Otherworld: Spring of Shadows Collector's Edition

[b]Otherworld 1: Spring of Shadows[/b] (IHOG) [i]The Steam overlay does not work with this title[/i] Options include separate sliders[b] [/b]for Music and Sound, Custom Cursor and Full-screen (has auto-widescreen). Choice of Casual, Expert or Hardcore Mode. [u]NOTE[/u] for the extreme arachnophobes: There is a scene where you need to find (non-moving) spiders. [b]Story[/b]: You move out to the countryside to start a nice quiet life, but fate has other plans. You quickly learn that the family that had been living in your new home disappeared under mysterious circumstances, and you could swear that picture of a little girl just spoke to you... Enter another world, where magic is not always beautiful, and shadows watch your every move. Our [b]Journal [/b]has three tabs in it: A task list (check mark), story (magnifying glass) and characters (silhouette of a person). We get regular updates with extra story in the magnifying glass section, and background info is added as we discover each character. The story took several unexpected turns and surprised me more than once. [b]Sights and Sounds[/b]: The music is very nice, ranging from beautiful to creepy to comical depending on where you are in the story. Cutscenes are voiced, though the rest of the game is not. What we're lacking in quantity is made up for in quality, with compelling voice overs that make you wish that the whole game was dubbed. The graphics, while not stunning, are nicely-done and environmental. [b]Gameplay[/b]: I don't think the first one shows up until you've accessed the magical world. but be on the lookout for [b]collectible fairies[/b] as you play. These fairies can be on zoom-ins, but I didn't spot any during HOS. The game is sometimes a bit fiddly with the placement of items, so if you think you've got the right solution, just try again! There IS a [b]MAP[/b], but you won't find it until Chapter 2 of the game. Individual locations are not marked. This map is used to insta-transport to new [i]areas[/i] of the world. Areas that have unfinished tasks will have an lantern next to them, but you'll never see more than two open areas at once (the rest will be locked). [b]Pro tip[/b]: Although there is no fast-travel within areas, if you want to quickly move back to the first location of a region, just click on the map and select the area you're in for a nice time-saving jump. Using a [b]HINT[/b] during the adventure portion will either pinpoint a hotspot or give you a text [i]hint [/i](NOT exact instructions) about what to do next. The [b]Hidden Object Scenes[/b] are primarily find-x-number-of-items, but there are several other types, including fragmented objects, finding pictured areas of the scene, solving riddles, pairing up related items and finding items by picture. I was actually 3 hours into game before seeing my first find-by-list HOS! These scenes can have items hidden inside other objects, so mouse-around, and click when your cursor turns into a hand. [b]Mini-games[/b] range from mosaic/stained glass-type puzzles to cutouts (using your cursor to trace lines) to pattern recognition, and more. There are 62 mini-games, total, and all of them were doable for me... Although I sometimes needed to use the HINT button to help me out with some aspects. ;) [b]Pro tip[/b] RE the stained glass towards the end of the game: There are a LOT of cutouts you need to do here, but all you have to do is click on the black lines - you don't have to trace the glass cutouts ;) The main game has a great ending, beautifully setting us up for the next game in the series. I did get called away from the computer several times, and I took the time to comple every mini-game, so it took me almost 6 hours to complete this part. [b]CE Content[/b]: [list] [*]Integrated Strategy Guide [*]Bonus Chapter [*]60 Collectible Fairies [*]6 Wallpapers [*]36 Concept Art [*]10 Replayable Cutscenes [*]14 Music Tracks (no option to save) [/list] [b]Bonus Chapter[/b]: The extra chapter is a prequel, showing the events that led up to the family's disappearance, and introducing a character whom we'll meet in the next game. Here you'll find the one and only HOS that has the interactive items marked in a different color (yellow). The puzzles for this chapter are a bit more of your standard fare, whereas the main game had minis that are a bit less common. [b]Verdict[/b]: [i]Otherworld: Spring of Shadows[/i] has a tale that took me by surprise, drawing me in and shaking me about like a ragdoll. I think that the story is its greatest strength, followed by the fun and interesting gameplay. A beautiful beginning to a series which I look forward to playing more of!

You play a woman who gets pulled into the mystery of what happened to the last people to live in the house she just moved into. I thought the story was good but the 'menacing shadow' might be a bit scary for small children or the easily frightened. I didn't find the game hard even on the hardest difficulty. I finished it in one sitting in less than 4 hours. Speech: The voice acting was good. Everyone was easy to understand and the speech seemed to fit the person talking. No comment on the music. I have a hearing impairment and always end up turning the music off in every game I play so I can hear the other sounds. But the soundtrack is included in the bonus section of the game so if you find a piece you really like you can listen to it without having to replay the game. Puzzles: Some were more difficult than others but I did not need instructions to figure any of them out. Game played all the way thru with no crashes or lock-ups. At no time did I feel a desire to go look up a walkthru. There was a bit of backtracking at times, but it wasn't the annoying kind where it sends you back fifty steps. Usually whatever you needed was only a few screens back. I did not have any trouble identifying any of the items I was supposed to find in any of the hidden object scenes. There are only two or three word list kind of hidden object scenes, the rest were find 'x' number of something or it'd show images of the things you needed to find instead of word lists. The game has achievements, but they are not Steam Achievements. I kind of wish they were, but that's ok. If I had to say something bad about this game it would be that the animation was a bit lacking. It was more like moving still shots than actual animation, but it did give visuals to the story, so it was adequate. I will play this one again.

