Crystals of Time
- June 13, 2014
- exosyphen studios
- 4h median play time
Get on Steam"Crystals of Time" is a mystery adventure game featuring Ashley Ford, a skilled thief seeking her missing father. Armed with a time-traveling crystal, Ashley explores the secrets of the Three Oak Mansion across 80 hand-drawn scenes, solving 24 mini-games and hidden object scenes. The game offers a classic gameplay experience with an atmospheric soundtrack.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features beautiful graphics and a nice soundtrack that enhances the atmosphere.
- It offers a variety of puzzles and hidden object scenes that can be enjoyable for casual players.
- The hint system is helpful for players who may get stuck, providing visual cues for where to go next.
- The gameplay involves excessive backtracking, requiring players to revisit the same locations multiple times without clear direction.
- The story is thin and lacks depth, with an abrupt ending that leaves players unsatisfied.
- Many hidden object scenes are repetitive, often requiring players to find the same items in the same locations repeatedly.
- story72 mentions
- 24 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The story in this game is generally perceived as weak and lacking depth, with many reviewers noting its disjointed narrative and lack of engaging elements. While some find the premise interesting, the execution is often criticized for being vague, with tedious backtracking and repetitive puzzles that detract from the overall experience. Overall, the storyline fails to provide a compelling or coherent framework for the gameplay, leaving players unsatisfied.
“The story does its job of giving you an excuse to explore and solve puzzles.”
“If you're a fan of the whole story-based seek and find with a few puzzles thrown in, you'll want to buy this game because it's an example of the genre.”
“It has a fairly good storyline and wonderful graphics.”
“The game lacks any meaningful narrative that drives the story or tells you what you should be looking for.”
“The story is pretty much non-existent and the characters are uninteresting.”
“There was barely a single drop of story to be found in the entire game.”
- music35 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 34 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its beauty and ability to enhance the atmosphere, with many reviewers noting its relaxing and haunting qualities. However, some players experienced issues with repetitive tracks and long periods of silence, which detracted from the overall experience. Despite these criticisms, the soundtrack is often highlighted as one of the game's strongest aspects, contributing positively to the mood and ambiance.
“The soundtrack was also relaxing and never felt repetitive.”
“The music is actually pretty good, rather haunting.”
“A really good hidden object game: the music is beautiful and not overbearing, the puzzles increase with a good difficulty and the game is somewhat not too linear.”
“Music/sounds cut out every so often.”
“If it wasn't punctuated by long segments of no music at all, it'd be the highlight of the game.”
“Music didn't wow me but they chose to have no voice acting rather than bad voice acting; I applaud that decision.”
- graphics25 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 28 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the beautiful artwork and cohesive scenes, while others criticize the dated, grainy, and low-resolution visuals that can hinder gameplay. Although many appreciate the artistic style and detail, issues like blurry images on modern monitors and inconsistent lighting detract from the overall experience. Overall, while the graphics are often described as nice or impressive, they are not without significant flaws.
“The artwork and soundtrack are amazing but the gameplay itself is a little off, but not enough to leave a negative recommendation.”
“As the entire experience plays out in a series of still pictures (with some minor animation at times), the player is treated with a wide array of stunning visuals that range from the vast, brooding insides of a sprawling mansion to a glittering moonlit coast.”
“The graphics are beautifully rendered and painted.”
“Really dated, the graphics seem almost blurry on a new monitor.”
“The seek and finds are tediously repetitive, the graphics are grainy and low resolution (adding to the tedious nature of the seek and finds) and the ending to the game is ultimately unsatisfying.”
“Graphics are mediocre; it usually wasn't hard to tell what something was, but everything looked cut-pasted with no consistent lighting, plus the usual mindlessly hiding long things on edges.”
- gameplay21 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players noting clunky mechanics and a lack of clear direction, leading to frustration in navigation and item combination. While the mini-games are generally seen as enjoyable and the overall experience is considered satisfactory for the price, the repetitive nature of tasks and poor design choices detract from the overall enjoyment. Despite its flaws, some players still recommend the game for its low cost and engaging artwork.
“The first 30 minutes or so of gameplay are excellent; the diary gives you hints as to what you need to do, and you don't mind skipping between locations to complete tasks/find objects.”
“The mini-games were quick, fun little diversions that enhanced the otherwise repetitious gameplay.”
“4 hours of gameplay seems about right for the price.”
“Granted, this is an older game, but I have played hidden object games older than this one which had better mechanics, directions, and narratives.”
“The gameplay is a bit clunky, in that it is sometimes difficult to figure out where you need to go, and what you need to do.”
“The worst part is the gameplay and the presentation; the game is littered with horrible design decisions.”
- grinding9 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is heavily criticized for its excessive backtracking and lack of meaningful progress, making the experience feel tedious and repetitive. Players find the limited fast travel options frustrating, as they are forced to revisit the same locations multiple times without sufficient narrative or puzzle engagement. Overall, the grinding detracts significantly from the enjoyment, leading to a sense of boredom and dissatisfaction.
“Stay away, this game is one of the worst games of its type that I've ever played. The story is somewhat interesting but there's no hook, no progress, and the ending is boring. Too much backtracking without explanation or story hints, no animation or voice acting, and lazy puzzle design which repeats many times in your playthrough. You can't warp, and even though the game isn't that big, the excessive backtracking makes it tedious to go from one point of the mansion to another. Did I mention the senseless backtracking?”
“However, when you need to travel back and forth across the map to areas you need to search, and there are painfully few quick travel points on your map, it makes it beyond tedious.”
“The seek and finds are tediously repetitive, the graphics are grainy and low resolution (adding to the tedious nature of the seek and finds), and the ending to the game is ultimately unsatisfying.”
- atmosphere6 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is enhanced by a lovely, melancholic soundtrack that complements the visuals, creating an immersive experience. While some areas may feel generic in their spooky presentation, the music and effective voice acting contribute significantly to the overall ambiance. Overall, the combination of art and sound design effectively establishes a captivating atmosphere.
“Also kudos to the background music; it added great atmosphere.”
“It had a great atmosphere, and the music is truly lovely - melancholic but modern.”
“The areas themselves don't look so bad, but they don't provide much atmosphere besides 'spooky (maybe haunted) mansion, woo.'”
“In addition to the art, the soundtrack is both simple yet effective, adding to the atmosphere of the game in a substantial way.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is criticized for its lack of replayability, with multiple users noting that it offers minimal to no incentive to play again after the initial experience.
“There is no replayability to this.”
“Minimal replay value.”
“Zero replayability.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is marred by numerous bugs, including issues with music, inconsistent object interaction, and glitches that hinder gameplay. Additionally, players have noted difficulties with visibility and excessive padding in game length, detracting from the overall experience.
“There were a lot of nice ideas in this game, but that can't save the spotty object clicking, glitches, tough-to-read text, and game length padding.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is criticized for its lackluster storyline and disjointed narrative flow, leading to a disengaging experience for players.
“The story felt very boring and lacked any emotional depth, with a nonsensical sequence of events that failed to engage me.”
