Doctor Arcana and The Secret of Shadowspire

The sequel to The Cabinets of Doctor Arcana picks up from where the previous game left off with the storyline, but you can play this game as a standalone. You are now an Arcanum Initiate and Doctor Arcana has set you with a new mission of unraveling the mysteries of Shadowspire. There is more story this time around. I haven't played a ton of puzzle games, but this is a classic point and click type puzzle adventure in which you must find assorted clues and inventory to help you with the puzzles you'll come across. The puzzles range anywhere from super easy to diabolical. There are several genres represented: slider puzzles, jigsaws, word games, code cracking, Sokoban, Sudoku, mazes, logic puzzles, and what I'd call "can you follow the instructions". If you get stuck, there is a built-in walkthrough full of Doctor Arcana's biting wit and condescension, which I actually find rather funny. The Hint button is useless as it only highlights areas of interest and turns into a Skip button while you're in a puzzle. (And yes, Doctor Arcana will harangue you if you skip something. He views even your successful solves with disdain, but it kept me going.) There's a secret quest for the completionists to figure out. For me, this was a little more challenging than the first game, particularly the mazes. Don't know why, but those doggone mazes don't solve that easily and I'm usually OK with mazes. Lovely dark theme and soundtrack by Nox Arcana and bonus artwork to discover along the way. There is nothing truly gory or scary in the game, but there is quite a lot of occult imagery just in case that isn't your thing. Thanks devs for letting me beta test this. An enjoyable experience highly recommended for puzzle lovers.

[h1]CURSE THESE CONFOUNDING CONUNDRUMS, DOCTOR ARCANA! 🦴[/h1] [h3]The Keys To Success[/h3] I discovered my true destiny as a member of a secret society of magicians known as The Arcanum after solving a series of confounding conundrums and mind-boggling puzzles in [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/831070/The_Cabinets_of_Doctor_Arcana/]The Cabinets of Doctor Arcana[/url] Doctor Arcana may have been impressed with my skills, but I can assure you, he's not done toying with me yet! I must now venture to the Isle of Talos to resolve the secrets of an ancient tower known as Shadowspire, where I will be tasked with solving another series of confounding conundrums and perplexing puzzles...Hello... Is it me you're looking for? I'm not sure you picked the right apprentice for this job, boss; these puzzles are really tough. Maybe I should just back up slowly and...crap, the gate locked behind me! Okey-dokey, and we're moving forward!   [h3]I Think I Sprained My Conundrum[/h3] Is there a doctor in the house? These confounding conundrums are at every turn. Soooo many clues to decipher, and so many secrets to unveil. I am determined to prove my worthiness as a mere apprentice (since apparently I can't leave), so I delve deeper into the maze of corridors in this legendary castle.   [h3]The Amulet of The Arcanum[/h3] You begin your adventure into the abyss of darkness...er, I meant to say into your momentous journey...with only one possessed amulet...I mean possession, just one medallion, The Amulet of Arcanum. This is basically your carte blanche to deal with any situation that requires a VIP Wizard status. If all else fails, remain calm...and then throw the amulet at it.   [h3]If These Walls Could Talk[/h3] This legendary castle holds secrets of millennia...35 Secrets, to be more specific. The Star Icon located in the bottom right corner will keep track of all the secrets you find. Surprisingly, none of the random skeletons you encounter are considered a "secret," so just step over them and go about your business.   [h3]Wi-Fi Signal[/h3] These castle walls are pretty thick, not to mention it's out in the middle of nowhere so Google Maps is out of the question. Hopefully, you will find your way to The Sanctuary, where you'll find the Castle Map. The fact that it's still here after all these years tells me this was probably an issue for the above-mentioned skeletons.    [h3]Beauty Is In The Eye The Beholder[/h3] ...and trust me when I say there are a lot of "eyes" in this castle. Eye-Eye Captain. The Eyes Have it. E-eye, E-eye Oooookay. There's always time to enjoy the beautiful artwork throughout the castle. Seriously, pay attention to the artwork. They may have clues. Do I have to spell it out for you? The artwork has C L U E S. Besides, every painting you click on is added to the Art Gallery feature in the Extras menu.   [h3]Cheater's Compendium[/h3] If you find yourself hopelessly lost, there's always a comprehensive walkthrough...but don't let Doctor Arcana see you sneaking a peek; it makes him very sad. Who knows, maybe that's what happened to some of those skeletons? The mapless skeletons. Some call it cheating...tomato, potato, or something to that effect? [b]FYI:[/b] If you want to win the Master Award at the end of the game, do not use the Hint or Skip Buttons!    [h3]Gemstones & Door Conundrums[/h3] Every door in the castle requires a color-coded gem located nearby. After placing the gem, you'll be required to restore the mystical sigils. Hopefully, you have been paying attention to the clues hidden throughout the castle. If you have found the correct symbol, the image will appear in your Journal (bottom left corner); hovering the mouse over the journal will show you a reference picture. The goal is to swap and rotate each tile to restore the sigils. After restoring the image, you must enter the correct name according to the clues. At first, you'll just have to scroll through the alphabet; eventually, this will require using a cipher code.   [h3]Ebon Scrolls[/h3] The door puzzles are a walk in the graveyard park compared to the cabinet puzzles! Your mission is to find 13 Ebon Scrolls...it just had to be 13, eh boss? By the end of the game, you'll have developed a Love-Hate relationship with these maddening puzzles. They will test your patience; they will frustrate you. Some may even seem impossible to solve, but once you solve them, you'll feel like the world's best puzzle-doer. If you do choose to skip a puzzle, that will make you feel like a puzzle-don'ter, so just be a doer, not a don'ter. The skeletons prolly skiped the puzzles...just saying.   "𝖂𝖊 𝖍𝖆𝖛𝖊 𝖇𝖊𝖊𝖓 𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖆𝖑𝖉𝖊𝖉 𝖆𝖘 𝖂𝖎𝖟𝖆𝖗𝖉𝖘, 𝖂𝖎𝖙𝖈𝖍𝖊𝖘,  𝕬𝖓𝖌𝖊𝖑𝖘, 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝕯𝖊𝖒𝖔𝖓𝖘  𝕭𝖚𝖙 𝖜𝖊 𝖆𝖗𝖊 𝖒𝖊𝖗𝖊𝖑𝖞 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖔𝖓𝖊𝖘 𝖜𝖍𝖔 𝖞𝖊𝖙 𝖗𝖊𝖒𝖊𝖒𝖇𝖊𝖗 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖕𝖗𝖆𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖈𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖒𝖞𝖘𝖙𝖎𝖈𝖆𝖑 𝖜𝖆𝖞𝖘 𝖔𝖋 𝖔𝖑𝖉 𝖂𝖊 𝖆𝖗𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝕬𝖗𝖈𝖆𝖓𝖚𝖒"   [url=http://ugc.bigfishgames.com/profiles/8524-en_us/67741940/profile.htm] See my reviews for Big Fish Games -Pennmom36 -Top Reviewer- HERE[/url] [quote][quote][h1]MY REVIEWS[/h1] [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44227659/]Click HERE for more Reviews by Pennmom36[/url] [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/thewoodsforum]Click HERE to check out our Steam Group[/url][/quote][/quote] [quote][quote][h1]JOIN OUR FORUM[/h1] [url=https://thewoodsforum.boards.net/]Click HERE to check out The Woods Forum[/url][/quote][/quote]

