BFG Facebook wrote:

It's time this weeks Sneak Peek! Which games will you be adding to your Must Play list?

PC/Mac:
Haunted Legends: Black Hawk CE
The Legacy: Forgotten Gates CE

iOS:
Amaranthine Voyage: Winter Neverending CE
Surface: Lost Tales CE

Android:
Hidden Expedition: The Fountain of Youth CE 

I've just demoed today's TGT  -  Lost Grimoires: Stolen Kingdom  

by Artifex Mundi and World Loom Games

I'm not going to give a whole review as it's the wee hours of the morning and I'm really tired.  However, I just wanted to let you know that BFG has only released the SE and not the SE with Extras version.

I got the Android version in January (it was released by Artifex Mundi in November) when it was on sale for 2.99 Euro and loved it.  However, you can get it on many platforms and from many different places and, as far as I can tell, you get the SE with Extras version.  BFG seems to be the only place that's only offering the straight SE version.

It's available for Android and iOS - I got it from Amazon - as well as for PC from the Windows Store.  And not only is the SE with Extras version available everywhere else, it's also (still) on sale for US$2.99.  So, if you want the SE with Extras version for PC then I'd suggest you get it from the Windows Store for US$2.99.  But I'm not sure how long the sale will last.

The SE with Extras version has:

  -  Achievements
  -  Collectibles (a white, ghost-like kestrel that hides in every scene and is small and hard to spot)
  -  Replayable HOPs and MGs
  -  Cutscenes
  -  Concept Art

What the SE with Extras version doesn't have, which I imagine is why BFG has only released it as an SE, is:

  -  Bonus Chapter
  -  Strategy Guide

But wouldn't it have been nice if BFG had released it as an SE and you got a nice surprise when you demoed it and found all those extras!  Especially as it's only US$2.99 everywhere else with the extras!  Everyone would get it in that case.

Recommendation:   Yes

I really liked the game - great graphics, music, fun gameplay, hard-to-see collectibles - and I can recommend it either as a straight SE or the SE with Extras version.  I definitely recommend you demo it and see if it's a game you like.

As I played it on my Android tablet I didn't make my usual notes, and I'm afraid I can't remember any specifics about the game, for example how challenging the HOPs and MGs were and what the adventure part was like.  But I do remember that I liked the game, including the HOPs and MGs.



ETA:   I forgot to add that I betaed the sequel  -  Lost Grimoires 2: Shard of Mystery  -  last June, months before they'd even released the first one!  And, playing the Android version of the first one, if you write a review you get a glimpse of the sequel.  But I'd already played the beta so I didn't need to!
 

Last edited by stusue (March 6, 2017 9:12 pm)

I finished Crime Secrets: Crimson Lily. 

Since BF doesn't do walkthroughs/strategy guides for most non-CE games, I was a little concerned that if I had trouble, I'd be stuck and unable to finish the game.  So, I found a play-by-play on youtube.  Didn't run into any difficulties, but I enjoyed having somebody to play along with me so much, I decided to play Mystery Case Files: Key to Ravenhearst Collector's Edition the same way.

What I've been doing is playing until I get stuck or reach what feels like a natural breaking point, then watching or listening to my playing companion (a pleasant-sounding Canadian gentlemen who calls himself 'yourgibs') until he reaches the same place. 

It's nice playing along with somebody who really enjoys these games, who takes time to ooh-and-ah over the graphics and all the little extras included -things you can click on that aren't needed to progress, but are just there simply to amuse.  Enthusiasm must be contagious, because I can't remember enjoying HOPAs this much for a long, long time. 

I'm just about to start the last chapter of the main game.  Hope to finish that chapter and the bonus material tonight.  That will give me 4 games competed for March and it's only the 11th!

Its the 11th already and I've just completed 1 game.  Labyrinths of the World Stonehenge.  It went on and on.  If you are looking for a long game this would be it.  And it was entertaining.  But it did go past what I thought would be the natural ending.  It was almost two games in one.

I have Labyrinths of the World: Stonehedge...good to hear it was entertaining.

I know what you mean Tirama about a game being more fun when playing with someone else.  That is why I play some of my games with others during a group play.  There is usually 4-5 of us playing.  I could give the link privately to anyone interested.  Right now is Spirit of Revenge: Cursed Castle.  The next ones in March are The Secret Order: Ancient Times and Final Cut: True Escapade