Dead Link: Pages Torn

Except for the price, everything in [i]Dead Link: Pages Torn[/i] can be categorized as “average” and even that is in most cases an overstatement. For $8 you get a (barely) 2h game with a rather lame and cliche story, poorly explained puzzles, buggy achievements and few other elements that clearly don’t belong in a HOG. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1978727267 You play as Ellen, a book author who visits her sister Amanda, in hopes to find an adventure that could make a good story and overcome her writer's block. Upon arrival, she finds a dead body in front of the manor’s gates, and after a bit of investigation with a flashlight, she concludes it’s Amanda. We are led to believe this until the very end of the game, when (unsurprisingly) it is revealed that the person was not Amanda, which opens up the question: “how difficult is to recognize your own sister, especially since you can shed light on her face and see her features clearly?”. HOG players are certainly not that gullible, but this huge plot hole simply invalidates the whole story (at least it did for me). The second and maybe even a bigger disappointment related to the story was the fact that Ellen actually ends up killing one of the villains (this is done as a result of solving an innocent puzzle) and the game can’t progress without doing it; regardless of whether they deserved it or not, I highly doubt that conscious manslaughter as a revenge should ever be a part of any HOG adventure. As if the story was not bad enough as it is, the hidden object scenes have objects that stack in front of each other (covering the one in the back completely) and this is not at all highlighted in the item list. In other HOGs, when an object is contained in a non-visible location (a bag, a drawer), the name of the item is marked with a different color, but in [i]Dead Link: Pages Torn[/i] you can end up spending minutes trying to find that object only to see that it becomes visible only if you find something else first. With this huge design flaw, good luck getting the “Insanely quick eye” achievement (“Solve all HOs under two minutes”) on your first playthrough. And speaking of that together with the “Insanely fast thinker” achievement (“Solve all mini-games under two minutes”), why is it necessary to have such a hardcore time pressure in a casual game (even if it’s meant for achievement purposes only)? https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1978727432 The game offers 3 difficulty modes, however the “Normal” and “Expert” difficulties are quite similar (assuming that you play without skipping and using hints): you won’t have custom cursors when mouseovering an item you can interact with, you won’t have sparkles to indicate the HOG scenes. On “Normal” mode there is a map available at least, and that permits fast travel, while on “Expert” you’ll spend a considerable amount of time endlessly clicking a scene and going back and forth through several locations between the town and the manor. And to end this rant on a positive note: the art is pretty enjoyable, all the dialogues are voiced (which is a nice addition) and quite well done, with a (more or less fake-ish) English accent… but is this enough to warrant an $8 purchase? I’ll let you decide on that. [quote]More reviews on the [url=http://store.steampowered.com/curator/11354094]Lilly's Corner Curator page[/url][/quote]

