Story/Plot:
In Haunted Hotel: The Axiom Butcher, you take on the role of a detective who is summoned to a hotel which was the site of killing ground of a serial killer, The Axiom Butcher. As soon as you cross the threshold, people start dropping like flies. Are they dying by the ghost of the serial killer or is there another explanation? It is up to you try and catch the killer while saving the the lives of those around you.
I guess the story is serviceable enough, but you can tell I found it very lackluster. I mean, at least other Hidden Object Games make you care, but most of the characters only speak a few lines before dropping dead.
There is a bonus story if you complete the main game, one where you come back to the hotel yet again, this time to deal with a ghost. This got me thinking of how cheap was the damn hotel going for that it was bought a third time after two serial killers wasted a bunch of people there? Other than the location, the bonus story really doesn't do anything with the main game.
Visuals:
The visuals are serviceable enough, but you can tell this game was made on the cheap as there just aren't that many locations to go to. I will say I did like the outside/snowstorm effects at the very start, and the developer could have made more use of them.
The character models are alright, but when the make them speak or move, they are essentially like paper dolls. For smaller indie devs, this would work fine, but all it does is help give the feel this game was copied from other ones to just save time.
Gameplay:
As a Hidden Object game, gameplay consists of three main elements. The first is Hidden Object Screens, pictures where you must pick items out of a list, causing them to disappear. Once they are all gone, you are give another item that goes into your inventory. There is some variation here such as matching pairs hidden behind objects, multiple steps, that sort of thing.
The second element is minigames, mostly logic puzzles. You might have to move numbers on a clock or connect up wires that sort of thing.
The third element is point and click. You are given an inventory, and those items can interact with various screens, allowing for further exploration.
This is also the point where the game is weakest. Why is that? Elephant Games is lazy. Just like other games they did, they recycle ideas to the point of idiocy. There were almost 10 instances where you had to make a knife or knife-like substitute like broken glass to move forward. Seriously, you get one knife, and the detective should just take it with them. The same goes with a bar or something to break or reach out of the way objects.
Don't get me started on just how many special locks they throw in. You know this is just busy work because they didn't want to put in a lot of work. And when you see them do it across multiple games...*shakes head*
There are some other items like Tarot cards, Crystal Balls, or Morphing Objects you can find on various screens, but they don't unlock anything interesting so once again felt like a time waster (and yes, I actually found all of them).
Sound/Music:
There is some minimal voice acting. The speakers are decent enough, but there really isn't a lot of dialogue when you get down to it. The same goes for the sound effects. They are sparse but fine when needed like when a door creaks or a cat hisses.
I will say the music was actually poor. Most Big Fish Games have decent background music if nothing else, sometimes even catchy. However, in this game, like everything else, it felt like it was done with a minimal effort. Hell, I almost wished they had gone with some royalty free music because some of that would have helped the ambiance.
Difficulty:
Overall, the game isn't very difficult to veterans of hidden object games. And if you are having troubles with it, you can actually adjust the difficulty such as how fast it recharges hints or allows you to skip minigames.
Extras/Achievements:
There are achievements in game, but no Steam achievements at all for those people who care about such things. Most aren't to tough to get, mainly solving puzzles and hidden object screens quickly and without using hints.
As for extras, I already mentioned a bonus story finishing the game. You can also access the limited soundtrack, and a few other goodies like screenshots.
Recommendation:
Would I recommend this game? As you can probably guess, that is a big no. I realize that I'm jaded by how many Hidden Object Games I've played in my lifetime, but this is a boring effort at best by Big Fish Games.
If you do want to buy it, I say wait for a sale. There is no way it is worth the full price, especially when there are some really decent Hidden Object games on Steam.
