Riddle of the Sphinx™ The Awakening (Enhanced Edition)
- February 1, 2021
- Old World Studios™
Get on SteamRiddle of the Sphinx The Awakening is an Egyptian adventure into the Giza Sphinx & Great Pyramid - the last of the seven ancient wonders. Explore secret chambers, discover hidden tombs, unearth sacred relics, & unravel an ancient Riddle, entombed for centuries by the ancient Egyptians!
Reviews
- The game features beautiful graphics and an immersive atmosphere that captures the essence of ancient Egypt.
- Puzzles are well-designed, logical, and provide a good challenge, making the gameplay engaging and rewarding.
- The remaster includes quality-of-life improvements, such as an in-game camera for note-taking and a hint system, enhancing the overall experience.
- Navigation is poorly designed, leading to confusion and frustration as players can easily miss important areas and items.
- The game suffers from bugs and performance issues, including freezing and inconsistent movement, which detracts from the overall enjoyment.
- The inclusion of religious themes feels out of place and may alienate players who expect a purely Egyptian mythology-focused experience.
- graphics31 mentions
- 65 % positive mentions
- 26 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their beauty and detail, with many reviewers highlighting the stunning HD visuals and atmospheric art style that enhance the overall experience. Players appreciate the updated graphics, which maintain the essence of the original while providing a fresh and immersive environment, complemented by a fitting soundtrack. Overall, the visuals are described as breathtaking and a significant improvement, making the game visually captivating and engaging.
“I remember playing an Egypt-themed game like this back in the 90's, but this takes a fresh approach—beautiful art style and graphics, puzzles that make logical sense and can be solved with clues found in the environment, a fun story (if a bit long-winded in that ending).”
“Visually stunning HD graphics and updated puzzles to keep old fans on their toes.”
“The graphics, atmosphere, and soundtrack were great as I really thought I was in Egypt trying to solve the riddle.”
“The game was pretty, but for a remaster of an already existing game (meaning the devs didn't need to develop the plot or the puzzles, or develop the artwork), this seems pretty expensive for what it is.”
“Graphics are well-improved; everything looks crisp without fundamentally changing anything.”
“I'm big into the style of keeping the visuals the same while updating the UI.”
- music19 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 32 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its beauty and atmospheric quality, enhancing the immersive experience with a rich soundtrack that some reviewers believe could stand alone as a world music album. While many appreciate the appropriate and varied musical themes, a few users expressed a desire for more enchanting music throughout the gameplay, rather than just during special scenes. Overall, the combination of stunning visuals and evocative sound design contributes significantly to the game's appeal.
“The soundtrack and sounds fantastic and the graphics were beautiful.”
“The music is atmospheric and the graphics are amazing.”
“Beautiful scenery, immersive music, and brain-racking puzzles come together to create a masterpiece that will keep you sucked in until you figure it all out!”
“The music score is appropriate, but I was wishing there was a bit more enchanting music as a general score and not just for special scenes since I spent so many hours in a dark tomb and tromping on sand.”
“I've noticed between the soundtrack, environment, and other various sounds, this was mixed slightly okay, to poorish.”
“On the other hand, there are some bugs in the game; sometimes the sounds are not activated (e.g., snake with the flute, music at the sacred pool, etc.).”
- story18 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally well-received, featuring an engaging narrative set in an Egyptian theme with a rich atmosphere and lore that enhances the puzzle-solving experience. However, some players found the exposition excessive, particularly in the beginning and end, detracting from the overall flow. While the story is considered decent and immersive, it occasionally suffers from convoluted elements and unnecessary text that disrupts the pacing.
“It took me about 19 hours to play, but I was so immersed in the game. I looked, read, and listened to all the information to give me clues to solving the puzzles and to progress the storyline.”
“The story is fairly basic, but it features a nice build-up and it worked well to keep me curious to finish the game.”
“It's a great game, well-enhanced, fun to play, great story, great environments, and rich sound design/music.”
“The story and exposition are way more complicated than it needs to be; there are huge chunks of text and monologue in the beginning and at the end of the game, which I wish were edited better.”
“After 7-8 hours of powering through Egyptian god lore, it's just super out of place and unwanted to have a big block of text explaining that 'the house of Jesus is welcoming you!' This is not advertised as a religious game, and nobody likes a missionary in disguise.”