[h1]Introduction[/h1] This shall be my fourth Steam review for a Hidden Object Game and I really was in the mood for a decent brain teaser. Dead Link: Pages Torn did not disappoint in this regard, even if it’s a bit on the short side. The game’s been developed and published by Steam veterans, phime studio LLC. They’ve released a few platformers over the years and also Showing Tonight: Mindhunters Incident, their debut as far as adventure games are concerned. So Dead Link is the end result of an experienced team which didn’t settle for a singular topic or genre. [h1]Story [/h1] I always find it funny how every single HOG in my collection has to contain supernatural or esoteric themes. Even titles from the Sherlock Holmes series seem to fall into this chasm of stereotypes. But hey, it’s not zombies at least. Originality aside, you get a story that focuses on a novelist’s efforts to find her missing sister while also looking for motivation to keep on writing. It starts quite promising but the plotline never shakes off the feeling of déjà vu. Dead Link: Pages Torn is quite predictable unfortunately and nearly all NPCs which shall interact with Ellen Grace, our protagonist, seem to hide something or simply act strangely. The game’s action takes place in the English countryside in a fictional coastal village called Whitechurch. In reality there are a dozen Whitechurches in the UK, yet none of them are so close to the seaside. So don’t expect historical backgrounds or photorealistic locations. The Grace Manor and nearby surroundings shall be available for exploration but you probably know by now that most HOGs involve static 2D imagery, perfectly fitting for the point and click subgenre of adventure games. Dead Link is no different and the search for Amanda shall force her sister to solve all manner of puzzles while running errands for equally shifty individuals. What starts as a conventional “whodunit tale”, quickly derails towards themes that neither use nor require much logic in the narrative thread. The characters’ monotone speech doesn’t help much either and no, they’re not under a trance, sadly. At least that would have explained their odd behavior. Considering that you can wrap up this story in under two hours if you skip any puzzles (I obviously didn’t), the narrative leaves much to be desired in terms of sheer length and replay value as well. [h1]Graphics[/h1] Unity Engine is powering Dead Link and that becomes apparent since it automatically scales to your monitor’s native resolution in spite of what the Options has to report. So I was pleased to run the game in 4K resolution without having to fiddle with its executable or Steam launch options. Also, there are several puzzles rendered in 3D which involve more interaction than their 2D counterparts since you’ll also have to rotate them, not just click here or there. A nice touch indeed. Nearly 30 locations to examine, both indoor and outdoor. So at least you can’t complain of being limited by the size of the crime scene/lingering mystery. Even the aforementioned static scenery is skillfully drawn, colorful and highly detailed as the situation demands it. You can’t have interactive hidden objects within poorly drawn backgrounds, now can you? [h1]Audio[/h1] I guess that I should be grateful that there’s voice acting for all the character interaction within Dead Link: Pages Torn. British accents and all that jazz (the soundtrack is quite good actually), yet all NPCs showcase stiff animations and their voices seem to have been inspired by folks who had just awoken from a coma. It’s not a big-budget adventure title and I’m fully aware of that. For all its flaws and qualities, the sounds are adequate enough. Just don’t expect any enthusiasm from those hapless locals which seem to be even less content about their current location than Ellen herself. [h1]Gameplay[/h1] The gameplay section had to be the title’s saving grace, right? And rightfully so, since most HOGs compensate their dreary stories with some well-planned puzzles along those titular hidden object segments. Dead Link has a much needed diversity from this perspective. Anything from simple chromatic-based puzzles to classic card games and more challenging mysteries that involve quite a bit of backtracking in order to assemble a single item from several pieces scattered around Whitechurch and the Grace Manor. As boring as the dialogue may have been, I was properly entertained by mixing items, finding new clues and solving the main mystery at a steady pace. I had my doubts and I eventually found proof. Don’t expect me to spoil anything about the complexity of the puzzles or the game’s plot twists and conclusion. Suffice to say that Dead Link redeemed itself in my eyes by the time I had finished it. [h1]Verdict[/h1] While not the lengthiest or most complex narrative-driven experience, I had to admit that Dead Link: Pages Torn had still accomplished its intended task without any difficulties. Already featuring Steam Achievements and with the promise of future inclusion of Trading Cards as well, the title is already decently priced and it should naturally function on most PCs and laptops, regardless of their system specifications. If you’re a fan of this genre, you don’t need much more “encouragement” from me. [h1]Strong Points[/h1] + Pleasant graphics. + Steam Achievements. + Excellent mix of puzzle types and challenges. [h1]Weak Points[/h1] - Relatively short story with many clichés. - No Steam Trading Cards yet. - Monotone voice acting. [b]Rating 70/100 [/b] [quote]This review was submitted for [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/elitegives]Elite Giveaways[/url], through the generous contribution of [url=http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198072046666]LyndaSmiles[/url] and the Steam Curator Connect program.[/quote]

I recommend this game. But, it's complicated, of course. I'm a Hidden Object Game (HOG) junkie, so I've played just about all I can lay my hands on. This game is published and developed by phime studio, LLC, which makes it a maverick and challenger to the dominant publisher in the field. I'm so grateful to have those, so I'm biases from the start. The plotline itself appears to have been truncated a bit -- they wanted to add more to the plot, but... time/budget pressures are always a thing. Still, its a decent plot. The 2D graphics are quite good and I enjoyed the scenery quite a bit. The "find the X key to open the door" puzzles were decently connected to the plot (in direct contrast to AM's recent release where it felt utterly random). The "current goal" and hint systems work well to keep you on task. For at least the first half of the game, it is very linear -- you can't pick up items that aren't directly related to your next task. No inventory full of 12 objects that have no current use. The 3D graphics and animations aren't (in most cases) up to the quality of the dominant publisher's quality, but they work just fine. There's a few exceptions where I thought the 3D/animation was really good (water effects). The music was pretty good, though a bit short, which can make it repetitive. The puzzles were good -- a few new things for the HOG junkie. Nothing terribly difficult. The game engine is similar to AM's engine, but not as polished, which is to be expected. But anyone who has played this type of game before will be instantly familiar with the interface. The Hidden Object scenes were good. I'm sick of AM playing with the format of them, so I'm quite happy that phime studio kept to the basics. It's a bit short, I completed it in 3.2 hrs. Still, refreshing to see a new HOG game from phime.

