Recent reviews by sja

i mean, just stating the obvious

I'm currently midgame and I have a few things so far that I would like to share. I have discovered this game, because the developers posted about it on the Professor Layton subreddit. As a huge Professor Layton fan myself, I wanted to play this game, knowing that the team behind The Academy: The First Riddle has played PL games too. I was sure this game would be amazing. However, the game does not even compare to the PL games. Of course, it does not have to to be a succesful game. Yet, it still lacks on various aspects.

The story is okay. It is not something refreshing, but it does not necessarily have to be that. However, the story itself is pretty flat. We do not know the main characters motivations and they do not develop themselves. Some side characters seem unnecessary and do not contribute to the story. The story itself does not seem coherent due to these lack of motivations and character developments. Therefore, I was not really invested in the story.

The riddles are okay. They are not as hard as the PL games, but we have to keep in mind that this game is not a PL game, but it was inspired by it. I really liked the format of the puzzles. If you've answered the main riddle correctly, you can solve a bonus riddle that is connected to the main riddle. Moreover, you can unlock a main hint by "eating a chocolate bar "that actually help you solve the riddle. Most riddles are multiple choice, meaning you can solve the riddle by clicking on one of the six possible answers. This way, you won't struggle too much when solving a riddle. You can always guess the answer. Even though this might be seen as lazy, I do like this feature, because sometimes I am not that invested in a certain riddle. However, I have noticed that some riddles are straight from the PL games, but are adjusted a bit. Yet, I do believe it is legal for the makers to adjust and present these riddles as their own. It's just that I reckonized some of them. Thus, I already knew the answer.

The game mechanics are decent. If you have played many adventure game, the controls will be familiar. The graphics are okay. A bit dull in my opinion, but it is okay.

Overall, I don't really like the game as much as I hoped I would. I am just not that invested in the story and its characters. I only play the game for the riddles to be honest. I would recommend the game if you like to solve some riddles, but I would not recommend it for its story.