Royal Detective: Queen of Shadows Collector's Edition

This game is the sequel to Royal Detective: Lord of Shadows. Took me 5 hours to play both main game and bonus chapter. Quality of the graphics is good, so is the music and voice acting. The characters that you, the detective, meet are quirky and likeable. The nasties are suitably nasty. The story is light and fairly predictable. Puzzles were on the more difficult side so the old brain gets a workout. I had to skip a couple. HO scenes are clear and I didn't have to use the hint button on any of them. The hint button is a clacking skull face which was funny. This is a high quality game which just lacked a spark. Much better than most HOGs. Get on sale as it is on the short side. 7/10

Another lovely and creative game in the Royal Detective series. This is the second in the series (at least on Steam), and is the sequel to RD: Lord of Statues, in terms of story. In the first game, we had to save a town whose statues had come to life; in this game, we are helping the girl from the first game (Princess) to save her mother and learn more about her origins. This game isn't quite as good as the first game, despite an interesting premise. Princess summons the Royal Detective help her rescue her newly discovered mother, the powerful sorceress Selena. The Detective finds themself exploring a spooky forest and then the fabled, but long-dead, city of the elves. As the game progresses, we learn more about Princess, Selena, and the mad, immortal King of the Elves. I didn't find the use of magic or statues as well designed as in the first game; this game felt less immersive (less "adventure") and more broken up into the usual HOPA tasks of finding the perfect tool or odd-shaped key. At the same time, a couple of the puzzles were quite challenging, and there was one that just frustrated me due to an obscure and poorly explained mechanic (i.e., even with the instructions, I was a bit at a loss). This isn't deal-breaking by any means, but it's something to keep in mind. Also, like the first game, the HO scenes are tougher than many current games. Pros: - interesting story, continuing protagonist and secondary character - good number of HO scenes and puzzles - beautiful art, especially in fantasy/spooky genre - appropriate music (though mine cut out once or twice, not so good) - fully interactive map (except no collectible indicator) - choice of difficulty level - excellent video /movie clips as before Neutral: a little more challenging than many of the newer games Cons: - felt a bit linear at times - interesting secondary characters but little feeling of interaction - a couple of puzzles that were more irritating than challenging (I don't usually mind challenging, so take that as you will) - instructions less clear than in previous game I still recommend this game and this series!

[h1]Short version: 87%[/h1] The story of Queen of Shadows is somewhat short and bland, but it is strong enough in almost every other aspect to create an engaging hidden object game. [h1]Long version:[/h1] Although it lacks any investigation, Royal Detective 2: Queen of Shadows is a remarkable example of a high-quality hidden object game that only has only a handful of flaws. One of those is, interestingly, the premise; there seems to be no connection to the Lord of Statues, as we do what most any HOG heroes do, namely run around a magical forest to eventually save a kidnapped child and prevent some monstrosities of taking over the world. On the plus side, we learn a lot about the backstory and family of Princess, the little rascal from the last game. Also, the plot has a remarkably pretty coating thanks to the engaging writing style and the accompanying soundtrack. In stark contrast to the first Royal Detective, there are only a handful of traditional puzzles, with only some of them being on the annoying side. In exchange, the hidden object scenes are colourful, simple, and fun, with beautiful, large items all around. They ensure that the mere 2-3 hours of playtime will entertain any HOG enthusiast.

This title has been edited within an inch of its life so I'm hesitant to recommend it but it does have a few features that redeem it somewhat. I will definitely recommend to pick up the game on sale if you decide to. On to some positive aspects: The game is beautifully done. The artwork is crisp and the concepts are interesting. The interface and use of objects was unique and creative as well. The 3 hours of play doesn't do it any favours either so, if you want a short but unique experience, go for it. But if you want a longer, more cohesive story, try something else.

excellent