[b]snow white solitaire: legacy of dwarves[/b] is the follow-up to [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/dohi64/recommended/768290/]charmed kingdom[/url], and of course it's still the usual +1/-1 situation with the typical fantasy coat of paint. since they are pretty much identical, so will be my reviews.
in the first game the dwarf was more of a background dancer, his hammer only used to break locked cards instead of being an actual power-up, but he's taking center stage in this one. well, centerish. snow white is still the boss, but instead of beans you're looking for parts of a mighty hammer to get rid of hordes of evil threatening the dwarves.
[b]150 solitaire levels[/b] again, divided into 40 packs over 5 worlds, to save on drawing a bigger overworld map once more. [b]hidden object scenes and jigsaws[/b] are back, and jigsaws are part of the 4-level packs, unfortunately, one in every 4th. unlike hidden object sections with a slow hint button, they can be skipped after a while and the image to complete can be toggled in the background.
3-star rating based on the number of cards left, but while [b]the first game gave 1 star for 4 cards left, you can only leave 2 cards here[/b]. harsh. no stars still unlocks the next level, but you need to 1-star them all to unlock the next world. [b]decks are also smaller than before[/b], adding to the challenge and/or frustration. however, [b]ridiculous amounts of identical cards are no more[/b], which is excellent news. still no on-screen timer, but completion time is shown in the level complete window.
[b]companions are still the source of power-ups.[/b] you start with the knight, who can swap the current card for a more useful one, and new characters show up every now and then, most familiar from the first game, all doing the same things the others did. a different swamp guy flips cards over this time, the golem still shuffles the board (more of a re-deal, as it replaces cards), the dragon continues to remove selected face-up cards, and the girl from atlantis gets rid of random cards. besides their unlock order being different this time, a most welcome change is the [b]visible cooldown[/b]. it still takes about 20 or so cards to recharge them, and they might not be available when starting a new level, but now it's easier to keep track.
the shop, also available during levels, offers various [b]bonuses and upgrades[/b] for your hard-earned cash. still no need to unlock undo or the counter for remaining cards, but you can buy jokers and equipment for your buddies to enhance their powers. wildcards can also be found while playing, which is fortunate, as jokers are a bit pricey (same as the first game), as optional as they are. only 4 extra cards can be held at a time, finding another one will put it on top of the pile, so my usual hoarding behavior wasn't welcome here. achievements reward gold, one of the rare instances when they have a purpose, but [b]upgrades are ridiculously expensive[/b] here. you won't be able to buy everything without farming gold. I'd have needed 60k more by the time I was done, and then what's the point?
an oversight/bug that can cause problems is [b]once you select the dragon, it can't be canceled, have to choose a card or two to remove[/b]. you can deal another card or use other power-ups, but can't remove anything by pairing them, as the dragon is the 'active cursor', and [b]even finishing or restarting a level doesn't cancel it[/b]. which is even worse if you upgraded it to two cards. either right click or something worked in the first game or I just never ran into this issue.
something not seen commonly in these kinda games (though it might be a staple for this developer) is [b]limited-time bonuses[/b]. if you quickly collect a card covered by a tornado, for instance, it will flip over two random cards, but if you take too long, the tornado will disappear. bonus gold or cards are other examples, but I found these more distracting than useful, and they cover the entire card too.
[b]great graphics and excellent music[/b], but I would've liked some new songs this time. separate volume settings, windowed mode with a smaller non-resizable window, custom cursor, card fronts and backs, in-game representation of achievements, and multiple player profiles. didn't notice as many typos as last time.
much to my surprise, while largely the same, [b]it's more challenging than the first game[/b] due to tighter star requirements, way higher prices and smaller decks, but with no excess of identical cards it's also less unfair and more strategic, though you'll still be retrying levels a lot. this one also took me [b]about 7 hours[/b]. of course, with all the companions and some money saved up it's easier to deal with problematic levels, so you might want to concentrate on going forward and return to 3-star stuff later.
