MY FATHER LIED

[h1] 20 лет секретов [/h1] Однажды молодой женщине по имени Худа приходят новости – нашли её отца, который пропал 20 лет назад. А вскоре приходит посылка – в ней письмо, особый ключ и координаты, которые приводят героиню в скрытый музей, спрятанный в неким иракском бункере. Несколько мертвецов, нахлынувшие воспоминания и море головоломок. И главный вопрос: что её здесь ждёт и где эти годы пропадал её отец? My Father Lied – это классический квест. Тут надо решать головоломки, никаких мини-игр на поиск предметов, трёх в ряд и прочей ерунды. Причём головоломки уникальные и никогда не повторяются. И что ещё важнее, для меня, во всяком случае, их присутствие в игре сюжетно обусловлено. В том числе, и их разнообразие и направленность. Нередко приходится искать особый подход к решению головоломок и думать по разному. В одном случае нужно рассматривать цвета на муралах и правильно их расположить в дневнике главной героини, ориентируясь на задание. В другом случае – правильно выбрать особые печати и составить из них единую картинку, из которой уже надо будет сделать специальный оттиск для создания ключа. Тут даже придётся совмещать работу переводчика и антрополога – правильно перевести текст и выбрать нужные слова-иероглифы, которые со временем менялись. Помимо основных головоломок, прохождение которых влияет на развитие сюжета, в игре есть и, так называемые, «mighty puzzles». Они уже намного сложнее основных, но не обязательные для прохождения. В награду за их решение даются небольшие аудиодневники, рассказывающие немного о лоре игры. Кстати о сюжете и общей атмосфере. Забытый секретный музей полон не только трупов его работников, но и рассказов об их трагедиях. Основное внимание игры обращено на главную героиню и её отца, но и об остальные персонажах не забывает. Равно как и об истории Ирака. Читать все эти исторические справки действительно интересно. Что же касается музея, то он давит на главную героиню. Постепенно выводит из состояния покоя, заставляя видеть вещи, которых нет. Отдельный комплимент хочу отдать музыкальному сопровождению. Ничего особенного в нём нет, но музыка и звуки прекрасно поддерживают общую атмосферу игры, помогая погрузиться в рассказываемую историю. Из недостатков могу выделить только систему сохранений. В игре только автосохранение, которое перезаписывается, когда мы входим в новую локацию или заканчиваем основную головоломку. Я так пропустил одну дополнительную головоломку. My Father Lied – это хороший квест со сложными и интересными головоломками, приятной музыкой и таинственной атмосферой. Я могу только посоветовать эту игру. [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/11769719/]Заглядывайте в группу кураторов, если понравился обзор. [/url]

I am REALLY liking this game so far. So why am I not recommending it? I'm greatly enjoying the atmosphere and the puzzles, and am intrigued by the story, but the problem is, I believe I've hit a bug with one of the puzzles, and given the linear nature of the game, I'm basically roadblocked. It may be that I've got the solution wrong, but given how there's an investigation prompt in the "clue" that does nothing when clicked, I'm pretty sure the sequence is bugged/broken. I've posted this on the discussions and the YouTube channel, but haven't heard anything yet. Until this get's a patch, I sadly can't recommend the game. If/when this get's fixed (or if it turns out I'm wrong and just haven't got the right answer to the puzzle, my bad), I will happily switch my review to a recommend. EDIT: The devs have responded, and it turns out the error was on my part. There was one color in the middle I got wrong, and now that I've changed that, the puzzle works!

Recommended with some important caveats. The puzzles are incredibly challenging, but not impossible. I haven't played such an interesting puzzle game in a very long time. And the overarching narrative is very intriguing (and educational!). I backed the game on Kickstarter because the concept seemed really cool and I wanted to uplift the game. That being said, I did not finish the game. After an update, my progress was wiped. I was disappointed but since I had been taking notes I was able to catch up to where I left off pretty easily and got a few more hours further. Another update was pushed and I lost my progress AGAIN. The amount of the game I would have to replay at this point to get back to where I was is not insubstantial and I can't justify it this time. Navigation in the rooms proved to be a challenge, and some of the puzzles had misalignments/typos that made them needlessly more difficult - so for the puzzles I don't have notes on I certainly would have gotten stuck again and had to go to the forums/community posts on Steam for help again. I will definitely be keeping my eye on what this developer will be doing in the future. I'd love to see what he could do with a bit more polishing and maybe some more QA/playtesting!

x-- 7/10 --x I was very happy to support this game on Kickstater, and I'm even more happy to find out what a stellar game it turned out! It carries inspiration from Scratches, Asylum, and other point and click puzzle games, but with a spectacular story filled with depth and some really unique puzzles. Some of the puzzles were genuinely painful to get through, but once you complete it you get such a feeling of accompliment afterwards. The graphics, sound, voice acting, and music were all top notch as well! Other than some difficult puzzles, and a glitch or two, I can definitely reccomend this game!

