Created: June 17, 2015

Hidden Object Bundle 5 in 1

The bundle is worth buying and offers good value for fans of hidden-object games. The individual games are not stellar, but most are pretty good. They are all straightforward games: none of them have achievements or bonus chapters.

Behind the Reflection 2: Witch's Revenge

Note that you can play the first episode for free (with ads) on Android, and I indeed recommend that you start there. Both offer a forgettable, very dumb story with many hidden-object scenes and puzzle/mini-games, but no real point-and-click adventuring. The hidden-object system is innovative, but ultimately annoying. Behind the Reflection 2 is longer, but is also woefully unbalanced, with some of the puzzles being ridiculously easy, and others frustratingly hard. I used the "skip" button a few times. This is the worst game in the bundle. (The first free episode is actually better.)

Mountain Crime: Requital

The hidden-object scenes use an innovative system, but it ends up being far too simple. Otherwise, the puzzles are OK and the gameplay interesting enough. The story is quite intriguing: various clues left around can help you figure out the mystery, though you can just wait patiently and have all revealed in the end. The dialog and voice acting are atrocious, but that's the norm for this genre.

Vampire Saga: Pandora's Box

Though the resolution is low, and there are no animations nor voice acting, this is a solid, satisfying HOG. The hidden-object scenes are challenging, even hard, but usually fair. There is good point-and-click adventuring to be had, and a handful of puzzles. The story, though predictable, is revealed in a restrained pace, carefully building up on the atmosphere, well-crafted with graphics and music. The timing of the cut scenes is very slow, possibly due to using a "modern" OS, but just be patient and you will get through them. It's worth it for this lovely, understated little story.

Weird Park: Broken Tune

A classic HOG, with good scenes and gameplay. If you play it in expert mode, you will get quite a decent point-and-click adventure that requires logical thought. The background story is spooky, but doesn't take itself too seriously, and there a few jokes. Fun!

Twisted Lands: Shadow Town

Though there are a few excellent hidden-object scenes, and a handful of mini-game puzzles, this game is primarily a good point-and-click adventure set against a nicely designed and scripted spooky atmosphere. No voice acting, but that also means no terrible voice acting, which is too common in this genre. The one flaw is that there is quite a lot of backtracking to be done for the point-and-click work. Still, this might be the best game in the bundle.