Save Halloween: City of Witches

[b]Save Halloween 1: City of Witches [/b](Match-3) A challenging and fun [i]Spooky Bonus[/i] clone. Options include separate sliders for Music and SFX, Custom Cursor, Full-screen, Tutorial, and choice of [b]Timed or Casual[/b] Mode. [u]You can switch modes between levels[/u] (at the bottom of the map). When I first started playing [i]City of Witches[/i], it was so similar to [i][url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/388450/Spooky_Bonus/]Spooky Bonus[/url][/i] that at first I thought that it must be by Grey Alien Games (it's not, this game is by Quick Click Games). The game piece types, earning coins to decorate your house, the decorations giving you new types of power-ups... The only thing that was different was the graphics... [i]At first[/i]! Rather than rehash the basic game mechanics, you can look at my [i]Spooky Bonus[/i] review [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/genkicoll/recommended/388450?snr=1_5_9__402]HERE[/url], and instead let's focus on what's [i]different[/i] about [i]City of Witches[/i]. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1892130388 On the downside, backgrounds cannot be set as wallpapers, and the gameplay doesn't feel quite as fluid, BUT, these are the only detractors, so let's get on to what makes [i]City of Witches[/i] so addictive. There are [b]100 levels[/b] to complete, but every level has multiple goals. There are of course objectives that you need to meet before you can pass each level, but that's not what I'm talking about. Every location is represented by a pumpkin on the map. Pass the level to light the pumpkin, but there's more to it than that! Beat the (preset) fastest time and get wings on your pumpkin; get a good score and you will earn 1 to 3 stars. Get the fastest time AND get three stars to get a lovely golden crown as well! https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1893070638 This adds a lot of [b]replayability[/b] to the levels, not only because these things can be hard to achieve, but also because it's really hard to accomplish both a high score and the best time on the same round! This doesn't mean that you have to achieve them both at once - the game will save your wings/stars once you earn them - but since you may not be able to get them at the same time, you're likely to have to play each level at least twice. Quick Click Games did not make an exact replica of Grey Alien's creation - they added a couple of challenging new monsters: Spiders and Ghosts, both of which will multiply and take over your board if you don't make a match next to them to clear them away. Perhaps the most addictive part of the game is [b]Combo Mode[/b]. If you can make matches quickly enough, you'll enter Combo Mode for ten seconds. Every match you make during this mode will cause a power up to explode where you made the match, and the power-ups only get more satisfyingly-powerful as you upgrade your house. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1891294733 Then there are the [b]achievements[/b]. Oh those lovely and super-challenging achievements! I just loved them! There are Bronze, Silver and Gold tiers, with a grand total of 63 for you to earn. Be aware that [b]Steam has three broken achievements[/b], but the IN-GAME 'cheevos work just fine! [b]Verdict[/b]: I absolutely love the challenging aspect of the game. Getting the fastest time, the pain of missing the high score by [i]one[/i] second, fighting to keep those pesky spiders and ghosts at bay, the well nigh impossible achievements... just so much fun! This is my second time through the game, and I'll happily 100% it again. The only negative to this game is that you can't 100% it in Steam's system due to the broken achievements. Highly-recommended to those who are looking for engaging gameplay!

Update: 2 years later, game still is not fixed. Don't buy! Save Halloween: City of Witches is a extremely fun match 3 game. I really like this game but I started experiencing extreme frame rate drops making the game unplayable. The FPS dropped so low that it was like a slideshow, taking 8-10 minutes to complete a level. I would really like to recommend this game, but until its fixed I cannot. I hope the devs fix it soon, then I will change my review to positive.

Whilst I enjoyed playing this Game I still must give it a negative review. The Game itself is nice although it has no graphics options. Unlike other Match-3 Games it also has Hidden Object Mini games which I enjoyed alot. However after reaching lvl 36 the game wont start anymore and has no error Code with it. There is others having the same problem and other Problems in the Forums, yet there is no answer from the Developers. Searching around for a little while I noticed that this Game looks exactly like Spooky Bonus, only that it came out a couple of days later. Which lets me think the decs might copied it and just sold it for cheap without even looking properly after Game. I'm really sad about the fact that this Game wont run anymore as I had so much fun with it. However since it is abandondend by the developers I think steam should take it off from the Store. If you do like Match-3 Games I recommend getting the Original Spooky Bonus (it has graphic settings as well) and not the Cheap Remake.

The game itself is not bad. The reason for the thumb down is that the achievements don't unlock properly and the developer hasn't fixed this in years.

addicting and fun game when you can get it to work proper

A fun game, but huge issue with sudden frame drop to almost nothing that makes the game unplayable. Since it has been out for a year and a half with no fix, I doubt the developer will do anything to correct the issue now. Can't recommend as a result.

achievements which are broken since 2017 are not fixed, lags on higher levels are dreadful

This starts out as a great game for Match 3 fans. It has a variety of obstacles on the board and you gain new power ups as you progress. Best of all, no waiting for lives/energy like on popular mobile alternatives. No in-app purchases. I played on the casual mode without time limits and while some levels can take a while to finish, the casual mode is relaxing and addictive. There are intermittent hidden object mini-games which aren't particularly challenging but they're a nice way to break up the standard Match 3 play. However, and this is really unfortunate, as other players have noted, the frame rate crashes around level 50+. Its moving slower than streaming a movie on a dial-up modem. It's brutal. It makes the game unplayable. Until they fix this issue, steer clear of this one.

fell in love with this game when groupees had it in a bundle, now i have it on steam and played for hours. after reaching level 50 or so the framerate dropped drastically and now wont even start.i tried changing compatibility to win 8 and checked my installation to no avail. outside of the technical issue this is a great game if it gets fixed ill gladly change my review.

[Updated] I had to change my review to not recommended, at least until the massive lag bug gets fixed. Multiple people have posted to the discussion board about the issue, but that appears to not be read. Quite seriously, I had a lag in game that started with three goal matches left, and the last match took over five minutes to resolve which should have taken probably ten seconds. Unbearable! -------------------------------------------------------- [Previously] This is one of the best match 3 games I have played - power ups, achievements, Halloween, hidden object, and achievable 3 stars. It's the standard fare for matching, and so far, there's been a few new mechanics. Mostly the same, though, which is not a bad thing. It's that layer of comfort. However, the devs need to get off their pumpkins and start responding in the forums! There are some bugs that prevent this from being top notch and an automatic purchase for match 3 players. Number one for me is always community support. Not perfection, just community support. Still, I would recommend it for anyone that loves Halloween match 3 games as there really aren't that many of them.