[b] Pros[/b]
+ Amazing and evocative art.
+ Alternative solutions and skippable puzzles.
+ A large variety of settings to explore.
+ Overall a large number of different minigames.
[b] Cons[/b]
- Badly balanced puzzle kinds, some appearing just once and others being too repetitive.
- Very basic and limited storytelling.
- Only up to 90 minutes of gameplay with no replayability.
The Far Kingdoms: Elements is an indie puzzle game by Lazy Turtle Games. It features Match3, hidden objects, pattern recognition and point and click elements combined altogether by a very basic fantasy plot.
The Match3 puzzles style feels similar to Jewel Quest – classic, there are some modifications to the game grid, but no power-ups or bonuses to the matching items themselves.
The point and click parts of the game could be compared to Deponia, where the items need a longer preparation and interaction with the enviroment before they are ready.
[h1]Story, Dialogue and Characters [/h1]
The story in this game is very plain and is just used as a thread between the puzzles. There are very few dialogues and all of them are simple, explaining vaguely what happened, how to fix it and how to approach each guardian of the object of desire.
This gives little if not no room at all for character development, but there are still some details provided by the enviroment surrounding them. They do not have much of a personality and are easily forgettable – apart from the mascot frog and white crow that will merge into the lower bar and will not be heard from before the game is completed.
The player is introduced in medias res. The kingdom has been cursed by an evil sorceress named Morgana and the player, as the Princess Arianna, has to venture on a journey to break the spell. There are three different elemental seals to retrieve in order to succeed and it is required to visit three separate locations, each for every jewel. The player will travel through portals that will appear with not much explanation after the completion of each zone.
The game gives suggestions on what to do proceed holding their hand at every step. How to do it however is not explained, often resulting in confusion. Many point and click elements have solutions so simple, they feel an unnecessary hindrance and are not very coherent with any logics. For example in a scene there is a boat full of water on the land, but to take the item from the boat the player needs to take the bucket that is beside the boat and empty it.
There are four separate locations, including the introduction zone. The remaining three are related to the elemental powers needed to save the unnamed kingdom. The player will explore the ocean that represents the water element, a land of fire and finally some islands engulfed by clouds. Each zone offers a series of puzzles and a final boss one that will recompensate the player with what they seek.
[h1]Gameplay[/h1]
The main feature to the game are the puzzles and point and click elements merged with the story part of the game.
Most of the puzzles are based on the classic Match3 mechanic. No power ups, no combos, just combining three or more elements that look the same together. Every single time the player is required to gather some items for the story that won't be picked up, there is another variant of this puzzle, where the objects have to be dropped at the bottom of the grid. Once per zone there also is a more unusual kind of Match3. It features a huge grid and two object, first is the starting point, the second one is the arrival. The squares in which items were matched togethere become part of the path for the object. This grid is much bigger than the field of view, to move through it, it's neccessary to interact with items in the squares.
The player is often required to look for an item, starting a hidden objects minigame. It is possible to choose to use the Match3 system instead, for just one or even all the items from the checklist, which is a great solution if the hidden objects result too tedious and permits a different solution.
The third kind of puzzle is the find the patter recognition Those minigames feature full animations or are excessively long, resulting a loss of time and straightly irritating.
All of the point and click puzzles are hinted by dialogue windows. The solutions can be immediate or can require some more steps. They are not difficult and sometimes feel like they are there just to add some content.
There are some parts of the playthrough that can only be cleared by using a magical pendant located on the lower bar, imbued with the power to cast a firebeam. This mechanincs is never explained and it can only be understood through trial and error.
Occasionally there are a few puzzles that can't be classified as they are all different. Those provide a nice breath of fresh air to the player and enrich the game.
The difficulty overall is medium and there is the possibility to use hints or skip entirely the puzzles if they're too complex to complete.
This game needs around 90 minutes to be fully completed, making it more of a one-sitting experience. This could be a problem, because of the repetitivity of the same kind of minigames, so it should be approached by those who fully enjoy the genre.
[h1]Graphics[/h1]
There is a lot of effort put into the static part of the graphics. The illustrations are digitally painted, really detailed and pleasant to the eyes, conveying well the fairy tale and fantasy backgrounds.
The style is coherent to the one that established itself in this gaming genre.
The animations are all made in Adobe After Effects. This could've been avoided and replaced with simple image sequences, which would've been less distracting and more balanced.
The single object images have sometimes badly refined and cropped borders. The seals when picked up can be seen enlarged – it displays and transforms the same quality image that will be used in the inventory bar – resulting in a blurring picture. Those are not big issues, because this can only be seen for a short period.
All the Match3 elements are themed and are extremely detailed and appealing. They are all provided with either a complete animation or a shine throughout the object. While it makes for a very polished look, it is distracting, as the shine is ofter used in Match3 games as a hint sign and here it appears randomly.
Game interface is standard and all the required settings are there. There is also the possibility to have multiple game profiles.
[h1]Sound[/h1]
The soundtrack of this game is pretty basic, it's mostly silent if not for the initial cinematic and minigames' sound effects.
[h1]Performance[/h1]
The game performs well on my computer, but considering how basing its graphic and mechanics are it should easily run on any machine modern computer.
[i]Specs of the computer used:[/i]
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-7500U CPU 2.70GHz 2.90 Ghz
8 GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 950M
[h1]Bugs / Issues [/h1]
Nothing major to report.
[h1]Content to Price Ratio[/h1]
This game lasts up to 90 minutes and contains a high amount of puzzles. They are however ripetitive and after completing several times the same kind of minigame can get annoying.
There is no ambient music, but the graphics are beautifully drawn.
The price may seem a little too high, but it should not be surprising, it's an indie game, from a small Developer. If you wish to support them, the price of 5.69€ is just right for what you will get.
[i]This product was reviewed using a free key provided by the Developers.[/i]
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