Agon: The Mysterious Codex
- November 18, 2015
- Private Moon Studios
Get on Steam"Agon: The Mysterious Codex" is a trilogy featuring the first three episodes of the AGseries, with Professor Samuel Hunt exploring hidden places and long-forgotten ancient games. This story-driven puzzler offers historically correct graphics, exotic travel, and re-playable ancient board games, suitable for all ages. It boasts an intriguing plot, story-driven puzzles, excellent voice acting, and atmospheric sound, with a focus on exploration and historic detail.
Reviews
- The game features a compelling story with engaging music and decent voice acting.
- Puzzles are creative and can be enjoyable, with some being challenging yet rewarding.
- The inclusion of historical board games adds an interesting layer to the gameplay experience.
- The game feels disjointed and lacks a cohesive narrative, making it less engaging overall.
- Many puzzles are frustratingly obscure, requiring frequent reference to walkthroughs.
- The controls can be clunky and may lead to motion sickness due to the 360-degree navigation.
- story15 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The game's story is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating its engaging narrative and well-implemented puzzles, while others criticize its lack of coherence and depth in character development. Although the individual scenes can be enjoyable, the overall plot progression is seen as poor, leaving players feeling disconnected from the protagonist's journey. Additionally, the unfinished nature of the story, due to missing episodes, detracts from the overall experience, despite the presence of good voice acting and intriguing historical elements.
“The story is great and well implemented with puzzles; it's a lot of reading in the game.”
“It features great music, good voice acting, and a compelling story that is being slowly built up as you play.”
“Agon is the story of one man's obsession with ancient board games, and once those enter the narrative in the second chapter, my planned thumb's down got flipped around.”
“Dialogues are serviceable at best, falling flat most of the time, since they fail to offer context on why the NPCs react the way they do, among other problems of continuity and plot exposition.”
“The character feels lost in its own game, like you must move on for movement’s sake, without feeling involved in the story and even less motivated to delve into the puzzles.”
“It still is worth a look if you get it for very cheap, but it is not much more than a very basic point-and-click with good voice acting, some (two) cool historical board games, and a story that will sadly never be fully finished as the missing 10 episodes will never come out.”
- music9 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 11 % neutral mentions
- 22 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised as one of its standout features, with many reviewers highlighting its relaxing quality and immersive ambiance. The soundtrack, along with the art direction, significantly enhances the overall experience, contributing to the game's authenticity and emotional depth. Additionally, the voice acting complements the music, further enriching the storytelling.
“From best to worst, I’d say the soundtrack is its best feature, tied with the beautiful art direction of the 3D environments.”
“It features great music, good voice acting, and a compelling story that is being slowly built up as you play.”
“The locations in the game feel authentic and the great sounds and music make it very immersive.”
“I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
“Other than that, the game had a nice atmosphere, and I especially liked the music in Lapland, but the controls annoyed me.”
- gameplay5 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The gameplay of *Agon – The Mysterious Codex (Trilogy)* is described as repetitive and lacking clear guidance, with players often left to explore without on-screen prompts or examination mechanics. The experience involves a slow-paced loop of movement and searching for hotspots, which may frustrate those seeking more interactive or engaging gameplay.
“In that regard, my passion for gaming makes me biased towards those that provide me with such entertainment, so I’ll just try and describe my experience with 'Agon – The Mysterious Codex (Trilogy)', so you can decide for yourself, regardless of the 'recommended' vs 'not recommended' mechanics of Steam.”
“The gameplay loop consists of stepping forward, twirling in place for a minute or two, panning up and down to discover the lone hotspot, and then bracing yourself for your next step.”
“With no on-screen text and no examine mechanic, you're left to blindly click the cooking pot on the bag of... is that rice?”
- graphics5 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The graphics are considered dated, even for their release period, but many players appreciate their charm and stylistic execution. While they may not meet modern standards, the pre-rendered visuals still hold a pleasant aesthetic for those who value nostalgia.
“+ Dated but still nice looking pre-rendered graphics.”
“Even though the graphics are dated (even for the time they were made), they have a charm and a pleasant flavor to it, at least for a gamer of my age; I tend to not mind older graphics if they’re done with style.”
“Graphics: 6”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players generally recommend grinding for effective farming in the game, suggesting that it enhances resource acquisition and overall progression.
“The grinding in this game feels endless and tedious, making it hard to stay engaged.”
“I spent hours grinding for resources, but the rewards just aren't worth the time invested.”
“The repetitive nature of grinding in this game quickly becomes a chore rather than an enjoyable experience.”
