Night Mysteries: The Amphora Prisoner

About

"Night Mysteries: The Amphora Prisoner" is a hidden object adventure game set in a haunted mansion. You play as a detective tasked with solving the mystery of a cursed amphora and freeing the trapped soul within. The game features a variety of puzzles and hidden object scenes to search through as you uncover the mansion's secrets.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Night Mysteries: The Amphora Prisoner screenshot

59%

Audience ScoreBased on 180 reviews

story36 positive mentions

grinding8 negative mentions

The game features a unique 3D art style that adds a fresh perspective to the hidden object genre.
The atmosphere is engaging, with eerie music and a setting that enhances the mystery.
Some puzzles are creative and provide a decent challenge, making the gameplay enjoyable for casual players.

The game suffers from poor navigation and a non-interactive map, leading to frustrating backtracking.
Many puzzles are poorly designed, requiring tedious actions that detract from the overall experience.
The story is weak and lacks depth, with several plot points feeling disjointed or underdeveloped.

story
130 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
61%
11%
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it unengaging or poorly executed, often describing it as cliché, dull, or lacking depth. While some appreciated the setting and the potential for an interesting narrative, others noted issues with pacing, coherence, and character development, leading to a general sentiment that the story is not a strong point of the game. Overall, it seems that players primarily enjoy the gameplay mechanics rather than the storyline itself.
- “Night Mysteries is a hidden object game that also tries to be a lightweight Lovecraftian horror story on board a seemingly abandoned ship, and it does a surprisingly good job at both.”
- “The biggest of these surprises is the story: we follow a struggling young writer named Natalie, who—while being on board a ship to America—has to battle an undescribed mysterious force in order to save the missing crew.”
- “It has a good background story, some innovative ideas with the mini-games, some nice riddles, and equally nice hidden-object parts.”
- “The story was boring and written in a clunky manner; the journal was unhelpful in figuring out objectives because it contained only the most obvious prompts.”
- “The story does not have much of a hook.”
- “The story line is all over the place; don't even get me started on the ending.”
graphics
60 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
65%
5%
The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the vivid 3D art style and atmospheric design, while others find the visuals dated and inconsistent, particularly due to the awkward transition between hand-drawn scenes and 3D environments. Although there are no options for resolution changes or significant graphics tweaks, many players appreciate the unique blend of styles and the overall aesthetic appeal, despite some frustrations with hidden object visibility and graphical errors. Overall, the graphics are described as decent to good, contributing positively to the game's eerie atmosphere.
- “The graphics are phenomenal.”
- “Loved the graphics and found them very appealing.”
- “The graphics, a mix of 3D models gently swaying in the ocean waves and drawn cut scenes, are terrific and capture the eerie mood very well.”
- “Although the copyright in-game shows 2015, amphora prisoner actually came out in 2013, so it's no surprise that the graphics feel dated.”
- “The artwork is below average.”
- “In short, this is a mediocre hog with a clunky interface, inconsistent graphics, frustrating hidden object screens, bad translation errors, a contrived story, and too many vermin, that just happens to include a couple of enjoyable mini-games, a bonus scavenger hunt, and an interesting camera gimmick.”
music
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
56%
11%
The music in the game is generally well-received, with many players appreciating its atmospheric and ambient qualities that enhance the overall experience. While some noted that the music can be repetitive, it is often described as soothing and fitting for the game's setting, with standout sequences that players enjoyed even on repeat. Additionally, the inclusion of a free soundtrack allows players to enjoy the music outside of the game.
- “The eerie music fits itself so well with the atmosphere.”
- “The music and sound effects are nicely environmental, and there are no voice overs - much preferred to bad voice overs, I must say!”
- “I love the ambient music; it's pretty soothing to listen to!”
- “Music is repetitive.”
- “Terrible graphics, repetitive music, and a story so linear that you can't even visit an open room until you're supposed to, but those are all flaws common in hidden object games.”
- “And the music wasn't boring either, like most of the games I played!”
gameplay
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
78%
11%
The gameplay has been criticized for being generic and linear, relying heavily on outdated hidden object mechanics and frustrating puzzles that do not integrate well with the overall experience. Players noted that the gameplay consists mainly of clicking on hotspots and completing simple tasks, with some elements feeling mandatory rather than enjoyable. While the 3D style and presentation received praise, the overall mechanics and puzzle design left much to be desired.
- “I'm never interested in the story of any game; the mechanics, journey, puzzles, and hidden object games are what make a good HOG game for me.”
- “The gameplay is entirely linear, but you will need to refer to your journal to figure out where you should be trying to go next and why it matters.”
- “Gameplay consists of clicking around on hotspots in various scenes, which triggers a few simple clicking puzzles and hidden object searches.”
- “The puzzles are not only terrible, but they also don't really fit into the gameplay.”
- “There were some annoying features like the fact that you can't pick up things until you need them, which made gameplay very linear.”
- “As for gameplay, it relies on some really outdated hidden object mechanics, and I swear this is the first HOG I met where the bonus collectibles are promoted into a mandatory element.”
atmosphere
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
68%
11%
The atmosphere of the game is generally praised for its eerie and suspenseful qualities, enhanced by effective graphics and complementary background music. While some players noted a lack of depth in the atmosphere and criticized certain gameplay elements, the overall experience is described as a light horror ambiance, successfully evoking a mystic and immersive environment. Flickering lights, sound effects, and thematic elements like swaying motion contribute positively to the game's atmospheric appeal.
- “A box-standard hog set in a mysterious, eerie atmosphere, made better by the graphics and complementing background music.”
- “The eerie music fits so well with the atmosphere.”
- “Flickering lights, eerie sound effects, and triggered time-bound survival mini-games are all welcome flavors, successfully presenting a light horror atmosphere.”
- “But still there isn't enough atmosphere and style to build on.”
- “Additionally, at least two of the puzzles have random insects crawling all over them for 'atmosphere,' so I hope you like bugs.”
- “There's a little bit of a light horror atmosphere, though it's mostly subdued by other features such as the display of fireworks one player cited as a negative aspect, although I wasn't bothered by that in the slightest.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players found the grinding aspect of the game largely tedious, with many mini-games described as repetitive and unengaging, often requiring players to perform monotonous tasks for extended periods. However, some mini-games were noted as enjoyable and offered a refreshing break from the formulaic standards of the genre. Fortunately, players have the option to skip the more tedious mini-games, which alleviates some of the frustration.
- “The minigames were tedious and the story didn't really draw me in.”
- “I paid for this, played it, and I beat it, but the 'fascinating mini-games' were a lot less fascinating and a lot more tedious as all hell.”
- “Some of the mini-games were tedious, and involved either 'do this repetitive thing for a full three minutes' or 'see how fast you can click and drag.' Other mini-games were actually fun, though, and were different from any of the formulaic genre standards.”
stability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the lack of noticeable glitches typical in indie 3D games, others report frustrating bugs within the game engine that affect gameplay, such as misleading visual cues. Overall, the experience can be enjoyable, but the presence of these bugs detracts from its overall stability.
- “Unfortunately, the game engine is a bit buggy.”
- “I found these buggy and frustrating experiences, and unlike the puzzles they are not skippable.”
- “It is a bit buggy, though, because it will also make areas where you have already picked things up sparkle, or areas where there is absolutely nothing of interest sparkle.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate the humor in the game, particularly enjoying quirky phrases like "xax fire," which adds a lighthearted touch to the experience.
- “I found matches that said 'xax fire'; that was hilarious!”

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3h Median play time

3h Average play time

3-3h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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