This game keeps all of the ambiance and mystique of the first entry by Monolith Graphics, but with a slight increase in the puzzle difficulties. The story is just as you might expect, just as rich as the first and steeped in Gothic occult intrigue. Definitely one of the best in the genre, and one of my favorite games to date.

Great gothicc game with a yummy atmosphere! Puzzles were fun and kept me well engaged, though that might also have to do with the mystic ambiance the game sets up via rich visuals and music. It has maintained its cryptic theme from the first game very nicely. Great little ending <3 This game is awesome.

A gothic gem. If you like old-school puzzle games, this is right up your alley. But what makes it special for me is the eerie atmosphere. As always, Monolith Graphics is amazing, bringing us the best spooky treats.

What an absolutely brilliant game. A classic of the point and click genre, 2D prerendered slides with hotspots that lead to puzzles, clues, puzzles to solve to get a clue and of course opening doors. The puzzles have been seen many times in other games; sliding tiles, mazes, getting balls in holes, pushing buttons in the right order etc. etc. All done really well, a lot of patience is required with most of them. The clues range from straightforward to fairly hard to solve, Objects and clues that may or may not be useful (you won't know until you need one) are hidden all over and you need to scour every nook and cranny. I skipped two puzzles, a sliding tile maze where no overall view of the maze was available at any point, this became tedious, and a put the balls in the holes puzzle where I'd worked out the sequence and four times I got to the last few balls and managed to click the mouse at the wrong time, my fault entirely. I also found one small bug that I've put in the discussions. This game is worth every penny, it's a shame there aren't more devs working with this style of game.

Fantastic art and challenging puzzles - amazing game and I hope there's more to come

i wish this game was longer

Отличная игра!!! Рекомендую тем кто любит головоломки. Сюжет и атмосфера на точень высоком уровне. Будем ждать продолжения!!

best puzzle game ever!