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 unique premise that allows players to jump between different myths and tales, providing an engaging experience.
- The pixel art graphics are charming and detailed, contributing to the nostalgic feel of classic point-and-click adventures.
- The story is well-written and includes clever dialogue, making it enjoyable for fans of the genre.
- The inventory management system is tedious, as players can only carry one item at a time between different book worlds, leading to repetitive backtracking.
- Some puzzles can be overly challenging or illogical, requiring players to rely on walkthroughs to progress.
- The voice acting is inconsistent, with some characters having awkward dialogue and accents that feel out of place.
- story37 mentions
- 49 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally praised for its originality and engaging premise of a guardian battling a demon to preserve ancient tales, with a mix of humor and clever dialogue. However, opinions vary significantly; while some find it enjoyable and suitable for younger audiences, others criticize it as juvenile and underdeveloped, particularly in its execution and ending. Overall, the narrative is seen as a strong point, though it may not resonate with all players, especially adults.
“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 (which is not easy when considering how many similar titles there are out there).”
“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.”
- graphics21 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 48 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally well-received, with many praising the detailed artwork and fluid animations, despite the retro and simpler aesthetic. While some players appreciate the nostalgic pixel art reminiscent of classic adventure games, others note that the graphics can feel basic and may not appeal to everyone. Overall, the visuals contribute positively to the game's charm, though there are mixed opinions on the quality of animations and design choices.
“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, only 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.”
- gameplay9 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 44 % negative mentions
The gameplay has been criticized for its tedious design choices, particularly the cumbersome inventory system that requires players to travel back and forth between different book worlds while only carrying one item at a time. Although there are unique mechanics present, the repetitive nature and frustrating item transfer process detract significantly from the overall experience, leading to a lack of recommendation for adventure gamers.
“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.”
“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; I definitely don't recommend this for an adventure gamer.”
- music8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-received, with many players appreciating its ability to enhance the storytelling and create a relaxing atmosphere. While some find it decent and fitting, others note that it can become repetitive and lacks options for customization. Overall, the soundtrack complements the gameplay effectively, despite a few minor drawbacks.
“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.”
“I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
“The 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.”
- grinding5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, particularly due to the need for backtracking and solving complex puzzles without guidance. While the story and puzzles are appreciated, the overall experience is marred by a cumbersome interface and the monotony of traveling between locations.
“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.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has been criticized due to performance issues, including freezing and crashing, which affected the overall gameplay experience.
“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.”
“The game suffers from severe optimization problems, leading to frequent frame drops and stuttering during gameplay.”
“Despite the interesting gameplay, the constant lag and crashes make it nearly unplayable at times.”
- humor1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by clever and funny dialogue, contributing to an engaging narrative alongside a visually appealing art style.
“The art style is cool, the story is interesting, and the dialogue is quite clever and funny.”
