Dawn of Hope: Skyline Adventure

(I filled out the sheet to have this game added, but I can't add some of the info. It's by Mad Head Games. I guess Big Fish would be the publisher(?) so I put that.)

Last night, I just really felt like playing an IHOG for a bit to wind down before bed, so I opened up my Big Fish launcher for the first time in...four or five years.

I was really into them for a while that year, and Big Fish has some impressive ones. I played the Dark Parables: Little Mermaid and one or two others, as well as some mobile ones, but I don't remember enough to rate them yet. Most of my library with them is unplayed, so I'm going to work my way through those eventually.

This one just hits right. It's a post-apocalyptic setting of sorts. Elves and humans both need salvation from the state of the world. You play as a young woman whose father got sick by venturing to the Forbidden Zone (Earth's surface) from the rooftops and cliffs, trying to find the "Nucleus," which will apparently save everyone. The locations, the ruins of what would be our modern civilization, the quality of the hidden object puzzles--it's all so beautiful. The art is exceptionally pretty, though I think my opinion is a bit colored by the fact that I really love the aesthetic of plants overtaking skyscrapers and the like.

(Image from Google)

A lot of objects that are familiar to us, and some that we use every day, are foreign to the characters in this game. For example, you have to bust through an old car at one point, and the air bag is somehow still deployed and filled with air. So you have to pop it to get through, and your character is like, "This is a weird place for a balloon."

There was just a lot done right for such a short game. I think I skipped one puzzle because the mechanics were just dumb, but otherwise, the puzzles suit the scenario and are fun, and the hidden object segments are relaxing. I do really enjoy the interactive aspects of the game as well, such as picking up random objects and finding uses for them later. It's nice when they can be used on your current objective, but sometimes you have an item for a while before you find a use for it.

The twist in regards to what the Nucleus actually is and the humans' ignorance to their downfall was a nice touch. There's some lore throughout about how the elves and humans came to their current situation.

The music is actually quite lovely. Some of the voice acting is meh, and some of it is well done.