Ashley Clark: The Secrets of the Ancient Temple
- August 31, 2018
- N-Tri Studio
In "Ashley Clark: The Secrets of the Ancient Temple," detective Ashley Clark investigates a seemingly accidental death at a provincial zoo, uncovering a series of strange occurrences and a mysterious temple. With 23 quest levels, 35 mini-games, and 14 hidden-object levels, players can enjoy a challenging and exciting adventure filled with twists and turns. The game offers a range of difficulty levels, ensuring a fun and engaging experience for all players.
Reviews
- The game features a good variety of puzzles and hidden object scenes that can be enjoyable and challenging.
- The atmosphere is enhanced by subtle musical ambience and decent graphics, creating an engaging experience.
- Achievements are easy to obtain, and the hint system allows for assistance when needed.
- The story is minimal and lacks depth, making it difficult for players to become invested in the characters or plot.
- Many puzzles are either too easy or frustratingly difficult, with vague instructions that can lead to confusion.
- The game suffers from technical issues such as bugs, loading delays, and poor animations, detracting from the overall experience.
- story50 mentions
- 24 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The story in this game is generally considered weak and underdeveloped, with many reviewers noting its lack of depth and coherence. While some appreciate the gameplay and puzzle elements, they feel the narrative is basic, often confusing, and fails to engage players or provide meaningful character development. Overall, the consensus is that the game prioritizes gameplay over storytelling, resulting in a lackluster narrative experience.
“Cool storyline and really challenging gameplay.”
“Great and unique story combined with interesting puzzles are making this adventure worth purchasing.”
“The graphics are great and it feels how designers made their best to make gamers feel the story of the game.”
“Other than that, there is no actual story to this game and we're not even given any real introduction to any of the characters except basic names, which doesn't help make you invested in this game.”
“The story makes absolutely no sense; you suddenly appear in random places, and I swear I saw the same puzzle twice in the same game. It's a lot of yada yada.”
“Story: rubbish, doesn't make much sense, just cobbled together, rehashed, same old, like who are the antagonist and protagonist?”
- music14 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-received, with many players appreciating its subtlety and atmospheric quality. While some users noted a preference for more background music during gameplay, the overall consensus is that the music complements the game's ambiance effectively. Comparisons to previous titles in the series suggest that while the current game's music is decent, it may not reach the heights of earlier installments.
“Loved the subtle musical ambience.”
“The art and music are good; it's very atmospheric.”
“The music is pretty good.”
“Though this developer doesn't seem to have background music during the hops that I can remember.”
“I like the ones that play a little background music while playing better though; the first game of this series, Curse of the Ruby, was much better.”
“A typical game where you need to look for items, by the way one of my favorite genres, there’s a nice atmosphere and the story itself, I’m not talking about music.”
- gameplay12 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The gameplay in "Ashley Clark 2" is described as basic and unremarkable, primarily focusing on hidden object scenes and puzzles that feel standard and uninspired. While some players found it an improvement over the first game, the overall experience is considered mediocre, with gameplay that lacks depth and engagement.
“Instead, we have a very basic story - with the game itself focusing more on gameplay, hidden object scenes, and puzzles.”
“In my opinion, this game was much better than the first one ('Secret of the Ruby') in terms of gameplay, but the story in this one was much worse.”
“Pretty standard story, puzzles, and gameplay.”
“One could hope that the gameplay could save the plot, but as a game, Ashley Clark 2 is almost remarkably unremarkable.”
“However, I cannot say any more praises or criticism towards the gameplay, because there isn't anything to work with.”
“Gameplay: so-so, just arbitrarily going between places to grab the items needed, worse than average for a hidden object game.”
- grinding8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- -12 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while some puzzles are enjoyable and not overly complex, the frequent back-and-forth travel between locations can become tedious and detract from the fun. Many reviewers noted that while the puzzles themselves are generally easy and achievable, the repetitive nature of the gameplay can feel more like a chore than an engaging challenge.
“The grinding aspect of the game is well-balanced, making it enjoyable rather than tedious.”
“I appreciate how the grinding feels rewarding, with clear progress and achievements to unlock.”
“The grind is satisfying, as it allows me to fully explore the game and master each challenge.”
“The constant back-and-forth between locations got to be so tedious, it was more of a chore than it was fun.”
“The puzzles are all either stupidly simple or just extremely tedious.”
“Some puzzles were really good, but they were also quite tedious.”
- stability6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game has been reported to have significant stability issues, including frequent bugs, scene loading freezes, mismatched audio and dialogue, and choppy animations. Overall, players find the experience to be inconsistent and prone to technical problems.
“The game freezes up while loading scenes, the audio dialogue does not always match the on-screen dialogue, and general art animation was choppy at times.”
“Tends to be buggy.”
“Slightly buggy.”
- atmosphere6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised, with users highlighting the effective combination of art and music that creates a mysterious and immersive experience. Many reviewers appreciate the engaging story and the overall ambiance, making it a standout in the item-search genre.
“The art and music are good; it's very atmospheric.”
“I really loved the mysterious atmosphere in the game.”
“A typical game where you need to look for items; there's a nice atmosphere and the story itself. I definitely recommend it.”
- graphics4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The graphics have received mixed reviews, with some users noting that they are somewhat rough and feature poorly animated cutscenes. However, others appreciate the overall quality, highlighting the designers' efforts to enhance the storytelling experience through the visuals.
“The graphics are great and it feels like the designers did their best to make gamers feel the story of the game.”
“Graphics are as per usual - a little rough, with cutscenes barely animated, if you could call it that.”
- character development2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate a significant lack of character development, with players noting insufficient introduction to both characters and their environments, leading to a disconnect and minimal engagement with the story.
“There is not enough introduction to characters or places, resulting in zero character development.”
“The game lacks sufficient character introduction, leading to a complete absence of character development.”
“The characters feel underdeveloped due to the minimal introduction and backstory provided.”