Family Mysteries 2: Echoes of Tomorrow

About

Family Mysteries 2: Echoes of Tomorrow is a hidden object puzzle adventure game. As the new director of the National Museum, you discover a time-travel device and must prevent its misuse by a mischievous coworker, solving various puzzles and exploring historical periods. With family-friendly gameplay and intriguing time-travel mechanics, it's a fun and engaging experience for all ages.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Family Mysteries 2: Echoes of Tomorrow screenshot

70%

Audience ScoreBased on 107 reviews

story29 positive mentions

monetization3 negative mentions

The game features a fun and engaging sci-fi storyline with unique puzzles and hidden object scenes that are different from typical HOGs.
The artwork and graphics are visually appealing, enhancing the overall experience of the game.
The game includes a variety of mini-games and challenges that are enjoyable and provide a good mix of gameplay.

The voice acting is often subpar, with some performances being described as comical or poorly executed.
The storyline is criticized for being convoluted and derivative, heavily borrowing from well-known sci-fi tropes, particularly the Terminator franchise.
Many players found the puzzles to be either too easy or confusing, with unclear instructions leading to frustration.

story
127 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
72%
6%
The story of the game is a sci-fi narrative that draws heavily on familiar tropes, particularly reminiscent of the Terminator franchise, which has led to mixed reviews. While some players found the plot engaging with interesting twists, others criticized it for being poorly executed, cliché, and lacking depth. Overall, the storyline is seen as a departure from the previous game in the series, offering a different experience that may appeal to those who enjoy straightforward, puzzle-driven gameplay rather than a complex narrative.
- “The story piqued my interest early and stayed compelling until the end.”
- “This game takes a 180-degree turn from the last one in the series, including elements such as time travel, AI, mechanical arms, etc., but it made for a great and engaging story.”
- “A hidden object point and click game with a sci-fi plot where we go on a one-man mission to get our wife back after she was kidnapped and to stop a threat of machines taking over the world.”
- “The story is cliche and poorly written with just enough bad translation to make you shake your head.”
- “The storyline was a total ripoff from Terminator and the voice overs were lame (almost comical).”
- “The plot is basically Terminator with a dad haha.”
graphics
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
32%
16%
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their beautiful artwork, high-quality cut scenes, and good resolution, creating an engaging visual experience. However, some users noted issues with overly busy graphics that can make it difficult to identify objects, as well as inconsistent quality in character animations compared to the detailed environments. Overall, while the environmental graphics are well-received, character visuals could benefit from improvement.
- “🟢 Excellent artwork and detailed visuals.”
- “The artwork is top-notch, and the cut scenes are high quality.”
- “The graphics are of the new crop, good resolution, no weird wonkiness on size, shape, and perspective of objects and scenes.”
- “Overly busy graphics where you aren't sure what to click on or why.”
- “Character graphics/animation make you wish you could experience some sort of acute eyesight loss.”
- “Graphics are the same as always; backgrounds and objects have a nice painted look to them while the character animations need work.”
music
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
42%
25%
The music in the game is generally well-received, with many players appreciating its fitting contribution to the sci-fi theme and overall atmosphere. However, it has been criticized for being overly repetitive and largely recycled from previous titles, which detracts from its originality. While some find the music haunting and enjoyable, others consider it merely adequate, lacking in standout moments.
- “As always, the music is exciting and fits with the story and cutscenes.”
- “The art and music are consistently good and suit the theme very well.”
- “The music is decent though overly repetitive and most of it is just lifted wholesale from the first game.”
- “No match 3 fighting mini games in this one (bummer) and this game reuses a lot of assets from the first game like the music and a voice line or two.”
- “The music, albeit recycled from Brave Giant's other hop games, contributed to the theme without becoming overly repetitive.”
gameplay
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it mediocre and lacking in challenge, particularly in comparison to previous entries in the series. While some appreciate the engaging story and a few novel mini-games, others criticize the overall mechanics, including frustrating user interface elements and low-quality writing. Overall, it is seen as a standard hidden-object adventure that may appeal more to fans of the genre than to casual gamers.
- “This game takes a 180-degree turn from the last one in the series, including elements such as time travel, AI, mechanical arms, etc., but it made for a great and engaging story, not gonna lie.”
- “Gameplay is run of the mill for this brand of hidden-object game, though I was peeved with the 'abstract HUD UI' scenes and mini-games, which are not pleasant to look at nor intuitive. However, this title features remarkably low-quality writing and voice acting even by Artifex standards.”
- “All in all, this entry in the series improves dramatically on the failings of the first one, which barely eked out a recommendation from me due entirely to the gameplay.”
- “And frankly, the gameplay leaves a lot to be desired.”
- “All in all, a worthwhile hidden-object adventure for the story, just don't expect innovative gameplay.”
- “Gameplay is run of the mill for this brand of hidden-object game, though I was peeved with the abstract HUD UI scenes and mini-games, which are not pleasant to look at nor intuitive. This title features remarkably low quality writing and voice acting even by Artifex standards.”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with some players finding it genuinely funny despite subpar voice acting and cringeworthy moments. Many appreciate the unintentional comedy stemming from the game's flaws, as well as the inclusion of humorous lines and hidden references that enhance the overall enjoyment. Overall, the humor adds a layer of entertainment, making the experience more enjoyable even amidst its shortcomings.
- “The voice acting wasn't amazing, but I found it pretty funny at times, which added to the enjoyment.”
- “What we have here is a game so terrible it's funny.”
- “Horrible and hilarious cut scenes mixed with a decent story and fun puzzles.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization of "Family Mysteries 2: Echoes of Tomorrow" has been criticized as a blatant cash grab, with users noting that it feels like a poorly ported mobile app rather than a legitimate PC game. The game is seen as a quick way for developers to profit, lacking the depth and quality expected from a Steam title.
- “Family Mysteries 2: Echoes of Tomorrow is a mobile app that's been dumped on Steam as if it were a real PC game; it's a cash grab from greedy mobile developers.”
- “This mobile app is a hidden object puzzle game, common on app stores, and obviously improperly dumped onto Steam as a cash grab; the whole thing could be done in a web browser.”
- “This game is a quick cash grab.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and confusing, as the puzzles, while aiming for innovation, often feel overly abstract and lack clarity.
- “Puzzles are mostly tedious and abstract.”
- “Puzzles are tedious because in an attempt to be more innovative or 'sci-fi'-ish, they just kind of come across as confusing.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The optimization of voice work in the game is inconsistent, with some actors delivering outstanding performances that enhance the gaming experience, while others fall short.
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Users report significant stability issues, with the game frequently freezing to the point where even basic commands like Ctrl-Alt-Del become unresponsive, indicating severe performance problems.
- “It totally freezes up to the point where Ctrl-Alt-Del doesn't respond, and Caps Lock won't toggle the keyboard LED.”
- “The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable.”
- “I experience constant lag and stuttering, which ruins the overall experience.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game offers minimal replay value, suggesting that players may not find enough incentive to revisit it after completing the main content.
- “The game has minimal replay value.”
- “Once you complete the main story, there's little incentive to play again.”
- “The lack of varied outcomes makes replaying feel tedious.”