3 hours and several dead-ends into "King's Quest 5"

Death scene n° 7

So, during my second playthrough session I decided to enter the forbidden forest. Big mistake. The witch turned me into a frog instantly. So I took my little notebook and scratched down "need magical armour". And thus I went to explore all locations again.

Dead end n°1

That's when the ants gave me a hand and precured an item I could use to enter another, closed-off location. And lo and behold, that ultimately delivered me a magical amulet! So, back into the forest I went! And indeed, the witch couldn't bespell me anymore. So I was able to explore the forest, but all I could do was let myself by caught by either a giant spider or a man-eating plant. I tried looking for the next move, but soon I gathered I had still entered the forest too early and unprepared.

These guys know how to party...

A restore brought me back to town, but I couldn't find anything else to do. Then I remembered the desert.  I had seen it, but didn't venture into it yet. Perhaps it was time to do so. Thinking I'd probably die because I didn't possess a water pouch or anything, I went ahead anyway, following the rocky cliffs until finally I suddenly found myself at the Middle-Eastern city of Petra in Jordan; or at least this game's equivalent. A couple of horsemen killed me because I was too busy taking a screenshot. I could easily hide from them next time. But when I tried to enter the temple, of course the door didn't open. I needed the staff the horsemen used, so I assumed I had to follow them. 

Will I find the Holy Grail here?

I lost count of how many times I died in the desert. I had no idea where to go, after all. So I took on the task systematically, until I found an oasis. From that point, I repeated the process, until I reached an encampment after several more tries of roaming in the wrong direction, finding a second oasis in one place, and a skeleton with a shoe in another. Then of course the horseman killed me as I tried to make off with his staff, so I took notice to be more careful during my second attempt. I entered the temple but of course got locked in soon after. Finally I made it out with a couple of new items, hoping to use them in a couple of locations I hadn't been able to do much so far.

Saved a rat. Could be important...

And yes, the temple treasure set in motion a string of events, basically finishing off a series of fetch quests. I was able to vanquish the witch and finally procure an item from every shop in town. Oh, and I saved some rat from some cat while backtracking. Got a bunch of items now, but nothing that looks like it can get rid of the snake blocking the mountain path, even though I think I've done all I can in this area now. Guess I'll just have to try some things...

You can find the King's Quest Collection here!

"Devil's Hideout", my Adventure Game Hotspot review!

Read my full review on Adventure Game Hotspot!

Excerpt: Although Devil’s Hideout is a short game, this developer definitely knows how to keep his audience glued to the screen. There’s never a dull moment, always with some puzzle or other to solve, alternating with some thankfully non-frustrating mini-games and gorgeously horrific locations to explore, filled with creepy characters that seem to have walked straight out of a horror movie. Lauren is a great heroine, a strong woman who will do anything to save her sister, though she still gets scared and freaked out by the crazy stuff she encounters. The “fan service” jump scares never stopped getting to me, which did get a bit annoying in the end if I’m totally honest. While at first I was baffled by the sudden ending, it hit me not long after that the writer wanted to subtly hint at a possible hidden truth without outright stating it as fact, keeping the player guessing, which I can appreciate. It might leave you yearning for a firmer resolution, but in its own way it nicely wraps up a well-written horror tale where the devil can be hiding around every corner.

Classic time: "King's Quest V" playthrough

New game!

I've started playing King's Quest V and I'm 1 hour into it!

This is actually the second time in my life I started playing this game. Last time, some years ago, I died not half an hour into it, simply by visiting a bar. I so wasn't into random deaths at the time, so no idea what I was doing playing a Sierra game, but I've matured since then so it's about time I give this classic point 'n click adventure another chance.

Now where to go first...

I'm King Graham, and the evil wizard Mordack has just run off with my castle. Cedric the Owl witnessed it all, and he takes me to the good wizard Crispin, who hands me his old wand and sends me on my way. Cedric tells me best to go into town first to get some supplies. All this is told in an 11 minute intro cutscene. Which is pretty long for today's standards, but I guess back in the day everyone was in awe of the beautiful backgrounds. They're still beautiful, but 11 minutes before you actually get to play?! Thankfully, you can skip that intro if you so wish...

