Skip to main content

The Eyes of Ara

A solid Myst-like adventure, perfect for mobile.
The Eyes of Ara Game Cover
77%Game Brain Score
story, graphics
grinding, stability
81% User Score Based on 497 reviews
Critic Score 71%Based on 5 reviews

Platforms

Nintendo SwitchPCTabletAndroidMac OSPhoneiPadMobile PlatformiPhoneWindows
Buy Nowfrom $4.49
Buy NowGet on Steam $14.99Buy NowGet on itch.io Store $4.49Buy NowGet on Play Store
The Eyes of Ara Game Cover

About

The Eyes of Ara is a single player casual puzzle game with mystery and violence themes. It was developed by 100 Stones Interactive and was released on July 19, 2016. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

"The Eyes of Ara" is a puzzle-based exploration game where players uncover the mysteries of a forgotten castle. Interact with objects, decode intricate puzzles, and search for hidden secrets to restore the castle's lost grandeur. With stunning visuals and an immersive atmosphere, this game offers a captivating single-player experience for all puzzlers at heart.

Genres & Tags
Play Modes
The Eyes of Ara screenshot
The Eyes of Ara screenshot
The Eyes of Ara screenshot
The Eyes of Ara screenshot
The Eyes of Ara screenshot
The Eyes of Ara screenshot
The Eyes of Ara screenshot
The Eyes of Ara screenshot
The Eyes of Ara screenshot
The Eyes of Ara screenshot
The Eyes of Ara screenshot
+9
Skip User Reviews

81%
Audience ScoreBased on 497 reviews
story88 positive mentions
grinding25 negative mentions
  • Great graphics and atmosphere that immerses players in the castle environment.
  • Well-designed puzzles that range from easy to challenging, providing a satisfying experience.
  • The game encourages exploration and offers a variety of collectibles to find, enhancing replayability.
  • Some puzzles can be overly obscure or illogical, leading to frustration and reliance on walkthroughs.
  • The pixel hunting aspect can detract from the overall enjoyment, as important items may be hard to spot.
  • The controls can feel clunky, with a fixed camera system that may disorient players.
  • story
    208 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story in "The Eyes of Ara" is generally described as intriguing but often shallow, primarily conveyed through written notes and diary entries that players discover throughout the game. While some players appreciate the atmospheric setting and the gradual unfolding of the narrative, others find it lacking depth and coherence, with many puzzles feeling disconnected from the storyline. Overall, the game is seen as more focused on challenging puzzles than on delivering a compelling narrative, leading to mixed feelings about the story's engagement and impact.

    • “The story is intriguing, with notes appearing from various characters, and unfolds seamlessly with the gameplay.”
    • “You explore the mysterious castle solving puzzles to find the source of the signal, while collecting diary pages and other family memorabilia to discover the story of their disappearance.”
    • “The story and puzzles are well integrated together, the mystery is intriguing, the atmosphere is fantastic, the puzzles are satisfying, and the extra collectibles and world-building is amazing.”
    • “The story feels very much like an empty excuse the developers came up with to throw a bunch of puzzles at the player that don't make much sense from a 'real-life' perspective, rather than being an immersive, fully fleshed-out world like I was hoping for.”
    • “There's not much of a story, and what's there depends on reading pages which are too small to read easily even on a large screen.”
    • “The main difference from a narrative perspective is that the Eyes of Ara has a relatively shallow story that takes place entirely via written journals and such, never actually showing you an image of what the characters look like or revealing what happens to them... which I find somewhat hollow and disappointing.”
  • graphics
    102 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics in the game have received generally positive feedback, with many players praising the beautiful artwork, detailed textures, and immersive atmosphere. However, some users noted issues with dim lighting and low-resolution textures that occasionally hindered gameplay. Overall, the visuals are considered a strong aspect of the game, enhancing the engaging storyline and challenging puzzles.

    • “The graphics are stunning, the music is lovely, and the puzzles are just right.”
    • “Beautiful graphics, challenging puzzles, and a cool mystery all within a huge, gorgeous castle ... just awesome.”
    • “The graphics and detail are amazing, and the gameplay kept me totally absorbed in the storyline.”
    • “The outside graphics look terrible though; get inside the house ASAP!”
    • “Some of the puzzles require gigantic leaps of insight, while many important items are so well hidden that they're almost undetectable, even after changing the settings to make more of the graphics visible (in the default setting, everything is incredibly dark).”
    • “I'm sure I could solve it eventually, but I don't really feel like it when the graphics and controls are dated, and some of the solutions are obtuse.”
  • gameplay
    51 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay in "The Eyes of Ara" features a blend of hidden object mechanics and puzzle-solving elements, with players often engaging in pixel-hunting and exploring beautifully designed environments. While the game offers a rich narrative through diary excerpts and various collectibles, some players find the repetitive mechanics and reliance on specific knowledge for certain puzzles frustrating. Overall, the game provides a substantial amount of content, with gameplay lasting between 10 to 28 hours, depending on the player's approach and puzzle-solving skills.

    • “The gameplay is very straightforward; simply move the mouse cursor all over each room.”
    • “Lovely graphics, flawless mechanics, excellent gameplay, and overall a gem in the puzzle game point-and-click genre.”
    • “The overall game is very polished and professional, and you can get hours of gameplay and exploring which is always a plus in my book.”
    • “The same basic mechanics are used throughout many puzzles as well, making it feel repetitive.”
    • “A clunky click-and-drag mechanic, awkward item interfaces, and puzzles relying more on hidden keys than logical solutions.”
    • “Getting towards the end though, the game just starts assuming the player has some very specific knowledge (not gained through gameplay) and provides no context or logical reasoning why a + b = c for certain puzzles.”
  • atmosphere
    42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive quality, enhanced by high-quality graphics and a compelling soundtrack. Players appreciate the intriguing story and the engaging puzzles that complement the atmospheric setting, particularly within the context of an abandoned castle filled with secrets. Overall, the game successfully creates a captivating environment that draws players in, despite some minor criticisms regarding pacing and occasional technical issues.

