Tales
- November 14, 2016
- Ape Marina
Get on Steam"Tales" is a single-player mystery arcade game, where players control Alfred, the new librarian who unleashes a curse on the library's shelves. With point-and-click gameplay, players explore various locations, meet quirky characters, and solve puzzles to save the library and mankind's beloved Tales. The game features full English voice acting, original music, and the help of Merlin and other familiar faces. Suitable for all ages, it offers old-school charm and whimsical adventure.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a fun point-and-click adventure style with a nostalgic feel, appealing to fans of classic games.
- It has a unique premise of traveling through various myths and tales, providing an interesting narrative and engaging puzzles.
- The pixel art graphics and voice acting are well-received, adding charm to the overall experience.
- The inventory management system is cumbersome, allowing players to carry only one item at a time, leading to tedious backtracking.
- Some puzzles can be overly complex or require specific knowledge, making them frustrating for players.
- The dialogue often feels out of place with modern slang, which detracts from the immersion in the mythological settings.
- story74 mentions
- 49 % positive mentions
- 46 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally praised for its originality and engaging premise of a guardian trying to preserve ancient tales, though opinions vary significantly based on age and perspective. While younger players may find the narrative enjoyable and charming, some adult reviewers consider it juvenile and underdeveloped, with a few noting that certain puzzles require excessive literary knowledge. Overall, the storytelling is described as compelling, with clever dialogue and a well-crafted plot, despite some criticisms regarding pacing and the ending.
“Cute graphics, nice music, and a great story that will put you in the shoes of a guardian who's trying to stop a demon from erasing ancient stories.”
“The story is compelling and it offers a very interesting interface which makes it innovative.”
“This was actually a pretty good game with an awesome story across many different 'tales' and genres.”
“As an adult, I found the story childish and boring.”
“The story begins rather lame; the puzzles aren't original or at least interesting. The graphics look really nice, but the animations are horrible and really slow. The dialogues are boring; it isn't worth playing in any way, in my opinion, compared to many, many really great adventure games.”
“The story is well written aside from the ending, which is thoroughly disappointing, so be wary of that when you reach the end.”
- graphics42 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally well-received, with many praising the detailed artwork and nostalgic retro style reminiscent of 80s-90s point-and-click adventures. While some users noted that the animations could be slow and the overall design choices occasionally falter, the colorful visuals and fluid animations contribute positively to the game's charm. Overall, the graphics are considered a strong point, even if they lack the polish of a big-budget title.
“The graphics and artwork, while not being a big-budget affair, are extremely detailed and animations are nice and fluid.”
“✅ Nice looking and colorful retro graphics.”
“If you are a fan of 80s-90s point-and-click games, you'll probably find the artwork and style nostalgic.”
“The only minus - graphics.”
“A lot of aspects are bad about this game except the graphics, but most importantly it's a terrible adventure game.”
“The graphics are a little simple, and the music gets repetitive at times - there doesn't seem to be many options to change this.”
- gameplay18 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 44 % negative mentions
The gameplay has been criticized for poor design choices, particularly the tedious mechanics of traveling between book worlds while only carrying one item at a time, which leads to a repetitive experience. While some unique mechanics exist, the cumbersome item transfer process detracts from the overall enjoyment, making it less appealing for adventure gamers. Despite its promising concept, the execution has left many players disappointed.
“Unique game mechanics.”
“I saw this in my upcoming list, and it reminded me of Monkey Island in appearance and gameplay... I'm an hour into the gameplay.”
“Good idea greatly spoiled by its mechanics of 'magical bag' that allows carrying only one item between books.”
“Bad gameplay design choices, such as having to keep traveling back and forth between different book worlds while carrying one inventory at a time.”
“This mechanic makes the game really tedious and repetitive.”
“It's really terrible gameplay, definitely don't recommend this for an adventure gamer.”
- music16 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-received, with many players noting that it complements the story effectively and creates a relaxing atmosphere. However, some find it repetitive and not compelling enough to listen to outside of the game. Overall, while the background music enhances the experience, it lacks variety and options for customization.
“Cute graphics, nice music, and a great story that will put you in the shoes of a guardian who's trying to stop a demon from erasing ancient stories.”
“Music is very good and always fits the story perfectly.”
“The music gets repetitive at times - there doesn't seem to be many options to change this.”
“I wouldn't be looking to play the soundtrack separately, but it matches most of the game well.”
“The background music for the game is pretty decent.”
- grinding10 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, particularly due to excessive backtracking and complex puzzles that often require walkthroughs. While the story and puzzles are appreciated, the overall interface and interaction contribute to a frustrating experience.
“This mechanic makes the game really tedious and repetitive.”
“Overall, I found this game quite tedious.”
“Travel between books becomes tediously repetitive after the initial visit to a new place.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has been criticized, with players reporting frequent freezing and crashing issues that hinder the overall experience. This has led to uncertainty about playtime accuracy, as performance problems disrupt gameplay.
“I played through in about 11 hours, though I'm not sure that's accurate as I had some performance issues with the game freezing and crashing.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by clever and funny dialogue, which adds to the overall enjoyment of the interesting story and cool art style.
“The art style is cool, the story is interesting, and the dialogue is quite clever and funny.”