Not the first enchanted tree I met in a Sierra game...

This first hour I've mainly been exploring. I met an enchanted willow tree in need of  a golden heart to undo the spell. I saved some ants from a dog and some bees from a bear. I bought a custard pie from the local baker. Met a prince searching for his princess. There's a cloak in a shop I'm guessing I'll need to buy somehow. And there's a snake blocking the path into the mountains.

Quaint little town...

There's also a dark forest with a foreboding sign at the entrance. That's where I'll explore next. Not sure if that's a good idea yet, but I've already got 10 saved games. I learned my lesson when I died 24 minutes in when Graham fell into a river...

Sigh...

 (Okay, I admit it, I did that on purpose...)

You can find the King's Quest Collection here!

Finished "The Crimson Diamond" in a little over 7 hours!

Watch out, Luca Brecel!

I finished The Crimson Diamond in a little over 7 hours! But I wasn't too happy with the result! There are three "report cards" so to speak. The first two weren't so great, but still okay. But I got zero on the third one! What?! Where did I go wrong?!

I haven't scored this bad since high school...

Also, I redid the final showdown a couple of times to get a better ending. There are several steps you need to be perfect at, otherwise you'll trigger quite a long cutscene followed by the Q&A sessions that result in those report cards. So, I had to reload a couple of times, but then for the last step it turned out I didn't have the necessary inventory item with me.

Indiana Jones did, to get some guards drunk...

So yeah, I went back in, tried to find that item before that final showdown, and tried to find some answers to the questions I missed as well. Or at least the evidence supporting those answers, since the game really expects you to be thorough in your investigations. Knowing that, I still failed to PICK UP some items I found and had to turn in as evidence, so I had to reload an earlier chapter again a couple of times, but at least I found lots more and could answer more questions, with a grand total of 9,5 hours on the clock. There are still some conversations I missed because I didn't realize I should hide somewhere when they were supposed to take place, but those are from very early in the game and would require almost a complete restart, so I'm leaving them for now, especially since they're not essential to the outcome.

Such a beautiful scene! Kudos to the artist!

But just like I had to play The Colonel's Bequest a second time before I got anywhere near a decent result, The Crimson Diamond is a joy to play. In itself it isn't such a difficult game, you just need to be aware of some strategies you can employ in how you can find the necessary clues and evidence. The game is addictive; I had a hard time letting go of it, and I would have preferred to play it in one sitting. It's a great location, an interesting set of characters, a cool Agatha Christie style and gathering clues type of story. I had great fun with it and I hope Julia Minamata will make many more games like this!

You can find The Crimson Diamond here!

"Closer the Distance", my Adventure Game Hotspot review!

Read my full review on Adventure Game Hotspot!

Excerpt: Despite its heavy-sounding subject matter, I was completely charmed by this narrative-focused drama. The idea of a main character influencing the people left behind after her death really speaks to the imagination. Humankind has pondered the mysteries of death for ages; we can fear it or we can embrace it, and this game isn’t afraid to explore grief, loss, and depression without becoming too bleak or overly religious in the process. It’s hard to say a game dealing with these emotions is “fun,” but in some ways it truly is, confronting you with your own helplessness when dealing with others, because you can’t suddenly force people to behave differently simply because you want them to. As a simulation of life, Closer the Distance very much succeeds. Certainly it plays on the feels, becoming a bit dramatic now and again with its artistic cutscenes, trying very hard to make you cry. But overall, this is a narrative that fits in with novels like Reservoir 13, Everything I Never Told You and The Lovely Bones – all dramas about a community dealing with grief and picking up the pieces after a traumatic event. If people still don’t believe video games can be art, they really should play this one!

Three hours into "The Crimson Diamond" and I reached chapter three!

Geologist Respa in the dining room with the fork...

