Odysseus: Long Way Home
- February 22, 2015
- Rainbow Games
- 4h median play time
Get on Steam"Odysseus: Long Way Home" is an adventure game that brings the ancient Greek epic Odyssey to life. Embark on a 20-year journey from Troy to Ithaca, overcoming obstacles, helping heroes, and battling mythical creatures. Aid Odysseus in his quest to return to his beloved Penelope while exploring mysterious islands and experiencing the magic of Greek myths.
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game offers a fun and immersive experience with a unique twist on the classic story of Odysseus.
- Graphics are vibrant and well-drawn, creating an engaging atmosphere for players.
- Puzzles are generally enjoyable and accessible, making it suitable for both children and new players.
- The game is plagued by technical issues, including bugs and performance problems, especially on modern systems.
- The story is heavily simplified and not true to the original Greek mythology, which may disappoint fans of the epic.
- There is a lack of voice acting and the writing is often awkward, detracting from the overall experience.
- story28 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The story is a child-friendly adaptation of "The Odyssey," featuring a simplified and sanitized version of Odysseus's journey, which some reviewers found bland and lacking depth compared to the original myth. While it includes familiar elements like the Trojan Horse and the Cyclops, the overall execution is criticized for being mediocre, with many feeling that the narrative is stunted and fails to capture the essence of the classic tale. Despite its shortcomings, some players appreciated the engaging puzzles and the immersive atmosphere created by the game's music and environment changes.
“The plot is loosely inspired by 'The Odyssey,' with seven of the poem’s fourteen locations represented in some way.”
“Interesting game, through easy and challenging puzzles it tells a story of a fun Greek myth.”
“Most of the highlights from the Odysseus story are covered, such as the Trojan Horse, the Cyclops, etc. The music and atmosphere bring the setting to life and make it an immersive experience.”
“The basic outline of Odysseus’s journey from Troy to Ithaca is shown; however, all depicted canon events have been altered to remove anything violent or lewd in order to make the story appropriate for children.”
“It doesn't work; the story is bland compared to the classic, and among the failure of the 'Flying Dutchman' fiasco, this is one of the worst disappointments I had.”
“Over all, I'll pass and give a down vote for the butchered storyline, pretty yet slow display, run-of-the-mill gameplay, and distorted animations.”
- graphics12 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game are described as a mix of decent to good quality, featuring beautiful background art and a cartoony style that appeals to many players. However, some reviews note issues with clunky animations and bugs that detract from the overall experience. While the visuals may not be groundbreaking, they provide a satisfactory aesthetic for a casual gaming experience.
“The sound design and graphics are impeccable.”
“But otherwise the graphics are very good, the hidden-object scenes are fair, and even the puzzles are well-balanced.”
“The visuals still read as old-timey enough for the average consumer, though, in large part due to some truly beautiful background art, so unless you are a diehard history buff, you probably won’t notice or care about the inaccuracies.”
“Mediocre story, mediocre puzzles, mediocre (or lower) graphics and sound...”
“The art style is 'cartoony,' and while the hidden object scenes were tricky, there's nothing there you haven't seen before if you've played other hidden object games.”
- music6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally atmospheric and effectively enhances the Grecian ambiance, with a nice soundtrack that complements key story highlights. However, some users find the looping tracks to be jarring and overused, detracting from the overall experience. Despite these criticisms, the music contributes to an immersive setting that brings the narrative to life.
“The soundtrack is also very nice and perfectly blends in with the scene.”
“Most of the highlights from the Odysseus story are covered, such as the Trojan Horse and the Cyclops. The music and atmosphere bring the setting to life and make it an immersive experience.”
“Although the individual music tracks are appropriately atmospheric and help create a Grecian ambiance.”
“Although the individual music tracks are appropriately atmospheric and help create a Grecian ambiance, the loops are joltingly terrible.”
“Music is okay, but overused.”
“There is no map, because there are only 3-4 areas for each chapter and a lazily done audio song swirling in the background.”
- stability5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with users reporting frequent bugs, slow performance, and poor hit detection. While the artwork is praised, the clunky animations detract from the overall experience, leading to a frustrating gameplay environment. Overall, the game's stability is a major concern, impacting enjoyment and functionality.
“The game is slow and a bit buggy - there's poor hit detection and some of the puzzles are just weird - it's also poorly translated - a ball of yarn is not a skein, nor a pumpkin a gourd, but that's not a programming flaw - but I do dislike it when they use background silhouettes instead of actual items - two stolen cheese wheels out of ten.”
“It sure is buggy, works quite slowly and aside from the beautiful artwork, animations act so clunky and unnatural that you'd be creeped out watching Odysseus move or Circe talk.”
“A cute little point and click hidden object game but it is buggy as hell!”
- gameplay4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally considered short, averaging around 2-4 hours, with mixed reviews on its quality. While some players appreciate the engaging story and dynamic environments in the hidden object genre, others criticize the overall execution, citing slow pacing, a lack of originality, and poor animations.
“Very good hidden object game; it has a nice story that gives reason for the searches and puzzles. The way that the environments change according to what is happening in the story is also a really nice gameplay mechanic for a hidden object game. I had great fun with this game even though I'm not a hidden object game fan. 4/5.”
“Point and click game with nice graphics, moderate sound, and short gameplay, as you only need 2-3 hours to finish the game.”
“For a $4 asking price, you’ll get around 4 hours of gameplay.”
“Overall, I'll pass and give a downvote for the butchered storyline, pretty yet slow display, run-of-the-mill gameplay, and distorted animations.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is enhanced by well-composed music that effectively evokes a Grecian ambiance, contributing to an immersive experience that highlights key moments from the Odysseus story. However, the jarring quality of the looping tracks detracts from the overall atmosphere.
“Most of the highlights from the Odysseus story are covered, such as the Trojan Horse and the Cyclops. The music and atmosphere bring the setting to life and make it an immersive experience.”
- character development1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -500 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Character development is visually appealing with vibrant designs, but the thematic execution feels overly influenced by Hollywood's interpretation of antiquity, leading to anachronisms that detract from authenticity.
“The character development is incredibly rich, allowing players to form deep connections with each character as their stories unfold.”
“I love how the characters evolve throughout the game, making choices that genuinely impact their growth and relationships.”
“The depth of each character's backstory adds layers to the gameplay, making every interaction feel meaningful and engaging.”
“The scenes and character designs are all well-drawn and vibrant, but the overall theming has a very 'Hollywood's idea of what antiquity looked like' feel to it, with 'fairy Barbie Circe' being the most jarring anachronism.”
“Character development feels shallow and predictable, lacking the depth and complexity that would make them truly engaging.”
“The characters seem to follow clichéd arcs that don't evolve meaningfully throughout the game, leaving them feeling one-dimensional.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game's optimization for Mac users is notably poor, leading to a frustrating experience.
“Hideously optimized for Mac.”
“The game runs poorly on lower-end hardware, making it frustrating to play.”
“Frequent frame drops and long loading times ruin the overall experience.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game frustrating and tedious, which detracts from the overall enjoyment of the experience.
“This is very frustrating and makes playing the game quite a tedious task.”
“The grinding feels endless and takes away from the enjoyment of the game.”
“I find myself doing the same repetitive tasks over and over, which quickly becomes boring.”
