It’s been a busy few weeks. I’m getting off of my TV high and back into gaming. The past 2-3 weeks or so, I’ve been playing a couple of games, Mystery of Mortlake Mansion (MMM) and Botanicula. MMM I got from game.giveawayoftheday.com for free and Botanicula was from Humble Bundle. These are two completely different games, related simply by the concept of puzzle-solving and mouse-action, but I wanted to combine them into one post than write two separate ones.

My sister recommended MMM, telling me that it was on her to-buy list of hidden object games. Since playing Hidden Chronicles and Mystery Manor was part of my daily routine, I decided to give MMM a try – besides, hidden object games still have their charm for me. I was pleasantly surprised to find that MMM was more than just hidden objects, although a little less than half of the puzzles you need to solve in order to advance further in the game are hidden objects. I found untangling the “binding magic” threads to be a lot of fun – it incorporated a little bit of the spatial manipulations present in Tetris but in a way that can make you go crazy if you don’t take a step back to breathe.

What’s also markedly different in MMM vs. Facebook games is its static-ness. There’s a set storyline and it’s much easier to want to follow along than the FB games because they keep adding more new things, but the concepts are the same – open a room, explore the room, get a certain amount of trophies/explore under specific conditions/what-have-you. Point is, I stopped reading the story because every other week or so, they start introducing new quests to build this or that, unlock that room, and I find myself just numbly following along because it’s something to do and not something I particularly care about. MMM I was curious to follow to the end, to see how the story unfolded.

Similarly with Botanicula, it is a point-and-click adventure game and story is central. The gameplay is fairly straightforward, although doesn’t include any hidden-object games, does have a series of “quaint” puzzles to solve. I think there is a little bit of criticism on the “quests” you are given as much of the ways to advance the story involves the ever-so-common messenger quests found in MMOs. The first messenger quest is to retrieve a number of feathers, then you have to retrieve a set of keys, and so on.

What makes Botanicula enjoyable is the ambiance of the soundscape. I believe it received an award for its audio. It’s very cutesy, but not overly sugary. It’s humorous, but not overly cheesy. Interacting with the world, the mouse cursor is like a breeze and affects various otherwise non-interactable objects. Clicking affects creatures and objects in different ways and certain rooms require the “creation” of a soundscape by clicking on creatures and objects. It’s a lot of fun. Sort of a breath of fresh air in my previous lamentation of indie games beginning to be very much alike with their puzzles.

To add more context, these games took roughly a week and a half for me to finish. Yes, I finished these games. I played in sessions of about an hour, not even every day. Unlike longer games, like the Final Fantasy series, I appreciate the “shortness” of the game, but the experience of playing is not that it leaves me wanting more. It’s a strange balance to strike, at least with me. I wondered once during each game how much longer I had to go to finish the game, mainly out of curiosity and not so much out of boredom.

One last topic I’ll mention in regards to these games is the use of 2D graphics and the art style that compliments the game. MMM is sort of cartoony-realistic and playing a hidden object game in this style reminds me of the hidden object puzzles in the Highlights magazine I grew up reading. It’s hard to see certain objects, but the hint system is generous. I really like the art style. Botanicula is a bit more minimalist in nature, partly Eufloria-like in the soft color ambient background and to some extent foreground, but there are also textures (like the walnut character) and rooms that compliment the minimal style without going too overboard or seeming out of place when compared to the rest of the game. The art was actually so reminiscent of Eufloria that I had to look up and make sure the devs weren’t the same. (Botanicula is developed by Amanita Design, who also created Samorost and Machinarium.)

I’d suggest these two games for casual play – something to kill time and wanting to feel a little intellectual and making a change in another world rather than sitting on the couch consuming TV shows/movies. I do have to warn that MMM got me “addicted” in that it was difficult to put down – I kept saying I’ll stop after I solve the next puzzle but the “next puzzle” was a moving target. Botanicula is easier to put down, I think in part because navigating the game is maze-like and hearkens back to the adventure games of the 90s and interactive fiction games like Zork that practically demanded players to draw maps in order to not get lost. I eventually had to sketch a map towards the end because I kept going in circles.