Occultus - Mediterranean Cabal

Let me start from basics, I didn’t like the game. Mechanics is not intuitive, if it was 2014 game I wouldn’t say anything but it is supposed to be new… dragging objects you want to use instead of clicking and hoping you’ll hit just the right spot, moving back and forward to pick up the same item that is used in two scenes, map that requires 3 clicks before you can move to desired area, simply annoying. The description of the game says “unbelievable investigation” but I only got bored and confused. The makers were trying to put it all into one story, mysterious murders, occultism, elites lives, ghosts, visions, portals…. And because of that it felt random and illogical. “Stunning hidden object scenes”, well, maybe, but that doesn’t justify using each scene twice (!) simply by changing the list of objects we are searching for. Alternate day and night scenes…. Let’s be clear, it could be interesting, but the main character finds his grandfather’s watch, discovers...

I'll give this a provisional recommendation, as the story outweighs some of the clunky mechanics. If you get it in a bundle or on special, go for it, otherwise play something else. A 55/100 effort. [b]The good[/b] Excellent story for this kind of game Superb backgrounds and visuals Some very challenging puzzles De-emphasises HO in favour of story Reasonable music [b]The bad[/b] Clunky interface and mechanics A couple of tracing games that are way out of place in a HOG Amateur theatre society level voice acting Some pixel hunting Difficult to figure out what to do on occasion Minimal replay value

This game has so many little problems that pills up that it's complicated to explain why and how you reach the point where you stop and say "no, I can't recommend that game, I'm done." The feeling for me began when I looked around for ten minutes what I was supposed to do with those mosaics with the roman numbers until I get that during the day there was a painting with the right number under. Then it became worse, especially with the map green indicator telling you "I should come back later" while in fact you forgot to pick stuff in the room, which you need now to progress. Then game becomes the "Cave Corridor CG Simulator" (which should be the subtitle of the game as those are the only "quality" CG and you'll spend your time seeing the same over and over again every time you open a fucking door leading underground). And then I received 3 mini caskets instead of 4 and I got stuck in the game on the last tier of it (oh, did I forget to say that people face bugs and dev don't care abou...

This is a casual point and-and-click adventure with a few hidden-object scenes and puzzle mini-games. Skip this one. While the storytelling is OK, the game engine is rough, awkward, and buggy. You have to click and drag objects, which is already an annoying mechanic, but often clicks won't register and you will miss objects and actions even though you did the right thing. Map navigation is a nightmare. Even without the clunky engine, game design is unreasonably difficult. At some point I lost interest in even trying to understand the logic behind the puzzles and relied on the hint button to move forward. You are not rewarded for carefully thinking through the puzzles. Instead, you need to just use every object with everything until something works, which is not only tedious but also frustrating when the game engine won't register your clicks. The puzzle mini-games are also poorly designed. One memorable disaster involves putting 5 weights in order so they balance on a scale. Except...

Out of all of the HOG I've ever played, this one is probably the most "intricate" and most like an authentic mystery game. It has similar gameplay to Nancy Drew, which is amazing since Nancy Drew is my all-time favorite game series, BUT, this game has a lot of issues that ended up with me giving it a negative rating. First of all, the game had a great storyline UP UNTIL IT SAID that Pagan rituals are "obscene". Excuse me, but clearly the creators and writers of this game have no clue what Paganism is all about, because it has NOTHING to do with conjuring demon lords and harming people. Secondly, your mouse has to be in the EXACT correct position before clicking, otherwise it won't render. Even 0.01mm off will cause it not to work. Multiple times, I thought I didn't click the correct hidden object or thought the correct object didn't go there, only to click the hint button and find that it told me to do the exact same thing I already tried. Third, the voice acting is absolutely atroc...

pros + a intriguing and cool story about family curse and a secret cult which worships to a entity. + nice looking background graphics + four difficulty options + a few enjoyable mini games and some puzzles. when you combine multiple items you can make new items in your inventory + some hidden object scenes enjoyable + protagonist's voice acting ok for an HO game + changing time of day is a cool mechanic + there is map + hint system helpful + cool background musics + game is not too short + there is a tutorial cons - most of mini games and puzzle solutions random, tedious and simply waste of time. i directly skipped them - most of HO scenes require pixel hunting and random click punishment in these scenes getting quickly annoying - scene changes laggy - click and drag objects feature is unpractical and frustrating - unclear map navigation - some bad voice acting from side characters - there are no trade cards and steam achievements - there is no bonus chapter Overall, despite it ...

I'll be honest. I want to say yes. I really do. There were mechanics I'd not come across before, or at least were executed differently (like how to combine objects) and I was invested in the story, mostly but. Several minigames just would not work. I tried for 15 minutes to get the checkers minigame to do anything other than have the piece I moved not just reset to the beginning. A few 'get this item to get the next item to get the next item' felt over done. And not the puzzle towards the end to get the zodiac signs, not really, but there were a few items I needed to use more than once but had to go back to another room, use it there first then take the item into the original room to use it. Some things just felt confusing as far as the story, [spoiler] like I had no clue my Grandfather was in on it until after breaking the ritual he was mad at me. What in the hell happens to the girl I rescued.[/spoiler] I got this game on sale, and while glad I played it, until at least th...

Very much intriguing and challenging "Hidden Object" Quest with its own atmosphere and thrill. 'Lot of interesting puzzles to solve and charming places to watch. Enjoy.

I thought this was a fun standard HO game. I felt the other reviews were harsh and undeserving. This is a good player on the HO stage. Played normal level. Felt the map traveling was clear. Was patient on paying attention to the cursor. It let you know where you needed to be. It was a bit longer than the usual HO games I play so that was a plus. I did skip 2 puzzles just because I was feeling lazy and didn't want to take the time to sit and do it correctly. This deserves a higher rating than it currently has. I did get in on super sale but totally recommend this game on any sale.

Doesn't work on ultra-wide monitors - the top and bottom of the screen are cut off, sometimes including the inventory. There aren't any options for other aspect ratios and turning off full-screen gave me the same ratio but in a tiny window. I thought I soft-locked myself in the intro because I couldn't figure out how to stop the carriage, but it turns out I needed to talk to the driver that was off-screen and could only be seen by right-clicking at the top edge of the screen to zoom in. The hidden object scenes are equally unplayable on ultra-wide for the same reason.