control scheme (using KB/M) was a tad clunky. I personally don't think that's the case at all. There are also clear instructions for EVERYTHING (movement,interaction,etc) if you choose to read them. In-game help,easily menu-accessible. It's been a breeze for me to interact with the environment. -Beautiful soundtrack so far. -Lovely graphics, somewhat muted in color but still gorgeous, with an option of switching to "classic look" (which seems to be B/W, if that's your thing). Lovely water effects,too. -I personally LOVE adventure games that have open-ended exploration and less "fighting." I mean, you really,truly have to explore every nook and cranny and you can take your time doing so, because if you have to stop...UNLIMITED SAVES! (sorry did I mention that already...this feature practically makes me giddy). -Well worth the price point. I'm thinking of also purchasing the DLC (walkthrough and music and other goodies). -Adventure gamers? Lovers of Mythology? This game checks all the boxes in a satisfying way for me...and I've only been playing it for a couple of hours!

You are blinded by the sun as you awake on the beach. Slowly you lift your stiff body from the sand and look around. You recognize friends and members of your crew scattered all along the beach in frozen movement. When you step closer and touch Tiphys, helmsman of the Argo, you feel the cold, rough surface of stone. Everyone you examine is petrified. Only their eyes still seem alive. ‘Argonus and the Gods of Stone’ is a first-person puzzle game that takes you back to the year 1242 BC. You are a member of the Argonauts, sailors of the Argo, led by Jason to find the Golden fleece. In case you’re old enough you probably remember old Hollywood movies telling his story. And as in the movies the game portraits many of the famous creatures. Cyclops, one eyes giants. Gorgons, snake haired woman whose gaze turns you into stone. Sirens, luring nearby sailors to shipwreck with their enchanting music and singing voices. Harpyr, half men half bird. Hydra, dragon-like serpents with venomous breath and several heads, etc. Find out what happened to your crew. Serve gods by granting their wishes. Get carried by titans and make a deal with Charon the boatsman of the dead to enter the underworld. ‘Argonus and the Gods of Stone’ tells a wonderful story that perfectly fits into the canon of old Greek legends. The story is smart and highly entertaining, provided you have an interest in antique history and classic sages. The game is carried by brilliant music, highly professional voice acting, a relaxing, peaceful mood and an intriguing mythological story. The developers show courage in telling the tale the way they do. I liked the game very much because it’s more than you expect from an adventure puzzle game. [h1]Pros[/h1] - Thrilling mythological story - Top-notch voice acting - Brilliant soundtrack - Strong atmosphere - Peaceful, relaxing mood - Open world - Nice graphics - The game does a fantastic job in depicting antique mythical creatures. - Interact with several old Greek Gods - Interesting puzzles - Good controller support [h1]Cons[/h1] - Requires patience because you need to search the maps thoroughly - Technically demanding although the graphic is not exceptional - Graphic settings get lost after restart - Backtracking - I had some trouble completing all achievements because I simply could not find remaining items on the island.

Great "old style" point-and-click adventure. The game is all about exploring and solving puzzles. If that's what you want it's an entertaining game. Guess what: No action, no violence, lots of scenery and ancient Greek mythology.

I didn't like it. Some charming visuals can't save it from being a very slow paced walking simulator with bad puzzles. The puzzles makes no sense but the low number of items you can interact with still make it possible to get past them by trial and error. The game have some atmosphere but you can only see so many humans turned to stone until you stop caring and the world feels very static with all of its invisible walls holding you down. Perhaps the story will pick up later but so far the main character is completely lacking in character and very little has interested me. I am out.

I think it was 1998 and I was using a Mac computer at school in social studies class playing a video game that was "educational" but was a mini fmv game centered around Greek mythology. This game reminds me of that. Cool story all around and if you like Greek tales then you may like this. It can be buggy but worth a play through if you can get it on sale.

This is not an action game. No fighting or getting killed. It is however a gorgeous game that lets you slow down and look around at your own pace. It is one of the most visually pleasing game I have ever played. I LOVED not having to worry about fighting, dying, and then starting over and I learned so much. I know a lot of people enjoy a fast paced game, but it is worth a try. You deserve a game that calms down your mind and truly lets you relax and enjoy yourself. It feels a lot like Call of the Sea, without the puzzles. I loved it and have put it in my top games I have ever played. I cannot recommend it enough.

A really fun first person puzzle game. The story was extremely enticing, containing all the beloved creatures from the Greek stories. The puzzle are not hard, I found trying to get all achievements to be harder...as it should be.

Totally a hidden gem! Greek Mythology has rarely been a theme in games which might be why Argonus and the Gods of Stone has never gathered much attention it really should have deserved, let alone First-Person-Puzzle-Adventures are also quite few on the markets. The story is interesting and how it delivers it with many encounters with various of mythological gods, titans, deities and creatures is really crafted with passion and while I am not an expert of ancient tales and plays I got a feeling that the makers have done good job adapting stories and mixing them together into entertaining experience. The puzzles were challenging, but I rarely found myself stuck and moreover there is some secret places and things in the game that you might miss even if you completed the story - the achievements are good meter to determine how many things there is yet to be found. The game has wonderful graphics, musics are decent and voice acting is great! Gameplay works fine with a good inventory system and only thing which was bugging me was that the moving was partly limited and while environment seems totally open you can't go jumping around and see the island all the way through - actually there is no ability to jump. Anyway Argonus atGoS is charming game and it might be that only Zeus knows why reputation has not favored it, but yet again so many good games come and go unnoticed. Might be a little bit steep buying it on its full price but less than ten bucks easily worth of the money.