Created: July 16, 2022

Dark Parables: Return of the Salt Princess [Collector's Edition]

This is Dark Parables #14, which returns the series to developer Blue Tea Games. As such it is a big shift in gameplay and tone from Dark Parables #8 to #13. Generally speaking, it's not as polished and satisfying. The style is much more anime-like, the hidden-fragment scenes are far too easy, and the puzzle mini-games are not as sophisticated. That said, it's still good and the storytelling has more heart, coherence, and character development than Eipix ever achieved. I'm sure some players would prefer it!

Also, weirdly, though I kept getting notifications for in-game achievements, there doesn't seem to be any way to access those achievements from the menus.

(Note that Dark Parables 13: Requiem for the Forgotten Shadow is missing from Steam and other retailers. For reasons unknown Big Fish removed it. For the record: it's another good Eipix entry with some especially challenging puzzle mini-games.)