A Tale of Caos: Overture
- December 21, 2016
- ExperaGameStudio
Get on SteamIn "A Tale of Caos: Overture," follow apprentice technomancer Terribilia Van Quinn, a.k.a. Terry, and her mechanical owl companion Heimlich on a new adventure with her grumpy master, Albion McMaster. They're in search of a mysterious artifact to complete McMaster's secretive Great Project, but unexpected challenges and Terry's impulsive nature may hinder their success. This unique game ensures a thrilling experience filled with magic, humor, and intriguing narratives.
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Reviews
- The game effectively scratches the itch for point-and-click and puzzle enthusiasts, with a charming story and engaging gameplay.
- The graphics and art style are appealing, and the inclusion of skippable mini-games is a thoughtful feature for players who may find them tedious.
- The developers clearly put a lot of effort into the game, creating a unique setting and likable characters that add to the overall experience.
- The story is often criticized for being uninteresting and the dialogue can be excessively long and tedious, leading to frustration during gameplay.
- Many puzzles are considered bizarre or illogical, with some requiring repetitive actions that can feel tedious and unengaging.
- The lack of character animation and voice acting detracts from the overall immersion, making the game feel static and less engaging.
- story26 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The story of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it interesting and engaging, while others criticize it for being confusing, lacking depth, and featuring unappealing characters. Many noted that the narrative feels incomplete, often leaving players with unanswered questions and a cliffhanger ending, which detracts from the overall experience. Despite its shortcomings, some players express a desire to see how the story unfolds in future installments, particularly appreciating the graphic-novel-style presentation.
“The team behind this game definitely put a lot of effort into everything: story, dialogue, graphics, secrets, and gameplay.”
“But the story was quite enjoyable.”
“The story was great and I wanted to play it out to find out what happens.”
“First of all, the story is not very good.”
“In addition, some parts of the story don't seem to make much sense, and our character seems far too naive and scatterbrained.”
“It's one of those 'complete' games that not only end on a cliffhanger but also leave most of the story unexplained, only hinting at some backstory and promising a larger plot.”
- graphics10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game are generally well-received, with many players appreciating the art style and graphic-novel-inspired panels. However, some critiques highlight inconsistencies between the dialogue and character animations, which detracts from the overall experience. While the visuals are not considered groundbreaking, they evoke nostalgia for classic games and are deemed satisfactory for the game's price point.
“The team behind this game definitely put a lot of effort into everything: story, dialogue, graphics, secrets, and gameplay.”
“I did like Act I; I want to see how the story unfolds, and I particularly liked the graphic-novel-style panels.”
“Love the graphics, though.”
“The dialogue will say the characters are doing things when the visuals still show characters standing still.”
“Detective Grimoire took a similar route, but it used velvety smooth character animations and the dialogue never disagreed with the visuals, making for a much better experience than A Tale of Caos’s attempt.”
“Graphic drawn well and it reminds me of old games like King's Quest or Space Quest.”
- gameplay9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The gameplay in this game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the effort put into mechanics and mini-games, while others find it lacking in production quality and engagement, leading to a sense of dragging over time. Despite a solid and stable foundation, the overall experience is marred by inconsistencies in design and entertainment value.
“The team behind this game definitely put a lot of effort into everything: story, dialogue, graphics, secrets, and gameplay.”
“Despite minor inconveniences in gameplay, the program is very solid and stable.”
“Terry, the apprentice technomancer, has got three tools, which bring some interesting game mechanics with their own mini-games into play.”
“At full price, this is about $0.47/hr of gameplay, which isn't a bad price point in general, but the gameplay's entertainment level kind of goes down as it seems to drag for long periods of the game.”
“A tale of chaos: Overture makes an earnest attempt, but sadly falls short, lacking in production quality, gameplay, and story.”
“It's just unfortunate that design, gameplay, and story all seem to be at odds with each other.”
- humor9 mentions
- 89 % positive mentions
- -22 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as hit-or-miss, with some players finding it charming and clever, while others feel it lacks depth and targets a younger audience. While the initial acts are filled with amusing dialogue and engaging characters, the humor reportedly diminishes in later acts, becoming less relevant and more abstract. Overall, the game offers a mix of fun moments and quirky elements, but opinions on its comedic effectiveness vary significantly.
“I had a lot of fun playing this blast from the past game that was clever, charming, and funny.”
“It looks good, it sounds good, the story's interesting, the characters are funny, there's skippable minigames (which I definitely needed lol), there's a talking robot owl who is your best friend!!”
“(5) The game is charming, funny, and the protagonist has quite an individualized character and is very likable.”
“Boring and not funny; it seems to be targeting a younger audience.”
“The humor falls flat and lacks originality.”
“Attempts at humor feel forced and often miss the mark.”
- music7 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating it while others find it unappealing and mismatched to the game's tone. Issues such as volume inconsistencies and the music's tendency to become irritating during long play sessions have also been noted. Overall, while the soundtrack may resonate with some, it fails to enhance the gaming experience for others.
“I liked the art style and the music, but I thought some of the dialogue and puzzles let me down.”
“Don't get me wrong, the sound's okay, just not for long periods of time, and I tend to play long sessions, so in smaller amounts maybe the music isn't as irritating.”
“I personally was not the biggest fan of this soundtrack, but I can see that others could easily enjoy it a lot.”
“Much of the music doesn't fit the tone or scene at all.”
“Dramatic music plays while the main character stands with a stock idle animation talking to some NPC in lengthy, boring dialogue trees.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, particularly due to the repetitive nature of mini-games like multi-tool, alchemy, and eco-power tool tasks, which detracts from the overall experience. The process of randomly combining items to find solutions is also seen as unnecessarily cumbersome.
“It makes randomly combining items to find solutions far more tedious.”
“However, that's not what happens, and I find the multi-tool, alchemy, and eco-power tool mini-games to be too repetitive and tedious.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that while the game attempts to evoke emotional responses, it often falls short due to a lack of engaging character animations during key moments, which detracts from the overall impact. Players feel that the emotional depth is not fully realized, as interactions may not align with the intended dramatic context.
“The game masterfully captures the emotional weight of its narrative, leaving players deeply moved by the characters' journeys.”
“I found myself genuinely invested in the characters' struggles, feeling their pain and joy as if it were my own.”
“The emotional depth of the story resonated with me long after I finished playing, making it a truly unforgettable experience.”