[i][b]Dead Link: Pages Torn[/b][/i] is a fair casual HO Game. It has a decent storyline, set in the detective field (a young writer investigates her sister's vanishing). The plot is realistic (no zombies, no monsters, no vampires.. no fantastic or magical creatures) and the characters are plausible. Graphics and soundtrack are ok. Voice acting too. By the end the music started to feel a bit repetitive .. but it might be because I had to run through the whole game [u]5 times[/u], only to get the "Insanely Fast Thinker" achievement. That was somewhat tedious but aside from that I fully enjoyed my 1st playthrough. The gameplay is nice and the game has a good pace. There are many outdoor and indoor locations to visit, which lead to several back and forth, but the game provides a map allowing fast travel from a scene to another. This map also shows locations with available actions (that function is not available on Expert mode). No pixel hunting during HO Scenes.Those are relaxing. No hard puzzles / mini-games.They are rather easy. The whole game is quite short though. It can be completed in less than 2 hours. I'm glad I got it on sale. I spent 10 hours or so on it but only to do the same things 5 times (since I hate giving up on unlocking an achievement). I nevertheless do recommend this game, especially to beginners or to gamers who are not familar with this kind of games, it's a perfect and nice way to be introduced in the HOG genre. Confirmed HO gamers looking for challenges might be disappointed, but if looking for a casual game [i][b]Dead Link: Pages Torn[/b][/i] can be a good match. It's worth a try !!

I can't really recommend this game. There are several flaws: - The animations are not very good (although, to be honest, most of the HO-games have animations that look rather bad, imho). - The puzzles are laughably easy and pose no challenge at all. This isn't handholding players, it's pointing them almost directly to the solution. - A few times the item one needs is almost in the same location where they are needed. Again, far too easy to solve things. - The shortcuts via the overview-map don't always work very well. When one is in the wrong area (inside the house, for example), and the next action is needed somewhere outside, it seems that one has to walk outside first (to see the map belonging to it and the exclamation mark). - The story is horribly simple and doesn't make much sense. And the female protagonist must be the dumbest "detective" in the world. The story and the villains are recognizable from a mile away and her acting suprised about what happens is ridiculous. Plus, there's at least one occasion where you have to really question her sanity (opening a door when she knows there's a flooeded room on the other side). - The kind-of-philosophical ending with her gaining trust in herself doesn't make much sense. It looks as if it's being shoehorned onto the player without much reason. - Game is too short. All in all I didn't enjoy playing the game, mainly for the lack of any challenge and the (sorry to say that) dumb female protagonist.

I'm a huge hidden object games fan and compared to the other titles I have in my library, this is not one of my favourites. The storyline is okayish - the developers went with a more realistic storyline than the normal fantasy storyline one would associate with this genre. The story however did not really grab my attention, which is possibly due to the voice acting of the characters. I found myself switching off the sound and reading the subtitles rather than playing with the sound on. The game is also fairly short and the puzzles are relatively easy for the genre. I did find myself stuck on one or two puzzles but this was more due to the instructions not being very clear rather than the difficulty of the puzzles. All in all it's definitely not one of the worst HOG out there - it just isn't one of the best either. It's average. If you are a hardcore HOG fan, this might not be the best fit for you but if you're new to HOG, it's a good introduction to the genre. (I'm only not recommending this game because there isn't an 'average' option on Steam and like I said at the beginning of this review, it's not one of my favourites in my library.)

I recommend this game. It has an interesting plot, a mix of thriller and crime investigation. The game isn't too long, but will give you several hours of gameplay. The visuals and audio are satisfying, nothing too much spectacular, but serves the story just well. The puzzles and other challenges are not too hard, could say it is right in the middle. I guess it is the matter of personal flavor. The game has a fair amount of puzzles, and "slightly enriched" hidden object scenes, which are most of the time related to the item you have to achieve (not much of really "random" hidden objects). One suggestion - the game could use some sort of stats, so the player knows where is he/she in terms of progress of the game, as well as how far the player is from certain achievement.

I recommend this game. The scenes are painted well, and the atmosphere is great. There are all kinds of scenes, both indoor and outdoor, so the playing area is well "rounded". Soundtrack is good and although there aren't that much dialogues in the game, the voiceover serves the purpose well. The storyline and the puzzles are blended well, and very few puzzles are out of the context - everything you do serves the story. The game has realistic setup, and there are no elements of fantasy, but the puzzles still give great variety of challenges. The plot is good, and it keeps your attention well until the end, I won't tell much because of the spoilers, but the only thing I could wish is if the game was a bit longer. But at no moment you go on "autopilot" just doing stuff for the sake of it - the plot just keeps you occupied at all times. Videos are ok, nothing spectacular, but since this is the thriller, they also serve the purpose well. Pro: Great storyline, pleasing audio and solid visuals Con: Length - an extra chapter would be just fine

I cant open anymore, someone can help me? I always receveid the same message " dlpt . exe is not responding ' I hope someone can answer me because if i cant play anymore i cant like a game like that.

It would be a good game if it worked i played it 4 times,then it stoped working hasnt worked again the game wont connect to the internet or anything I bought it on january 7 2017.I cant get my money back or another games or anything done about dead link:pages torn