This is more of a puzzle game than an adventure game, in my opinion. I made it as far as the room after the obelisk. Yeah, nearly 2 hours of gameplay and I really only made it through about 40 minutes of gameplay. I don't expect to make it any farther as the puzzles go right over my head. I played the demo several times, and quite enjoyed it. This is the last game I have been a Kickstarter backer for as well. I don't regret it, as I'd love for the game to succeed. But it is very obviously not going to be for me. I found the demo's puzzles to be fairly logical and figured I'd probably be able to handle whatever the game tossed at me. But, nope. Aside from a picture sliding puzzle there were exactly zero puzzles I could solve after reaching the first room after the Obelisk. And there were only like 2 puzzles where you needed to open two different safes. Anyway.. If you liked Myst/Riven or any assortment of adventure games from the later 90s and early 2000s that gave you a kind of first person perspective room based puzzle/adventure element, this is probably a game that should be of interest to you. The graphics are good with a nice 2D environment wrapped around into a 3D space that's quite good. You might want a pen + paper or your phone nearby for notes, as you'll be presented with puzzles that require you to remember numbers. Saves seem to be attached to finishing a "room," which meant I replayed the aforementioned after-obelisk area every time I quit the game to take a break from slamming my head against the wall trying to solve the puzzles. Ultimately I don't think there's much I can say that has any real weight. I have the puzzle solving capacity of a potato, and therefore have barely scratched the surface of the game. I think the game's probably good, it's obviously crafted with a ton of love and care and runs without issue. But I'll get nowhere with it, so I can really only say the game seems promising.

Basically my dream game come true! Took an update for it to cooperate with my device, but now it runs very smoothly, and I couldn't be happier with the game. I love ancient Mesopotamia, subtle horror, and puzzle games, so this was the perfect mix for me. The story is mind-bogglingly detailed and immersive, with twists you'd never see coming. I do hope the developer will share more of the "lore" of the game world and its secrets somewhere for those of us who want the nitty-gritty details. The in-game universe is so rich and I want to feel like I have all the pieces of that puzzle just as much as the puzzles themselves. In fact, as I'm still trying to understand some of the story in my mind after playing, I wish I could revisit the various clues in written and audio form without an entire replay - but they go away after you listen to them/leave those areas, and that is a rare drawback of the game experience for me. That said, it is far outweighed by the upsides - the nostalgic 90s point and click style, mix of different puzzle types, exciting blend of history and fiction, thematic music, richly art, and challenging but rewarding bonus puzzles. The world needs more games like this, and I'd play anything else published by this studio without second thought. In a marketplace plagued by soulless AI slop, this game is beautifully human in every detail, and deserves all of the love. More than mere entertainment, this game is a true work of art. My advice: Enjoy the soundtrack, take it slow, pay attention to details - and you must solve the mighty puzzles! They are more than worth the time and effort for the story.

My Father Lied is a fun little puzzle mystery that perfectly recreates the style of a retro game, only held back by its poor UI. Starting the game you'll quickly realize that most of it is gonna be a history lesson on Iraq. It is ultimately what the entire game centers on, and it is its strongest aspect. There's an incredible amount of research and detail added to every section. I was honestly excited just going through a new room and reading everything. Of course it isn't all just educational. There's a supernatural mystery and a political drama buried within, all of it beautifully complimenting the main gimmick of the game. By the end it you'll feel like you yourself had solved the mystery and uncovered the truth of this place. None of this would have worked without the game's strong puzzle design. Modern point and click adventure games often lack many difficult puzzles. My Father Lied stands out by forcing you to go through multiple head scratching moments back to back. You'll have to take out a notebook and spend 6 pages having to solve one puzzle, and you will enjoy doing it. Unfortunately while the puzzle design is incredible, the UI design is holding the game back significantly. Simply trying to click on things or trying to read text can be challenging in some sections. One example is an early puzzle where you have to match the colors of the background with the icons, but it's hard to tell which color is which, and it's easy to misclick without noticing you did so. There's also a lack of basic options and accessibility functions that many games have, such as a save and hint button. I'm sure this can be fixed in a future update. I hope the devs keep on creating as there's something truly unique about this game.

