Queen's Tales: The Beast and the Nightingale Collector's Edition

[h1]Short version: 80%[/h1] Queen’s Tales 1 offers gorgeous art, incredible storyline, and top-notch hidden object gameplay… at least until its halfway point, where it abruptly runs out of ideas until the endgame. [h1]Long version:[/h1] Initially, Queen’s Tales: The Beast and the Nightingale looks like a simple hidden object game interpretation of the Beauty and the Beast tale: a careless father ends up in a terrible debt towards a monstrous lord, so his daughter decides to offer herself to save his life. Her journey to the Beast’s home takes up the better half of the game, thanks to the relentless efforts of a sorceress who tries to prevent her from reaching the destination before the deadline. This sense of urgency, coupled with the excellent difficulty ramp-up, the varied hidden object scenes, and the merciful lack of pointless backtracking result in a marvellous HOG experience. Then we reach the castle, and suddenly everything screeches to a halt. The plot simply disappears and only pokes its head back during the finale. Progression turns into running around in circles, and even the puzzles start to get tedious. In the end, all of these are barely more than an inconvenience, but one that prevents this HOG from realising its true potential.

[b][u]Game Information[/u][/b] "Queen's Tale: The Beast and The Nightingale" Collector's Edition is a Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game. The game was developed by ERS Game Studio and published by Big Fish Games Studio. "The Beast and The Nightingale" is the first episode of "Queen's Tale." Since this is a collector's edition, it comes with extra features that are not available in its counterpart; the standard edition. [b][u]The Game Review[/u][/b] Game Visuals I want to mention that the visuals in the game are nicely done. The visuals can be adjusted in the game's option menu. Game Audio I want to mention that audio for the game is well done. Even though the audio is somewhat simplistic and repetitive. The audio can be adjusted in the game's option menu as well. Gameplay There are four different difficulty game modes to choose from: Casual; Advanced; Hard and Custom. The notebook keeps track of progression in the game. Such as story events and clues. There is an interactive map in the game. It allows the player to fast travel between each location quickly. It also indicates that there are tasks that can be completed at certain locations within the game. The interactive map is not automatically given at the start of the game. There is a padlock feature that is available to lock the inventory panel in place to make it stationary. There are interactive items in the game. Some of these interactive items may require extra components before they can be interacted with. The hidden object scenes consist of the following: Shadow items; Reverse Objects; Like Pair items; Traditional word list and Find 'x' amount items. Some of these hidden object scenes may require little or no interactions. Most of the hidden object scenes can be replayed in the game's extra feature section. There is an optional mini-game: Match 3. It is only available during hidden object scenes. The puzzles are fairly easy to solve without having the need to skip any of them. Most of the puzzles can be replayed in the game's extra feature section as well. There is a helper in the game: Golden Nightingale. It can complete certain tasks that the player cannot do themselves. There is a collectible in the game: Birds. They are scattered throughout the game for the player to find. Since this is a collector's edition, there is a bonus chapter, but it can be accessed only after the main story is completed. There are eleven different achievements that can be unlocked from playing the game. Each of these achievements does come with some requirements that need to be completed before they can be unlocked. These achievements are in-game only. Miscellaneous There are extra features in the game: Bonus Chapter; Bonus Hidden Object Scenes; Bonus Puzzles; Soundtracks; Concept Art; Wallpapers; Screen Saver; Cinematic Scenes and Game's Strategy Guide. Most of these extra features can be accessed only after the entire game is completed. Final thoughts: I have found the game enjoyable to a certain extent. The replay value for the game is low. I would recommend this game, but not at the game's full price value.

A very good game, highly recommended for having a good balance of puzzles and traditional HO scenes, together with lovely art, a strong protagonist, and a nicely re-worked fairy tale. Everything worked smoothly, with the exception of a couple of places where click placement seemed (to me) to be too picky, leading to some unnecessary hunting for what to do next when I had it right in the first place. However, the excellent guide (included) solved those 2-3 problems for me. This game allows the player to select two difficulty setting for the overall game *and* for each mini-game / puzzle. I like the idea of choosing the level of the puzzles. This game is more similar to series like Dark Parables, Lost Lands, and Legacy. I'm happy I got it and got around to playing it - I just wish more of these games had achievements (even a handful of basic ones, like completion without hints, for example), and it would be nice to be able to get a badge (i.e., trading cards).

A few janky puzzles, but otherwise very pretty

great puzzles good map but couldn't find the bonus chapter?