Dinner was served the last time I played The Crimson Diamond, so I went to grab a bite to eat. People didn't seem all that happy with me asking questions all the time, I think they were just tired and wanted to go to bed. I had heard earlier that Evan and Nathan wanted to discuss something in the study after dinner. But as far as I could tell, they never went there. They remained in the dining room, waiting for Jack to clear the dishes. But he was busy in the kitchen, however, and wanted my help. But first I went around the lodge to see what everybody else was up to, and that's how I listened in on another conversation between Nessa and Corvus.

Love in-game maps! Could use one of the grounds, too...

It's very handy that a message pops up about muffled voiced whenever you near a door with people behind it having something interesting to say. I remember in The Colonel's Bequest you were pretty much left on your own to figure out where to go, and there everything you saw, heard or found could progress time, and then the NPC's would move positions, so you might miss some things during the earlier time. I'm not really sure if The Crimson Diamond uses a similar technique or not. There's no in-game clock, but there definitely is story progression after doing certain tasks, usually indicated by an auto-save message. So I try to make sure to know every NPC's whereabouts before doing something I think leads to such a progression, but I'm sure I'm still missing lots of stuff. Like that study appointment. Eventually I helped Jack doing the dishes and that's when Evan and Nathan effectively left the dining room. No idea where Nathan went, but Evan went for a lie down in the conservatory. No study. I went around the lodge to see what everybody else was up to again. Most were asleep but others were engaged in... other... activities.

Couldn't help myself; I just had to jump off...

The next morning it turned out I wouldn't be able to leave the lodge after all, due to... circumstances. So after looking around what everybody was doing again, I started my task of improvising a new mineral investigation kit and go about the countryside finding samples. This was quickly achieved after some easy puzzles, and I even found a couple of death scenes. No rewind function here like in Beyond the Edge of Owlsgard, though, so remember to save!

What a cozy place this is... for now...

Dinner is served again on day two at Crimson Lodge. Afterwards, I fall asleep in the conservatory only to wake up at the ruckus that leads me into chapter 3. The plot has indeed thickened, and it looks like I'll finally get to do some investigating!

You can find The Crimson Diamond here!

New game: "The Crimson Diamond" playthrough

New game!

I've started playing The Crimson Diamond and I'm 1 hour into it!

I'm Nancy Maple, a mineralogist student sent to the town of Crimson to investigate the discovery of a large diamond in the belly of a fish. When I arrive by train, my luggage has been stolen and it turns out the inn I was supposed to stay at isn't an inn anymore. Its owner, one Evan Richards, is so kind to allow me to stay the night, but he will send me back on the first train in the morning.

Apparently they're a girl's best friend or something?

It's a text parser game, which means you have to type in what you want Nancy to do instead of clicking on hotspots. It's heavily influenced by the first Laura Bow game, The Colonel's Bequest. You also find yourself in a huge mansion with lots of people whom you can eavesdrop on. But next to being text parser, it also uses the old EGA graphics style with a limited, 16-color palette. You can move Nancy with the directional keys but it's also possible to click with the mouse where you want her to walk.

Lots of snooping in the game; love it!

There are several people staying at the lodge. There's the owner, Evan Richards, and his best friend Nathan Cardinal. Evan's sister Nessa Crabbe showed up with her lawyer Corvus Shaw; they're looking to contest the inheritance from Evan's and Nessa's father. There's Jack, the, well, jack of all trades in the household. Albert Respa is another expert who has come to investigate the diamond. And he's from Antwerp, yay! (Thank you, Julia Minamata, for adding a Belgian character to this game, even if he's a bit of a douche!) And lastly there's Kimi Kishiro, whom Nancy met on the train and apparently came to Crimson to observe the cormorants.

Ooh, a missing will, excellent!

In my first hour of playing, I talked to everyone, and even eavesdropped on a couple of them. Only Albert refused to talk to me. Thinking himself the big man, being from Antwerp and all. Big git is what he is. Anyways, dinner is served now, so I'm sure the plot will thicken soon!

You can find The Crimson Diamond here!