Detailed and fairly complex HOPA game. Play as the new owner of an old house with a tragic past and get drawn into a battle to save a young girl from a powerful Fae planning to cover the world in eternal winter. This is the first game in the series "Otherworld". Overall, I was impressed with the game, and I'm looking forward to playing the others in the series. That said, it had a few flaws, and isn't for everyone; it feels more challenging than the average HOPA game. Pros: - beautiful art; captures an enchanted English garden very well - interesting, coherent story with lots to do - lots of puzzles and HO scenes; both are varied in terms of style and difficulty - useful objects are generally kept and reused - the protagonist seems intelligent (despite having bought a fixer upper in the country for a bargain basement price that should have provoked a few more questions :) - fully integrated, easy to use guide (I did use it a couple of times, toward the end) - Steam trading cards Neutral: - limited voice acting; I would have liked more, but it's a matter of taste - prequel-style bonus chapter; some like them, some don't; this one is okay, but just okay Cons: - no map available until the second chapter, and very limited (major locations only) - no collectible indicator (though the fairies to collect are *very* nice and well-blended without being impossible) - a slightly finicky hit box for hidden object scenes - a bit too much reliance on memory-based puzzles (that said, I do appreciate the number of puzzles in the game) - there are six "trace the shape" games, and I'm not a fan (especially with a mouse on limited space beside a laptop) - the game feels slightly tedious toward the end, and I'm not sure why; I think the writer/developer tried to do too much with it and maybe needed to focus both the narrative and puzzles better Summary: I liked the art, the setting, and the overall story; I also appreciated the variety of puzzles. Worth adding to your HOPA collection.

I played this on casual setting and it took me 7 hours, so you get your money's worth! Graphics ranged from basic to good, so the quality isn't constant throughout. The story was good and there was a real fantasy atmosphere about it which I enjoyed. The music became repetitive, but the voice acting was good. There was a bit of back tracking and a map was provided which wasn't used much. Not suited for children as the hobgoblin was bit scary for little ones. There are better games but this was adequate. 6.5 out of 10.

I used to play this game all the time when I was younger and I loved it. I still love It and would recommend this game :)

played this game as a kid and it changed my brain forever. I play this game (and the sequels) at least twice a year- would definitely recommend to those who enjoy dark fantasy and have a love for nature's whimsical feeling.

i first picked up this game in the mid 2016 on DVD in the Range as a kid. I played this game obsessively because it was such an interesting game - puzzles and lore were so well written and the art and music were just *chefs kiss*. after a while though after moving house, I lost the game CD and was rlly upset, and eventually forgot the name. But i never forgot how brilliant it was. Thankfully, after a bit of digging, and a stroke of luck - I was able to rediscover the game and downloaded the trilogy. Still one of my top games to this day - Thank You, Boom Zap, for making my childhood

Wonderful u know

Takes you to a world of wonders, totally worth of you time.

Amazing game, and I have quite the story with this game too: I first played this game as a disc because my mum and nan liked to play these Hidden Object games all the time and they would pick them up for roughly £1. And we would play them together as a group, then we stumbled upon this game and we all enjoyed playing but I can't remember if we ever finished it. It took me many years of finding this game by searching random phrases to do with the game coz all I could remember was a few characters and what the game was only to then do the search 'hidden object games kelpie', went to images, as I could remember what the game looked like but never the title, and found this game here which is the correct game. Instantly bought it and played it for the past 7 hours straight until completion (it was more like 5 though as I had the game running before I actually played it). Anyway, story time over, this game is amazing, like beyond amazing, it has an amazing multi-game story, It's really short and chapter based so you can split your time up with it. There's an epilogue that is actually set before the game happened but I'd recommend playing the game before the Epilogue as there are references to the main game in it. The puzzle concepts are pretty simple however some puzzles can be a bit open-ended and may lack where to go next but that's the fun of this game and you can do things out of order. I have no negatives other than the voice acting can be a little obnoxious at times (the actor may be British but it honestly sounds like an American impersonation of a British accent). This game also includes tons and tons of achievements for those who are a completionist along with collectibles on at least every screen/scene you go to which I thoroughly enjoyed attempting to find them all (I think I got 38 out of 60 in the end). In conclusion, fantastic story and will definitely be buying the next two games soon.