MIAZMA or the Devil's Stone

Si tratta di un real live e questo è chiaro dagli screenshot, quello che però non sai è che è abbastanza lento come gioco, con molti dialoghi ed obiettivi poco chiari. Inoltre, le ambientazioni anni '80 lo fanno appressare poco da chi si lascia illudere dal titolo che riporta a qualcosa di demoniaco e misterioso. E' un gioco dove si viene facilmente guidati, c'è poca ricerca ed è macchinosa anche essa nella scelta delle gesture. Purtroppo ho giocato con giochi migliori.

A full motion video point-and-click adventure game with an intriguing setting and with a promising premise that is substantially encumbered by questionable design choices and by terrible puzzles. Positive: - All characters are interesting and purposeful, exuding wit and charm with every contact. Their dispositions are distinctive, unique, and congenial. Interacting with the varied cast of persons is a pleasure, and taking part in conversations with each individual is rewarding and engaging. Learning about each of their vocations, concerns, and motivations expands the scope of the adventure in ways that are intricately connected and relevant to the ultimate goal, further enhancing an escalating event that ripens slowly and profoundly with the passing of each in-game day. - Debrecen commands the dual qualification of operating as both a splendid city and as a figure of influence. Within its environs, residents and citizens of the past and of the present embody and signify a deep cultural resonance that is recognizable with each step of the investigative journey. Its borders, roads, and structures display visages of historical dignity and contemporary beauty, existing in the world with a timeless essence of elegant architecture and enchanting characteristics. - Albeit in a strictly linear fashion, the plot and story progress and unravel via means of multi-layered story arcs, stimulating impressions by revealing arcane mysteries and materializing ambitions by clarifying conundrums, in favor of a form of storytelling that is expansive and intellectual, raising questions while expounding answers. All of these elements coalesce surprisingly well, combining intellectual excellence and enigmatological dynamism with class and elegance. Neutral: - As the second game of a duology, it is a bit unusual to see another actor play the main character in comparison to the first game of the series. It is relatively common that actors do not agree reprise their roles in subsequent releases, but the physical appearance is strikingly different in relation to the original actor, if one is cognizant of this detail. - Even though the game includes many full motion video sequences interspersed as transitional pieces between locations and between scenes, conversations and interactions with all characters are presented as still photograph slideshows of representational mannerisms, creating an odd balance between live action shots and freeze frame images illustrating suspended physical poses. - The entire game is vocally delivered by professional voice actors, but the voicetracks are dubbed English substitute versions with varying pronunciations, replacing the original recordings done by the primary actors themselves. There is no option to switch between the source audios and the domesticated rerecordings of the narration, which, for those that appreciate the dramaturgical attributes of non first language accents and the salient national cultural features of verbal inflections, this is a feature that is sadly unavailable. - Due to the technical nature of the game, in terms of videos being used for all aspects of gameplay, a frame rate oscillating between 24 and 30 frames per second is maintained at all times. While this is a low amount, because the gameplay experience is, in practice, that of an interactive movie, the overall impression is natural and stable, since there are no rapid occurrences requiring swift reactions or quick reflexes. - Pixel hunting is a major and ubiquitous gameplay mechanic that is acted upon during every single scene, forcing the player to hover the mouse pointer throughout all sections of the screen until an icon is manifested that could be acted upon for further actions. This creates a repetitive and tedious minutiae-based environment that may not be fun, and may not be enticing to some players, depending on their considerations and tastes. - Trial and error is a significant component to solving puzzles that must be endured and embraced during specific portions of the interactions between the player, the scenes, and the assortment of random things present therein. Repeated selecting of inventory items, attempted merging of said items, in conjunction with trying various objects integrated with actionable spots, is a sequence that will appear and recur mingled between gameplay sections comprising of dialogue and traversal, making such tactile riddles a change of pace in the context of the grand account of circumstances, but a repeatedly dull and exhausting venture. Negative: - Some metafictional texts are very poorly written and formulated, exhibiting many grammatical errors, as well as containing irregular sentence structures and odd phraseologies. Certainly, this noticeable linguistic construction blemish is not enough to completely derail the entire tale, but it does absolutely break the overarching immersion with regard to a severe lack of polish. Similarly, the optional subtitles are also amiss with grammar and apostrophe blunders, and the menu texts contain some spelling mistakes. - Electing to partake in the tutorial at the beginning of the game may cause the game engine to not recognize signals for furthering the player's interactions with the scenes, thus rendering the playthrough inoperable. The only way to bypass this glaringly persistent bug is to not try the tutorial mode at all. - There is a serious bug that prevents the game engine from detecting puzzle solutions if the player saves the game, quits, and reloads the save, if the save was actuated from within a game engine specified close-proximity view first-person perspective puzzle-solving environment. The only way to avoid this game-breaking bug is to always leave the puzzle-solving environments before saving a game and quitting. - Despite all puzzles being grounded on real-life scientific foundations and being thoroughly logical in their constructions, solving some of the more demanding brainteasers is an arduous process that is far too dull and wearisome to be enjoyed by players who do not already have a keen desire to solve puzzles. Some players may experience excitement or joy dealing with some of the abstruseness and clunkiness that pertain to several exercises, but other players, who are mostly focused on the expository resolution of the predominant narrative secrets, may be disappointed or even aggravated. After all, many of the puzzles are badly designed and poorly executed, resulting in annoying gameplay and in frustrating times. - Processing the multifarious physical clues at different departments at the main research facility requires the player to visit scientists at their personal offices in order to complete inquiries and examinations to solve riddles. What this entails is an ongoing series of interviews that prompt non-playable characters to instruct to player to come back for the requisite information at a later, undetermined amount of time, which effectively forces the player to wonder from scene to scene aimlessly, then return to the non-playable character that had been asked to perform an action with an item, so that the expected findings are divulged. This artificial processing time is a totally unnecessary and pointless act of futility that has been placed into effect as an extremely awkward and unavailing way of instilling form and procedure into an otherwise banally passive waiting activity. Overall rating: 2.5/5.0

