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Thanks for messaging me about the new episode! You've come a long way in art and music while still keeping the original style :) I think you made the right choice to go the point-and-click route, it seems to have solved many of the issues with gameplay and things you seemed unsure of how to solve/which method to pick. Loved it, as always I hope to see more :D I liked the addition of orbs, something aimless to do while thinking about what to do next :)
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pt 2 of my previous comment
Once again, it was tiresome. I had to read the comment section to find out I have to drink tea to even start the game. Then I find out there's hints(but also sometimes there just isn't, also hints for solved puzzles are still active and using them counts towards final score). Then I find out that cleaning ze cog isn't possible with water, you have to use ze barrel. Then why can I even press the water under the valve thing? Why won't the character say "the water doesn't do much good against grease stains" or whatever?
I am not trying to be mean. I dabble a bit in design and I really see a potential, you just need to direct it better. For example the first game(the one before grimoire part 1) was much better than this one, even tho it was still a simple marathon. You should follow and try to improve that path.
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There is potential.
Lots and lots of wasted potential.
I haven't been this disappointed in a game in a long time. I just sat through both of those parts and the (seemingly) first part in the series.
It hurt. It felt like a chore. Yet I had to do this because once I see a point'n'click adventure game I can't go to sleep until I play it.
First the good: The sound, music - all fits well with the game style. The graphics itself pretty nice, clearly trying to go back to the good ol times. The idea itself was a pass. Definitely writes in story design but I would give it a pass.
The bad: tiresome puzzles, sometimes very stupid and arbitrary ways to solve them and the character doesn't hint us with a way to solve them the way the author intends. This way you end up trying everything which just gets frustrating extremally fast. It would be less jarring if you could use keyboard to move between locations.
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The screen transition locking mouse position visually makes it feel kinda clunky. Might want to find a way to keep the cursor responsive while transitioning screens.
The sound design is great even though there's not much to design in this style of a game. The music is really pleasant, though loopy it never gets annoying or noticeable unless you're listening for it which is a huge achievement when working on background music :D
Coming from "use any item on all things" in almost all other adventure/point and clicks, it took me quite a while to realize I just needed to just interact with stuff and the items were used appropriately. This is such a huge step forward when it comes to this small of a game. It adds to the 'short-and-sweet' feel of it and deviating from the norm shows you know this and chose this consciously.
Overall, 4.5/5 from me (which is a 5 :D). Good luck working on your next game (if you are).
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Great game, but some simple feedback: If the user clicks to place something, don't make them immediately click it again to make something happen. I spent WAY too much time looking for what to do next when clicking the statuette after placing it seemed unnecessary. Also the extra step with the punchcard seemed blah to me. Like, why even bother? When I tried to use the reader prior to adjusting the card, it doesn't tell me to do anything. At the very least, give a little something to denote that the card can have more done to it (on pick up or hover) to give the player some direction.
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Nice puzzle game really liked it. For contructive feedback, was stuck two times, first at the begining for the password. C'mon you supposed to get some items and solve some puzzles befor entering any passwords, this one was bit "too" obvious". Another time i got stuck was with the kog. Tryed every waterspot i could find... Also mystery of the toilet still bugs me out, cook leaves the kitchen when you cut the water off, but the person in toilet just keeps doing whatever you do in toilet. Dunno if the other rooms or the flys at the lamps are interactable through some easter eggy shennanigans, but so far havent found any way to interact with them.
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Thanks for the help although it seemed to only make me realize that I was stuck on something different instead. I didn't interact with the drink. The drink caused time to pass, getting rid of the owner, granting access to the office, that got me the keycard, etc. Before then the only thing that seemed doable was the orangery so I thought the code was some strange logic or something. If I hadn't been told the password was in a room I couldn't enter yet, I would probably still be searching for that clue... Other than that *facepalm* the only other issue I had with the game was I feel it made things WAY too obvious in places however I did still find it quite enjoyable. 4/5 for fun. Also I can't fully express my gratitude in words for a Dev actually responding to and helping a player. Sorry in advance for double posting, the length of the post and my rubbish socialization ability caused by my Asperger's. Note to other players: Don't miss the drink. ;)
No worries. I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed the game. It's hard trying to tread the line between difficult and hand-holding, but yeah, the drink puzzle is probably a bit obscure. Thanks for your feedback though, it's all useful.
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nice game, i went crazy trying to wipe that cog, tried the dishwasher, the water outlet, the leeves at the riverbank, would not have guessed i needed chemicals. Oh, and it says i used 0 hints during the game, were there any?
Thanks. The cog puzzle stumped a few people. Hints are available from the pause menu. I hid them there to prevent the temptation to keep checking for hints.
EDIT: Using the cog in the dishwasher is inspired. Perhaps I'll add something like it in a future episode!
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Ok, I'm stuck. I have the carpet roll, bamboo cane, pendant, toy boat and telescope. I found the portal, as well as how to destroy the spell. I haven't figured out how to interact with the spirits, and the grandfather clock in the lobby is still broken. What do I do?
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I can't open the door in the crypt (West). I have the carpet roll, Bamboo Cane, Pendant, Toy Boat, Dirty Cog, and Telescope. Anyone have an idea?
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Good game. Stuck for a long time until I found that i need to click the statue again after put it on the fireplace. And I wonder who is the person staring from the diningroom.
Thanks!. I agree that bit is maybe a bit difficult. The dining room thing was just added for a bit of horror/mystery. Perhaps I should have worked into the story somehow.