“The game was pretty, but for a remaster of an already existing game (meaning the devs didn't need to develop the plot or the puzzles, or develop the artwork), this seems pretty expensive for what it is.”
- gameplay9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally well-received, with players appreciating the nonlinear puzzle design and the ability to save at any time. However, issues such as missing key items can hinder progress, leading to frustration, and there are concerns about the game's narrative and replay value. Overall, while the puzzles are enjoyable, the game may benefit from improvements in direction and quality control.
“I did enjoy the little gameplay there was, so I would recommend it if you can get the game on sale.”
“Puzzles are mostly very good; they require collecting items and clues from various different places, and the gameplay is completely nonlinear.”
“Did I mention you can save your game anytime during gameplay?”
“There needs to be a return option for this game; mechanically it doesn't work, which means I can't complete it because it's a puzzle game and can't know that for sure until the nth hour. A change in writing, direction, quality control, and switching to free roam navigation might save this game by at least 80%. If there's a twist at the end that saves the premise and makes it less absurd than 'aliens must have built the pyramids,' I wouldn't know because I am missing key game items to get there.”
“I finished the game in 9 hours, which amounts to $2 per hour in gameplay, and there isn't much replay value once you've solved the riddle.”
“The biggest problem with this game is not the gameplay, or anything to do with the game itself.”
- atmosphere7 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised, featuring fantastic graphics and an immersive soundtrack that enhances the experience of exploration and puzzle-solving. Players feel transported to the game's setting, with a strong sense of place that complements the lore and narrative elements. Overall, it is recommended for those seeking a rich atmospheric experience.
“The music is atmospheric and the graphics are amazing.”
“The graphics, atmosphere, and soundtrack were great as I really thought I was in Egypt trying to solve the riddle.”
“It gives a perfect atmosphere to read all the notebooks and letters containing the lore of this story.”
- optimization6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews; while some players report smooth performance after early bug fixes, others experience frequent screen freezes and overall rough performance. Despite not requiring high computing power, optimization issues persist for some users, leading to a frustrating experience.
“The creators fixed some of the bugs in the early re-release of the game, and it now appears to run smoothly on most systems.”
“It was perfectly optimized for both of us.”
“Performance-wise it is a bit rough around the edges.”
“Its major optimization issue is that the screen freezes up often. This gets incredibly annoying, especially since the game doesn't need high computing requirements, so I'd expect it to run a bit smoother.”
“Some reviews are claiming a buggy experience or poor optimization.”
“Performance-wise, it is a bit rough around the edges.”
- stability3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs, poor optimization, and control issues that can lead to frustrating gameplay experiences. Many players have encountered significant lag and a lack of quality assurance, contributing to an overall sense of instability. Additionally, unresolved technical issues and an inaccessible support site further exacerbate the problem.
“The navigation is at the core of multiple puzzles not seeming to have solutions, and poorly designed controls can get you killed even if you have figured out the correct solution to the game's final puzzle. It's broken in slightly different ways than I thought on my last review, but still absurd, buggy, laggy, with poor quality assurance.”
“Some reviews are claiming a buggy experience or poor optimization.”
“It's buggy as all get out.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspects of the game to be a mixed bag, with some puzzles feeling tedious and poorly executed, such as the early chest puzzle and the sand elevator. While certain older puzzles have been improved, others still suffer from repetitive and monotonous elements, detracting from the overall experience.
“Sometimes they are very tedious (like pouring the sand into the pot, driving the robot, the Sobek eye color puzzle).”
“The puzzle at the very beginning, trying to open the chest in Gil's tent, gets things off to a tedious start, and the second to last puzzle, trying to get into the golden pyramid, also could have been better executed.”
“Some old puzzles have their tedious elements removed (star pot puzzle), while others are just as mind-numbingly tedious (I'm looking at you sand elevator).”
- replayability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game offers limited replayability, as players report that once the main riddle is solved, there is little incentive to revisit it, resulting in a relatively short gameplay experience of about 9 hours.
“I finished the game in 9 hours; that's a cost of $2 per hour in gameplay, and there isn't much replay value once you've solved the riddle.”
“After completing the main story, I found no incentive to play again. The lack of different endings or choices really limits replayability.”
“Once you've experienced the game once, there's little motivation to go back. The linear progression and predictable outcomes make it feel stale.”