Good FMV game from around 2007, Pros: A big pacing and cinematography improvement from Yoomurjack's Ring. There are some tough puzzles in here, but they are all in the last half. Interesting use of Hungarian physics history Cons: Mild amount of 90's level misogyny. All 3 women are physicists, but there's a weird demonstrative tone with them Acting isn't great, but it's mid level compared to other FMVs

Also für einen Euro im Steam Sale machen Freunde von FMVs hier nicht viel falsch. Miazma ist im Gegensatz zu Yoomurjaks Ring doch relativ gestreamlined worden und massiv zugänglicher. Der neue Schauspieler, der Jonathan Hunt verkörpert strahlt zwar nicht mehr so viel Charisma aus, als der eine im ersten Teil aber alles ist relativ kompetent inszeniert. Die englische Vertonung ist gut und die Locations sind schön gewählt. Leider war hier wohl weitaus weniger Budget vorhanden als im ersten Teil, daher ist die Anzahl an Schauplätzen und Darsteller überschaubar. Dafür ist Atomkie (ein realer Schauplatz) gut eingefangen. Die Story beginnt spannend und bis auf das grosse Endrätsel konnte ich das Spiel gut ohne Lösungshilfe meistern. Die überspringbaren Puzzlepassagen waren wohltuend. Leider endet Miazma gerade dann, als es spannend wird. Als hätte jemand keinen Bock mehr auf den zweiten Teil der Story gehabt. Bevor man sich versieht, laufen die Endcredits. Das ist dann auch der grösste Kritikpunkt, weil mich die Story eigentlich schon bei der Stange gehalten hat. Gut für zwischendurch, die Erwartungen sollten aber im Zaum gehalten werden. 2.5 von 5.

A magyar verzió nagyon szuper volt. Közepes nehézségű feladványok. Szuper történetmesélés. 16 óra játékidő. Sok videós anyag. Visszanézhető a Csuhivod yt csatornán. 8/10

Как я заметил по другим обзорам, эта игра понравилась не всем. Их можно понять: не самое интересное повествования, не очень интуитивно понятные головоломки и в принципе - достаточно душный геймплей. Однако если принять все правила - от игры можно получить море удовольствия. Прохождение игры заняло у меня около 11-12 часов, и могу сказать, что не все это время я радовался геймплею. Все таки некоторые моменты сильно душники, например моя одновременно любимая и ненавистная часть игры - Похождения Балажа, были очень интересными. На них я часто стопился и не мог понять что делать дальше. Например что бы отодвинуть шкаф и открыть первую дверь, необходимо было прочитать книгу, до чего я додумался не сразу, ведь иначе нельзя будет не сделать ничего. Однако когда понимаешь все, начинаешь погружаться и наслаждаться игрой. В этом вся игра. Сюжет весьма необычный, мне понравился. Лично я могу рекомендовать, особенно если брать по скидке. А еще дали посмотреть на черепашек😍

Неплохая игра (даже отличная), FMV - топчик и редкий зверь в наше время. Но, к сожалению, не сбалансирована по геймплею. Если первых два сегмента представляют собой интересную классическую адвенчуру в разнообразных локациях, то последний - мистоид с дикой сложностью. В общем качественное инди, которой не хватило либо мастерства гейм-дизайнера, либо бюджета на полировку. Но рекомендовать любителям жанра можно смело.

Really enjoyed the story line and puzzles. I admit there's no way I was going to solve some of these without help from the developer's walkthru, but with that help this game was thoroughly entertaining. It takes some getting used to with the stillshots and constant jumping from lab to lab, and you definitely want to take notes during gameplay. However, the dialogue is good and story line keeps you hooked. I recommend it!

I found Miazma to be interesting but for me, the final 6 puzzles were too convoluted/complex and without the help of a walkthrough, I would not have been able to solve them.

Decent FMV try. I love playing FMV games from way back so i always give it a try when i find a new one. Nice story, quite funny acting and nice puzzles except 1-2. They had to try better for the FMV dialogues and to place a few places cause it is very linear and straight forward. I recommend buying it only on sales.