Paranormal State: Poison Spring

I bought this game years before I actually got all the achievements for it. 2026 is the year where I work on my backlog a bit and try and complete some games in terms of achievements. I've always loved doing those so looking through my list of old games with a few unlocked I see Paranorma State: Poison Spring and say yes please. I love Hidden Objetc games. They're relaxing, enjoyable and force you engage your braina a bit to find the hidden doodads. The Story is a bit janky to be honest. I won't spoil it but since the game is based on the now defunct TV show of the same name (minus the Poison Springs part) you'd expect a ghost investigation. Well that's part of it but it deviates from that a bit to something you'd never see in a Ghost hunting show. It's not bad just not true to the TV genre and my only real gripe. The puzzles are fun and there are plenty of them to do as well as a number of variants centered around the various ghost hunting tools you'd use such as the famous EVP device. The objectives have a nice tracker in the form of a journal so you never really lose track of what you need to do and how you're progressing in your achievements if that's what you're trying to do. There's several difficulties to choose from but to be honest I was not into the extreme end, just the easy, it still unlocks all the achievements and makes the story move a bit faster as it refills the hint meter a bit faster, and boy do I love the hint meter. Now I know the game is no longer for sale on steam but for anyone that currently owns it and wants to finish it, this review is for you. All in all I'd give it around a 7/10 since it did challenge me at times and the sory although not true to ghost hunting was still fun to follow, plus the animations of the central characters are pretty funny at times. All in all a decent way to spend a rainy day

Poprawna gra typu hidden objects/escape room. Gra nawiązuje bezpośrednio do jednego z pierwszych (albo pierwszego w historii) serialu pseudo-dokumentalnego "Paranormal State" o badaczach zjawisk paranormalnych (głównie domniemanych nawiedzeń). Pojawia się nawet Lorraine Warren. Zagadki są spoko i jest tego całkiem sporo. Fabularnie jest średnio. Historia nawiązuje do historii i kultury rdzennych Amerykanów, ale została zbytnio zagmatwana. Na początku mamy tylko historię o duchach zakochanych w sobie czarnoskórego Unionisty (czasy Wojny Secesyjnej) i Indianki. Ale im dalej w las tym więcej elementów i zwrotów akcji zostaje dodanych. Pojawia się jakich demon, co chwila wpadamy w kolejne pułapki. W pewnym momencie zacząłem pomijać przerywniki filmowe bo przestało mnie interesować co się dzieje a finał był do przewidzenia. Grę można przejść w jakieś 3-4h, czyli taki standard. Nie sugerujcie się czasem przejścia u mnie, bo w trakcie przechodzenia odszedłem od komputera i... poszedłem spać na, lub więcej godzin. xD Gra dobra na jesienny wieczór.

As a hidden object game, it has a decent variety of puzzles and different kinds of ghost hunting features that give it a unique flare compared to other games I have played. While I am unsure, it seems that this might be based on a show? The opening seems to lean into this trope. What makes me a bit hesitant is the usage of Lorraine Warren and calling what would ultimately be a native american spirit a "demon". A quick google search shows that in Cherokee myth, there are malevolent spirits, but nothing akin to the Christian idea of a demon, and especially that of a Catholic one. (Lorraine Warren and her husband ONLY helped out Christians who shared the same sect of faith as them, Catholicism. Hence my comment.) From my perspective, that makes the game a little insensitive with its approach to the topic of Native American myths and culture. Its far from the first game that I've played that did this, but this one is much newer, and should know better than its early-mid-2000s counterparts. I should also note the use of totem poles in the game as a plot point, when those were made specifically by Western Native Americans that lived along the Pacific ocean, while the Cherokee were from the plains. It feels like the makers just took commonly known cultural ideas without doing any proper research. If you can find this game, I recommend it for the gameplay as it is no longer available on steam through the original distributor that i know of. But just be aware of its missing context.

Top!

very much had alot of fun playing it.

Whack

Sound: 6 Graphics: 6 Story: 5 Gameplay: 5 Commands: 8 Fun: 4 Time to load / lag: 10 Bugs / Problems: 9 Final score: 4