    • “I enjoy the immersive atmosphere; the puzzles are both fun and challenging.”
    • “The castle has a great atmosphere, and the plot is quite good, particularly the way it's presented via journal entries and notes written by the various members of the family at the center of the mystery.”
    • “The atmosphere is well-constructed and fairly clever; while you might get lost at first, eventually, you start piecing together how all the rooms fit together and link.”
    • “The atmosphere is also well-constructed and fairly clever -- while you might get lost at first, eventually, you start piecing together how all the rooms fit together and link.”
    • “Story: text seems to be setting this up to be some kind of horror with a plot twist but the atmosphere seems against it the whole time and spoils that plot twist at the welcome mat.”
    • “I really like the soundtrack which adds immensely to the enigmatic atmosphere this game.”
  • music
    38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is generally appreciated for enhancing the atmosphere, with many reviewers noting its suitability for the game's aesthetic, though some find it repetitive or lacking excitement. While the soundtrack is described as lovely and atmospheric, it doesn't stand out enough for some players to consider it worth downloading separately. Overall, the music complements the stunning graphics and engaging puzzles, but there are calls for a more dynamic and memorable score.

    • “The graphics are stunning, the music is lovely, and the puzzles are just right.”
    • “I really like the soundtrack which adds immensely to the enigmatic atmosphere this game.”
    • “The production values were also solid, with crisp graphics, and music that was atmospheric enough to still be soothing even after several hours of playing.”
    • “Music is few and far in between, playing only when a significant breakthrough is attained or scenery changed.”
    • “Repetitive music.”
    • “The only drawbacks are the lackluster story and soundtrack.”
  • grinding
    25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly due to difficult puzzles, excessive backtracking, and the need for pixel hunting to locate hidden items. While some appreciate the complexity and richness of the game world, many feel that the challenge often crosses into frustration, especially in later stages where puzzles become overly convoluted and time-consuming. The reliance on walkthroughs to bypass tedious elements further highlights the issue, suggesting that while the game has strong points, its grinding mechanics detract from the overall experience.

    • “But being locked in a room with a puzzle that requires hours of grinding?”
    • “I ultimately found that the excellent puzzles weren't enough to make up for the tedious clue-finding aspect.”
    • “A great game that is marred only by some tedious solutions to puzzles late in the story.”
  • stability
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's stability is mixed; while some players report smooth gameplay and good optimization even on older hardware, others have encountered significant bugs that hinder puzzle progression and cause freezes. Minor glitches, such as missing notifications and achievement triggers, have also been noted, but they appear to be less common.

    • “Well optimized, runs great even on dated hardware.”
    • “The gameplay is smooth and I experienced no glitches yet.”
    • “Most puzzles in the game do not work this way--if you configure the correct solution, the game freezes and shows you what you unlocked.”
    • “Great game atmospherically and all, but I've been having trouble with bugs and glitches - that is, a few major puzzles for me simply will not respond to being solved, making major puzzles and progressing anywhere in the game completely impossible for me.”
    • “I only ran into two minor glitches - one notification ding was missing after correctly solving a puzzle, and the 'Amateur Astronomer' achievement needed me to re-pickup the same poster a few times before it would trigger.”
  • emotional
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the emotional aspect of the game to be heartwarming and unique, with a compelling collectible tracker that enhances their attachment to the experience. The desire to revisit chapters for elusive items evokes strong feelings, although some players report that the navigation mechanics can induce motion sickness.

    • “I found this really heartwarming and it was presented in a way I've never seen before in any other games.”
    • “The thought of going back through all the chapters trying to find that elusive orb makes me want to cry.”
    • “The collectables tracker made me feel compelled to pixel hunt through every room, and by level 3, I had a walkthrough open.”
  • optimization
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is well optimized, performing smoothly even on older hardware, which enhances accessibility for a wider range of players.

    • “Well optimized, runs great even on dated hardware.”
Skip Critic Reviews

71%Critics’ scoreBased on 5 critic reviews
Skip Game Offers

Buy The Eyes of Ara

11h Median play time
9h Average play time
4-15h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 9 analyzed playthroughs
Skip Videos

Videos

Skip Games Like The Eyes of Ara

Games Like The Eyes of Ara

The House of Da Vinci Image
84%4.4kreviews

The House of Da Vinci

2017Role Playing
Nintendo SwitchAndroidPlaystation 4+14
Quern: Undying Thoughts Image
89%2.6kreviews

Quern: Undying Thoughts

2016Puzzle
LinuxPCPlaystation 5+5
The Painscreek Killings Image
89%2.9kreviews

The Painscreek Killings

2017Simulation
PCWindows
Goetia Image
77%647reviews

Goetia

2016Puzzle
Nintendo SwitchPlaystation 4Xbox+12
The Inheritance of Crimson Manor Image
84%761reviews

The Inheritance of Crimson Manor

2022Simulation
Xbox Series X|SPCPlaystation 5+5
More games like The Eyes of Ara
Skip FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

The Eyes of Ara is a casual puzzle game with mystery and violence themes.

The Eyes of Ara is available on Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac OS, Phone and others.

On average players spend around 9 hours playing The Eyes of Ara.

The Eyes of Ara was released on July 19, 2016.

The Eyes of Ara was developed by 100 Stones Interactive.

The Eyes of Ara has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its grinding.

The Eyes of Ara is a single player game.

Similar games include The House of Da Vinci, Quern: Undying Thoughts, The Painscreek Killings, Goetia, The Inheritance of Crimson Manor and others.