Awakening: The Sunhook Spire Collector's Edition

[b]Awakening 5: The Sunhook Spire[/b] (IHOG) [i]This is the beginning of a new storyline[/i] Options include Full-screen, Custom Cursor, Achievements Notifications and separate sliders for Sound, Music and Voiceovers. Choice of Relaxed, Normal or Dreadmyre! mode. The Steam overlay does not work with this title. [b]Story[/b]: In the previous game, Sofia completed her journey at long last, and reunited with her people. Her parents were cursed in the process of helping her, making Sofia queen of the kingdom. Tirelessly, she searches for a cure, but is beset upon by brigands as she begins her new quest. NOTE: The game's store page description says it's been 1000 years of separation, but - based on the previous games in the series - it's actually been 100. The story progresses via short cutscenes, memory basins and books/diaries that you discover as you progress. Our [b]Journal[/b] has a new tab in it this time, giving us tabs for Goals, Story and Collectibles. If you hover your mouse over one of the symbols on the Collectibles page, it will show you where you found that collectible... Provided that you've found it, of course ;) There's not a whole lot of story added to the Journal, although the early pages will give us an overview of the first four games. In this game the Goals tab gives us more story and fewer hints than in previous installments. [b]Gameplay[/b]: Be on the lookout for "strange bells". These [b]morphing items[/b] can be found on each scene. Our [b]MAP[/b] offers us instant-transport, but each chapter is confined to a small enough area that "hoofing it" is not a big deal... Besides, it gives us an extra chance to look at all of the lovely scenery! Using a [b]HINT[/b] during the adventure portion of the game will either pinpoint something or give us specific instructions from our Owl companion (aka hint button). There is no directional hint. Speaking of companions, our lovely little pocket dragon is once again along for the ride, and he even gets an upgrade of sorts. I'll leave it at that, since I don't want to add any spoilers. ;) The Hidden Object Scenes are beautifully-varied, ranging from slightly to very interactive. The first one that you do is placing items back in the scene, but with a twist... I enjoyed figuring out what I needed to do. Other HO types include find-by-list, solving riddles and more! The [b]Mini-games[/b] were interesting and fun to do... I think that I only skipped one in the whole game, and that one was because I got pulled away from the computer. There are very few "been there, done that" puzzles. My one and only gripe with the game is that it is sometimes a bit finicky with the placement of items, so if you think you've got the right solution, just try again! [b]Sights and Sounds[/b]: Where to start... ? The cutscenes and narrator are just as good as in the previous games, the voice-overs are very good and the SFX/Music are excellent. The graphics are gorgeous, immersing you in a lovely world that is nonetheless fraught with peril. I loved the colorful cast of characters and their design as well. I'd love to have a wallpaper of just the people that you meet as you play (except for the antagonists - I can do without them. lol~) [b]CE Content[/b]: [list] [*]Integrated Strategy Guide (Accessible via the Menu button) [*]Bonus Chapter [*]47 Morphing Items (one at each location) [*]15 in-game Achievements [*]15 Cutscenes [*]7 Wallpapers [*]6 Music Tracks [*]6 Concept Art, which change as you mouse-over [*]10 Glassworks [/list] The Glassworks are stained glass-type puzzles, and you'll do some of this type during the main game, as well. These are absolutely beautiful, and I really enjoyed them. I'd buy a game just of these glassworks... Oh wait, I already did! It's called [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/511470/Glass_Masquerade/]Glass Masquerade[/url]! The difference is that the glassworks are less complex, and you will only be able to see three pieces to place at any given time. Less complex, but no less fun! [b]Bonus Chapter[/b]: The Bonus Chapter is a great big setup for the next game in the series, [i]The Redleaf Forest[/i]. It's just as lovely as the rest of the game, and I'd say a bit more difficult during the adventure portion, due to the nature of the environment that you're in (no spoilers!) The gameplay is just as good and just as fun as in the main game, and I think it took me an hour and a half to complete. Although this is a new storyline, there are a few moments - [i]especially[/i] in the bonus chapter - that it will help if you've played the previous games in the series. [b]Verdict[/b]: [i]Awakening[/i] is an absolutely delightful series to play, with beautifully-balanced gameplay, great audio and visuals, and above all else, truly fun gameplay. [i]The Sunhook Spire[/i] is no exception, and is highly-recommended along with the rest of the series!

Graphic in this game is simply amazing. Music is nice and don't disturb the player during game. Mini-games are challenging and like whole game fun to play. Pros: + great story + well made hidden object scenes + voice acting + fast travel map Cons: - steam overlay doesn't work [i] I enjoyed this game and I love it just like other games in this amazing game series. [/i]

Excellent Story - The whole storyline is involved and on-going and you feel part of the play, not just clicking away!

Out of the entire series, I think this is by far, the best installment. The plot flowed quite smoothly, and I think this was the peak of the art style, where unlike the final installment, reused assets from the previous games didn't stand out like a sore thumb. Only problem is the puzzles are a downgrade compared to the rest, most definitely. Some are a lot easier compared to other games, and others are way too arbitrary to figure out properly.

This is the point in Awakening series where the gameplay starts to focus more on the point'n'click aspect, rather than hidden object scenes and puzzles. There are still plenty of those of course, but I like this shift in gameplay, and I would say the difficulty and fun is again perfectly balanced in The Sunhook Spire. I love the visuals, same as with the other games in this series, and this time the environment is more exotic, oriental and focused on magic, mysticism and the elements, which I find refreshing and captivating compared to the basic fantasy & fairytale setting of the rest of the series.

This is [I]Awakening[/I] #5, and while it carries over a few annoyances from #4 the complete experience is enjoyable enough that I'm recommending it. There's not a lot to say if you've been following the series until now. Graphics are beautiful and the characters are entertaining. The story arch, though, has overstayed its welcome at this point and is definitely treading water. This might be the least interesting story in the series thus far. But the puzzles are mostly fun, some quite challenging indeed.

The fifth game in the [i]Awakening[/i] series. It picks up right after where the bonus chapter of the previous game ended. As is usual for games in this genre, and especially this series, the artwork shines through with lovely, detailed backgrounds and colorful characters. The music is soft and relaxing and compliments the pace of the game. The puzzles aren't very difficult, though there are some that elicit a little bit of thought. I had to restart in the last half of the game, however. This was caused in chapter 4 in the galley cabinet by clicking while the hidden object puzzle was going through its ending animations. The click exited from the zoomed-in screen, and I was unable to get back into the puzzle again to pick up some crucial items. It's possible that there was a specific area that needed to be clicked as some of the interaction points in other areas were not exactly on the item, but all of the clicking that was done did not bring me back into the area where the items were located. Thankfully, it didn't take long to get back to the troublesome area. Recommended overall, but with the caveat to look out for that troublesome area.

Episode 5. Ça devient vraiment difficile. En bonus, en plus d'un chapitre "avant-gout" de l'épisode suivant, des puzzles "vitrail à reconstituer".

Хорошее продолжение, паззлы, как по мне, стали лучше. Осталась одна часть плюс приквел.

Im fünften Teil wird Sophias Geschichte weitererzählt. Es ist wie immer toll erzählt, hat einen Strategy Guide, falls man mal stecken bleibt (was mir das ein ums andre Mal passierte), die Grafik ist super, das Gameplay macht Spaß. Absolute Empfehlung!