The Eyes of Ara
- July 19, 2016
- 100 Stones Interactive
- 8h median play time
A solid Myst-like adventure, perfect for mobile.
Get on Steam"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.
iPad
iPhone
Mac OS
Nintendo Switch
PC
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Windows
Mobile Platform
Reviews
- The game features a compelling atmosphere with beautiful graphics and sound design, immersing players in a mysterious castle.
- Puzzles are well-designed, offering a mix of challenge and satisfaction, with many requiring logical thinking and attention to detail.
- The game encourages exploration, rewarding players with collectibles and hidden areas that enhance the overall experience.
- Some puzzles can be overly obscure or illogical, leading to frustration and reliance on walkthroughs to progress.
- The pixel hunting mechanic can be tedious, as important items are often hidden in hard-to-see locations, making exploration feel cumbersome.
- The navigation system is clunky, with fixed viewpoints that can disorient players and hinder the exploration experience.
- story165 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The story in "Eyes of Ara" is intriguing and unfolds through diary entries and notes found throughout the game, providing a mysterious backdrop to the puzzle-solving experience. While some players appreciate the atmospheric setting and the gradual revelation of the narrative, others find the story to be minimal and lacking depth, often feeling like an afterthought compared to the puzzles. Overall, the narrative is engaging enough to keep players interested, but it may not satisfy those seeking a deeply immersive story.
“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 is intriguing, with notes appearing from various characters, and unfolds seamlessly with the gameplay.”
“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.”
“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 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.”
“The main difference from a narrative perspective is that the game 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.”
- graphics82 mentions
- 68 % positive mentions
- 28 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
Overall, the graphics of the game are widely praised for their beauty and detail, contributing significantly to the immersive atmosphere. Many players appreciate the artistic design, though some note that certain areas can be too dark, making it difficult to locate items. While the visuals are generally considered high quality, a few reviews mention occasional low-resolution textures and a somewhat repetitive aesthetic.
“Fascinating mystery, rich story and lore, a vast array of interactive items and locations, beautiful design and artwork.”
“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 '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.”
- gameplay41 mentions
- 32 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a blend of exploration, puzzle-solving, and hidden-object mechanics, with a strong emphasis on narrative through diary excerpts and character notes. While many players appreciate the intriguing story and beautiful graphics, some find the repetitive mechanics and reliance on pixel-hunting to be frustrating. Overall, the game offers a polished experience with a mix of intuitive and clunky elements, providing around 10-15 hours of gameplay, depending on the player's approach to exploration and puzzle-solving.
“The backstory is told in the form of diary excerpts that you get to discover through the course of gameplay, and piece together from them what became of the people that inhabited the castle for a limited time; besides these, there are other texts of astronomical and philosophical nature that enliven and enlighten the overall story.”
“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.”
“If you like puzzles, interesting mechanical design, a little bit of a mystery, and about 12 hours, this is certainly a game for you.”
“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.”
“Gameplay involves clicking everywhere randomly until you click whichever tiny thing the game wants you to click.”
- atmosphere32 mentions
- 78 % positive mentions
- 13 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and engaging qualities, enhanced by top-notch graphics and a fitting soundtrack. Players appreciate the atmospheric setting of the castle, which complements the intriguing story and satisfying puzzles, creating a compelling adventure experience. Overall, the game is noted for its ability to draw players in with its serene yet mysterious ambiance, making it a standout in the adventure puzzle genre.
“I loved the atmosphere, the length of the game, the original puzzles, and the compelling story.”
“The castle has a great atmosphere, 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 production values were also solid, with crisp graphics, and music that was atmospheric enough to still be soothing even after several hours of playing.”
“The plot so far seems intriguing enough that I actually want to play it to the end, and -- with the exception of the way they highlight doorways and such -- the graphics and atmosphere are solid.”
“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.”
- music29 mentions
- 55 % positive mentions
- 34 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally appreciated for its atmospheric qualities, enhancing the overall experience, though some players find it repetitive and lacking excitement. While the soundtrack complements the stunning graphics and immersive environment, it is often described as decent but not memorable enough to warrant standalone listening. Overall, the music contributes positively to the game's ambiance, but there is a consensus that it could be improved to elevate the experience further.
“The graphics are stunning, the music is lovely, and the puzzles are just right.”
“Elegant puzzles, beautiful soundtrack, haunting visuals.”
“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 between, playing only when a significant breakthrough is attained or scenery changed.”
“Repetitive music.”
“The music really, really wasn't.”
- grinding21 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience, with many describing the clue-finding and puzzle-solving as tedious and counter-intuitive, particularly in the latter half. While some appreciate the complexity and richness of the environment, the frequent backtracking and pixel hunting can detract from the enjoyment, leading some to rely on walkthroughs. Despite these frustrations, many still recognize the game as enjoyable, albeit marred by its more tedious elements.
“The first half of the game was pretty good, but after that, the puzzles became much too difficult, counter-intuitive, and tedious.”
“I ultimately found that the excellent puzzles weren't enough to make up for the tedious clue-finding aspect.”
“Plenty of puzzles etc and visually not bad but so much back and forth and back and forth between rooms and parts of the one house I found it tedious and just ended up using a walkthrough to fly through it.”
- stability5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The game's stability is mixed, with some players encountering minor glitches and bugs that hinder puzzle progression, while others report smooth gameplay and good optimization, even on older hardware. Overall, experiences vary significantly, with some users facing major issues that affect their ability to progress.
“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.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express that the emotional experience is mixed; while the collectables tracker creates a sense of urgency and engagement, the repetitive pixel hunting and navigation can lead to frustration and discomfort, such as motion sickness.
- optimization1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
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.”
Critic Reviews
The Eyes of Ara (Switch) Review
A solid Myst-like adventure, perfect for mobile.
80%Puzzles in the mist — The Eyes of Ara review
If you want to explore a mysterious, puzzle-filled world, you could do much worse than The Eyes of Ara, but its transition from PC to Switch leaves plenty to be desired. It is perfectly functional as a solid adventure to keep you busy on a long road trip, but this version is a tough sell for anyone with an adequate computer at home.
70%The Eyes of Ara (Nintendo Switch)
While a great game at heart, The Eyes of Ara has too many third-act issues for me to give a broad recommendation. Nonetheless, this is still a good release, skillfully crafted with attention to detail. For genre enthusiasts, I might even say The Eyes of Ara is a great release. Just be prepared for a daunting challenge as you near the end, likely with a walkthrough on hand.
70%