Full Review and Tips Please read thoroughly. Beautiful, meaningful, history rich and challenging Myst-like game. This game deserves the full price. The game is estimated to be around 10 hours long to estimate the length of content. But keep in mind the speed is in our problem solving skills and whether or not we pursue optional challenging puzzles. It comes to our style subjectively on playing. You see my playtime? Yes I did few times playthrough for achievement. And learn something new. I recommended to play it again at least once after finishing the game. Then we'll appreciate the subtlety and deeper connection in story. My long playtime is also by me falling asleep mid game. I took mighty puzzles (optional) very seriously. Puzzles are challenging but always on point. Though a bit technicals, controls and mechanics that need improvement. The dev listened to feedback. And trying to improve. We need to bear in mind this is the first game, by solo game developer. However the very core is wrapped properly, making the game very well crafted for solo debut. Deserving chance to succeed and make more games. Well written story and direction, well crafted puzzles, in depth and rich history, stunning illustrations, and good details of visual. The studio has great potential and what it takes for great game. Great writing, in depth research, and puzzle mechanics. The rest can improve as they scale up. And they need our support for that. And they won the best Arab game at Grand Game Awards! Now the tips: All puzzles make sense. When we struggle, it's either us not solving it, or stumbled to the technicals (like reading/seeing/count wrong by either us or game design) which in this case we need to write several options of solution or deduct better. From dev side they took feedback and improving for upcoming update. So from our side, writing/sketching in real life is our true friend. Digital writing/typing activates one brain pathway. While handwriting activates 17! From Dr. Hiroshi Tanaka research. And writing pleases our brain amidst stress of problem solving the game. I highly recommend physical note. Camera is also needed. I am partially color blind, so I pair myself with drawing software to recognize colors. We just don't give up! Use tools around you to assist or don't, depending on your needs and personal goals. For beginners, take some pause when frustrated. Clearer mind, better observation. This game is made as a task. It is us making it as a race. Take our time. Mighty Puzzles are optional and secret message. But they contain depth to the story which makes us appreciate the game even more. Especially on my second playthrough. Great details. Lastly, there're discussions available making this game more forgiving. Playable for broad audience. But best make it as last resort. Just so you know I chose to do thousands attempt, million clicks to do reverse problem solving when real stuck once, than giving up. Did it in several days split. Treated this as real task. Pay attention. Clear your mind. Everything is on point. Also to the dev, thank you for Hind Rajab tribute. Here we know the dev is on humanity side. Something we need in this crazy world, where so many entities fueling atrocities. This is hope! That's it. Enjoy the game!

This has an interesting story that is well developped by the end. Most of the puzzles are interesting. There are some major flaws : - The navigation system is sub-optimal. In 2025, it is possible to have better that point-and-click on icons. A changing cursor would've been better. - The beginning and the museum parts look like a late '90s game. I'm not sure that that is intended. - The museum has a weird lighting that makes it hard to achieve one of the puzzles. [spoiler]When taking notes for the second sets of polymers, it is hard, even for a non-colourblind person like me, to distinguish between green and blue.[/spoiler] Judging be the discussions on the community tab, I wasn't the only one having problems for that one. - The museum being dark makes the [spoiler]gods to numbers puzzle[/spoiler] way too hard for no reason. This particular puzzle would benefit a complete rework. - There are some bugs that can be really annoying. Some of the magnifiying glass icons won't appear or will disappear after one click. [spoiler]The worst case is on the star walkway. I had to reload the game to make the icon for the unlock fence appear. In a playthrought I watched, the icon appeared on the opposite side of the walkway and the player found it by chance.[/spoiler] - There are a lot of typos in the subtitles. Sometimes the subtitles overlap each other if you click too fast on two different objects. - There are no manual saves possible, which makes it impossible to navigate back the mighty puzzles if you skipped them by mistake. This game has a great potential but has a lot of flaws. With some work it could become great. But for now, I can't recommand it. It will frustrate any player that is not used to puzzle games.

I really enjoyed this game! The puzzles and the historical information about Iraqi civilization are easily 10/10. The music was also a very nice touch and added a lot to the atmosphere. I have two small suggestions for improvement 1-The Story: I felt the narrative was a bit unclear at times. Strengthening the plot would make the experience even more immersive. 2- I noticed a variety of font styles being used. It would look much cleaner and more professional if a single, consistent font was used throughout the game. Overall, great job to the team! I know game development is no easy feat, especially with a small crew. This is a very charming project