Mind Snares: Alice's Journey Reviews

Description

Mind Snares: Alice's Journey is a typical Artifex Mundi production. As such, it alternates between hidden object game sequences (where you are presented with a cluttered scene and must find a specific list of objects), point-and-click puzzles (pick items to use on specific spots + some mini-games) and cutscenes (to put some story in your game).

I would summarize the plot thusly: Alice is a severely overworked office lady who can't say no to her boss. On her way to comply with a last-minute request from him, she sees a creepy hooded figure and gets into a severe car accident. Trapped in what is quite transparently her inner world, she has to travel to four different dimensions and gather totems that will help her reach the exit.

Pros

+ Competent hidden object game scenes
+ Okay voice acting
+ Okay background art
+ Achievements are straight-forward and easy to collect

Cons

- Infuriatingly non-sensical item puzzles
- Boring mini-games that are far more tedious than complex
- Terrible animations
- Generic and utterly stupid protagonist


Verdict

If you've already played and enjoyed many Artifex Mundi games, then wait for a bargain and/or bundle to get this one, as it clearly is not one of their best.

For everyone else: stay away from this game. There are plenty of similar ones, by Artifex Mundi or others, that have a better plot, better production values, better mini-games and, most of all, that won't make you rage at the screen every time you're forced to employ a convoluted scheme to solve a problem instead of a more obvious solution. Worst offender: