Ferrum's Secrets: Where Is Grandpa?

About

In "Ferrum's Secrets: Where is Grandpa?", players explore a steampunk-inspired city shrouded in fog to find the protagonist's missing grandfather, a famous inventor. The game features 59 atmospheric locations, 16 mini-games, and 13 hidden object scenes, with over 100 items to collect. Challenging difficulty modes, including an Expert mode, and additional bonus items and puzzles add to the engaging gameplay .

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

Ferrum's Secrets: Where Is Grandpa? screenshot

35%

Audience ScoreBased on 68 reviews

graphics9 positive mentions

story6 negative mentions

The game offers a unique 3D environment that adds a fresh perspective to the hidden object genre.
The hint system is helpful, allowing players to progress even when they are stuck.
The story, while flawed, has potential and can be engaging for players who enjoy adventure and mystery.

The graphics and overall presentation are poor, reminiscent of outdated 90s games, which detracts from the experience.
The English translation is often awkward and confusing, making it difficult to follow the story and objectives.
Gameplay is plagued by bugs, including a hint system that can get stuck and controls that are unresponsive, leading to frustration.

story
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
70%
16%
The story aspect of the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its adventurous premise and atmosphere, while others criticize it for being poorly constructed, incoherent, and filled with plotholes. Many reviewers note that the storytelling is hampered by awkward dialogue, a lack of clarity, and subpar English, making it difficult to engage with the narrative. Overall, while some find the story intriguing, the execution leaves much to be desired, often feeling disjointed and lacking in depth.
- “It's story is well told and it establishes a very nice atmosphere.”
- “The story concerns an evil fog that has fallen over a city, and the disappearing scientists who are somehow involved in its creation.”
- “Story is really interesting and intriguing.”
- “I have to agree with all of the other comments regarding the atrocious English, terrible graphics, threadbare and illogical story, etc. It's awful and not worth playing, even for free.”
- “Even if the above things weren't a problem, the plot was so loosely constructed that I was constantly reacting to the (barely understandable) dialog with thoughts like, 'why in the world would he do that?' and 'that makes absolutely no sense at all...there's no motivation there, financial or otherwise.' The characters' actions often seem pretty random, and the solutions to situations are all-too-often completely obtuse, when there is an obvious and simpler way that something should have been solved, especially given the environment and items in inventory.”
- “The story is very poor, inconsistent, full of plot holes and generally makes no sense.”
graphics
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
52%
17%
The graphics of the game have received largely negative feedback, with many reviewers noting that they resemble outdated styles from the 80s and 90s, lacking modern resolution options and customization. While some appreciate the 3D elements and find them visually appealing, the overall execution is criticized for poor performance and inconsistency, leading to a general consensus that the graphics are a significant letdown. A few users rated the graphics moderately, suggesting they are acceptable for an indie project, but overall, the visuals fail to impress and detract from the gaming experience.
- “The graphic style is a little different than most of the hidden object games out there, which struck me as a nice change of pace.”
- “I'm sure this is partially a factor of the novelty, but the internal consistency of having the various clickable items all made of the same basic lines and textures as its surroundings massively simplified the struggle of getting artwork to match that so bedevils 2D hidden object games.”
- “- I really like the graphics, it's not tiring and looks great.”
- “There's no option to change the resolution and no useful graphics tweaks.”
- “The graphics are so-so.”
- “The different locations are rendered in 3D graphics but they look like they are from the 90s.”
music
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
47%
20%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it soothing and appropriate for the genre, while others criticize it as generic and recycled royalty-free tracks that contribute to an overall feeling of emptiness. The lack of sound options and the repetitive nature of the music detract from the experience, leading to a perception of the game as unfinished and amateurish. Overall, while some appreciate the calming effect of the music, many feel it fails to enhance the game's atmosphere.
- “I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
- “The music is quite pleasant, perfect for this kind of game.”
- “Music/ambiance is nice and soothing.”
- “There are two music tracks in the game.”
- “The graphics and 3D object models are easily put to shame by games such as the 1993 version of Myst, while the music is recycled from other games (assuming there is any sound at all in the area you're in).”
- “Music and sound are very poor; the music is soothing and repetitive, and the best sound is the meow of the cat that appears everywhere.”
gameplay
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it enjoyable and well-executed, particularly praising the point-and-click mechanics and interesting puzzles. However, others expressed frustration with certain aspects, such as the tight timer in expert mode and the overall short length of the game, leading to a sense of annoyance. While it offers some engaging moments, the gameplay can feel repetitive and visually overwhelming at times.
- “Fun little point-and-click first-person adventure interleaved with hidden puzzle mechanics - quite short though.”
- “Of course it's an indie title and not the best indie title out there, but you can definitely manage to skip the plot and focus on the gameplay, which is well-done and enjoyable to me.”
- “The game does a decent job at trying to keep the gameplay fresh.”
- “Amateur hidden object game; I got so annoyed with this gameplay that I stopped. Last time I buy anything cheap on Steam.”
- “I was completely disgusted to find that expert mode puts a fairly tight timer on you, not just in the hidden object scenes but in general gameplay.”
- “The problem with Ferrum's Secrets is I found the gameplay very frustrating.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
75%
The game's optimization has been criticized for its outdated artwork quality and poor performance, reminiscent of late 90s titles, which is particularly disappointing for a casual game. Reviewers suggest that the developers should invest in a more suitable engine and improve overall playability to meet modern standards.
- “I recommend that you spend more time investing in an engine that works well for this genre of game and will run smoothly on more platforms, and also invest in things like proper translation, playtesting, etc., if you want to be a professional shop.”
- “The performance is completely inexcusable for a casual game.”
- “90s 3D 'art' meets Unity sluggish performance.”
- “Alas, the implementation shows artwork quality, performance, and general playability of the late 90s.”
- “I would expect this if I were trying to play Far Cry 4 on this laptop, but the performance is completely inexcusable for a casual game.”
- “90s 3D 'art' meets Unity's sluggish performance.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is criticized for its poor stability, with users reporting numerous bugs that significantly hinder the gameplay experience.
- “Horribly bad and buggy hidden object game.”
- “Buggy.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by the irony of a pitch-black house owned by a missing grandpa who was an electrician, suggesting a comical twist on his skills. Additionally, the ability to change colors adds a playful element to the gameplay.
- “The whole house being almost pitch black is funny since the missing grandpa was an electrician; he obviously wasn't very skilled, haha! So maybe an angry customer got his revenge!”
- “It's quite funny that you can change the colors of the game.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players find the grinding in Ferrum's Secrets to be tedious, which detracts from their overall engagement with the game, despite some interesting elements.
- “Ferrum's Secrets does a few interesting things, but ultimately is too tedious to keep me gripped.”
- “The grinding in this game feels endless and lacks any real reward, making it a chore rather than a challenge.”
- “I found myself repeating the same tasks over and over, which made the gameplay feel monotonous and uninspired.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The lack of randomized hidden object scenes significantly diminishes the game's replayability, as players are unlikely to find value in replaying the same content.
- “The hidden object scenes are not randomized, so there's no replayability value. Who would want to play it twice anyway?”
- “Once you've completed the game, there's little incentive to go back. The lack of variety makes replaying feel pointless.”
- “After finishing the game, I found no reason to replay it. The same puzzles and scenes just don't offer any new experience.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional response to the game is mixed, with some players feeling discomfort, particularly due to a bizarre spinning hidden object scene at the end of chapter one that elicited feelings of sickness.