Rite of Passage: The Lost Tides Collector's Edition

[b]Rite of Passage 4: The Lost Tides[/b] (IHOG) [i]This is a standalone story[/i] Options include separate sliders for Music, Ambients, SFX and Voices, Full-screen, Aspect Correction and Custom Cursor. Choice of 3 pre-set difficulties, or you can go with Custom Mode. The task bar is lockable. [b]Story[/b]: When you were young, you and your family set sail on the [i]Everlast[/i] for a glorious vacation. All was well until a violent storm popped up out of nowhere, the damage enough to force you to abandon ship. You and your brother got away in time, but your mother was trapped, and Dad wouldn't leave her... and then, the [i]Everlast[/i] vanished, leaving you with only memories of your parents and the compass your dad threw to you as you parted ways. Twenty years later when you are ready to say goodbye at last, the [i]Everlast[/i] sails back into view! A strange force blocks your every move, but you're determined to find a way to get to the ship and learn what happened to your parents at last! https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1837864430 The journal has only the briefest overview of what's going on, and functions more as a task list than anything else. It does hold a few clues, and tracks your in-game time, as well. The interactive storytelling in this 4th game of the series is lackluster at best, barely qualifying as interactive at all. Plot-wise there are a lot of "huh?" moments and things that don't make sense and are never explained [b]Gameplay[/b]: Be on the lookout for [b]collectible seashells[/b] - one at each location - and a [b]morphing item[/b] on each HOS. Our [b]MAP[/b] can be interactive, and has insta-transport available. Directional [b]HINTS[/b] are also available. [b]Hidden Object Scenes[/b] vary in type, from matching to riddles to silhouettes and more. I actually enjoyed some of the Mini-games quite a bit, although a few of them were way too easy. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1837865344 There were some tasks/quests we had to do were just too pat, too easily-solved, making me feel ambivalent about the game where I had been enjoying it. [b]CE Content[/b]: [list] [*]Integrated Strategy Guide [*]Bonus Chapter [*]In-game Achievements [*]37 Collectible Seashells and Morphing Items [*]12 Wallpapers [*]Concept Art [*]9 Ship's Crew Puzzles, which give you bios of each character depicted [*]5 Saveable Music Tracks [*]14 Replayable HOS with scoring system [*]Collectable Hunt - Find any seashells that you missed while you were playing. Once collected, each seashell becomes a puzzle piece for a mosaic-type puzzle. [*]Treasure Hunt - Revisit every location to find a special hidden item [*]Forgotten Treasure (easy to miss! Click on the sky to find this) - Hidden Object scene with about 30 items to find [*]Everlasting Voyage 2 - simple arcade game, which is very low-key and easy to complete without dying [/list] [b]Bonus Chapter[/b]: The extra chapter focuses on a couple of side characters from the main game. Although we had a satisfactory ending, THIS ending gives us full closure, and answers some background questions, as well. I think that I enjoyed the bonus more than the rest of the game. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1837874142 [b]Verdict[/b]: While the first three games are also standalones, they were tied together by an overlying theme and recurring character. These elements were missing entirely in [i]The Lost Tides[/i]. The only things that really made it feel like a [i]Rite of Passage[/i] game were the amulet-compass and the in-this-installment-lackluster interactive stories. This is part of a series, so I can't help comparing it to the other installments. Although this is a good game in its own right, to me it didn't meet the standards set by the previous games in the series.

Changed from recommend to not recommend due to a bug. Pros .Clear crisp artwork/graphics/scenes .Complimentary music/sounds/voice acting .Four difficulty modes, including custom .Can change difficulty mode in-game .Mini-map with fast travel .Lockable toolbar .Gears appears when item in position for possible use .Simple to intricate adventure play .Variety of inventive hidden object scenes .Collectables (seashells) .Morphing objects in hidden object scenes .Strategy guide .Bonus chapter Cons .Story lacked focus, cohesion and was full of holes .Mini-puzzles tended towards simple and easy, several times I just started to understand how to do the puzzle by making a couple of moves and 'poof' it would be solved .In the bonus content, the game will not allow me to place three of the puzzle pieces (three-spiked sun ray piece, sitting up mermaid's head/upper body piece and lying down mermaid's tail piece) so I am unable to access further content. I have tried erasing that file/creating a new file and replaying the game, uninstalled/reinstalled the game and replaying the game and playing the game for a fourth time, placing the pieces as I received them and it just will not work. (I contacted the Mad Head three weeks ago about it and they have not replied.) Final Words (4/10): Started out quite entertaining. The story was intriguing, the atmosphere was ominous and the storm effects/sounds were amazing. And there was an excellent variety of hidden object scenes. Then the story turned into a mess and the atmosphere became bland. I was willing to recommend it for adventure play and hidden object scenes alone as they were enjoyable if I ignored the incoherent story but the bug just put my disappointment with the game too high.

Like every HOPA game by Mad Head, even this one is a well-made, polished game. There's zero innovation in the genre but hidden-object gamers are used to it, I guess.