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Search for the Lost Orb - Review

Review by Chrysophylax

Ratings

Parser/Vocabulary
8
Atmosphere
10
Cruelty
Tough
Puzzles
9
Overall
8
Written:
05-09-2023
Last edited:
Platform:
BBC/Electron

A very atmospheric game which reads like the draft of a professional submission. it needs some editing and debugging but the quality is high, there are a variety of puzzles of varying difficulties and there is plenty to explore.




Parser/Vocabulary (Rating: 8/10)

Locations are well described, there is plenty of text and the feel is of the early Level 9 games. There are a few spelling errors, but the writing style is very good and there are several hints in the location descriptions.

Atmosphere (Rating: 10/10)

I loved this. It is a fantasy world with hydrae, giants, runes and magic potions, with a number of allusions to elements of popular culture, such as the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. The switch from temperate valley to desert to marshland is handled with sensitivity; this is a very believable setting.

Cruelty (Rating: Tough)

Maybe more experienced adventurers would disagree, but I found this to be an enjoyably tough game. The puzzles are mostly logical and when magic is invoked then it is internally consistent. Setting the difficulty levels of these games is perhaps one of the most difficult of the designer's tasks but the author here has done this well.

Puzzles (Rating: 9/10)

Excellent range of difficulty, very logical solutions, when I was stumped and had to ask a clue the solution was fair and believable. My only criticism is that at a few points there were a number of puzzles in a line, where you had to solve one before encountering the second, hence getting stuck at one puzzle meant your progress stopped.

Overall (Rating: 8/10)

There is a bug in the original software which prevents completion of the game, although a modified version does exist which can be completed. The thirst and lamp timers are a bit of a pain and perhaps slightly overdone, although they do result in a couple of interesting puzzles. This is being picky however. The game is of a professional standard and very enjoyable. i heartily recommend it.