The Secret Order 4: Beyond Time
- September 21, 2016
- Sunward Games
- 6h median play time
Get on SteamIn "The Secret Order 4: Beyond Time," Sarah Pennington continues her battle against the Dragon Clan after being trapped in the past when her time-traveling ship sinks. To return home, she must seek assistance from historical figures like Tesla and da Vinci, exploring 47 stunning locations and visiting forgotten worlds. Along the way, Sarah befriends a helpful ancient creature and uncovers more about her father's past in the Collector's Edition's bonus chapter.
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Reviews
- The game features beautiful graphics and a decent story that keeps players engaged.
- Puzzles and hidden object scenes are enjoyable, with some requiring interaction with the environment, adding a fun twist.
- The companion character, Nubi, adds a unique element to gameplay with special abilities that assist in solving puzzles.
- The game is plagued by technical issues, particularly with missing dialogue and tooltips, which can lead to confusion and frustration.
- Many players found the story to be weak and convoluted, with a lack of resolution and coherence compared to previous entries in the series.
- Repetitive puzzles and a lack of variety in hidden object scenes detract from the overall experience, making it feel less engaging.
- story66 mentions
- 24 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its unique twists and engaging elements, while others criticized it for being weak, incoherent, or overly familiar. Many noted that the plot felt rushed or lacked depth, with abrupt endings and a reliance on repetitive puzzles that detracted from the overall experience. Despite these criticisms, some players found enjoyment in the narrative and its connections to previous installments in the series, highlighting a few redeeming qualities in the storytelling.
“It manages to bring Cortes, Tesla, and Da Vinci all into the same story.”
“The story of Secret Order 4: Beyond Time picks up seamlessly at the point where the previous game ended.”
“I liked the storyline, the pace of the game, as well as the ambiance/atmosphere and the art style.”
“This is by far the worst game so far; the puzzles are repetitive, the story is weak, the endings of both games are so abrupt and there's no real resolution.”
“The story was quite incoherent, and it felt like they just took some leftover notes and ideas and mashed them into this game.”
“However, the story in this one was rather lackluster.”
- graphics29 mentions
- 41 % positive mentions
- 48 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the artistic visuals and improvements in animations, while others criticize the muddy textures and lack of clarity compared to previous installments. Although there are moments of beauty and coherence in the art style, many users noted issues with resolution and imprecision in graphical elements that detracted from the overall experience. Overall, while some find the graphics appealing, others consider them average or below expectations.
“Anyway, love love love these games :) and the graphics always kind of blow me away; it's very artistic and a joy to look at.”
“Congrats must go to the graphic arts developers for very beautiful effects.”
“Graphically, the game is a beauty in itself: I loved the background and how the people were represented.”
“Muddy graphics, stiff animations, ho-hum story and bland puzzles.”
“Also, the visuals seem to be more blurry and less high resolution than previous games in the series.”
“While I truly like the Secret Order games, I never finished this one because the visuals are broken.”
- gameplay15 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The gameplay features standard hidden object adventure mechanics with some modern twists, including an animal companion with various abilities. However, players find the frequent "interact with items to reveal" puzzles frustrating, and the overall experience can feel repetitive and lacking in engaging dialogue. While there are enjoyable elements and solid puzzles, the execution leaves some players feeling that the gameplay is dull and not as polished as it could be.
“Mechanically, it has hidden object parts with modern twists and generally good puzzles.”
“In terms of game mechanics, you get an adorable little helper by the name of Nubi (who happens to be the god Anubis reborn), who regains his powers throughout the game and uses them to help you with various tasks.”
“Secret Order 4: Beyond Time had the solid puzzles, hidden object scenes, and mechanics that make Artifex Mundi games a joy to play.”
“The gameplay is annoying with the magnifying glass being everywhere and it doesn't zoom on anything, just may give you a comment from Sarah (the main character).”
“From a gameplay standpoint, the hidden object puzzles are far too often 'interact with the items to reveal x'.”
“But the story, or at least the lack of more dialogues, made the gameplay dull and boring.”
- music9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising it as great and fitting well with the gameplay, while others find it merely decent or occasionally intrusive. Overall, the soundtrack complements the game's atmosphere, though some noted the absence of music during cutscenes. Voice acting is generally regarded as solid, enhancing the overall experience.
“The puzzles and hidden object games are interesting, the music is great, the voice acting is good, and the scenes are beautiful.”
“Voice acting is solid, and the music fits well.”
“The soundtrack was good, as was the voice acting.”
“The music is okay, but it can be occasionally intrusive for me; however, you can choose your settings.”
“I didn't like the music very much, but it didn't bother me either.”
“There's no voice or music during the cutscenes.”
- stability7 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is reported to be quite buggy, with users experiencing various glitches that can hinder gameplay, such as dialogue issues and nonsensical minigames. While some players found the glitches to be minor annoyances, others encountered more serious errors, making it one of the most unstable titles from Artifex Mundi. Overall, stability issues are a significant concern for many players.
“The game is also really buggy; the helping dialogue in locations only appears once, so if you need to read the line again, you have to leave and come back. Also, the minigames (especially finding objects in a scene) do not make any sense.”
“This is the most buggy Artifex Mundi published game I've played.”
“Though the glitches I encountered were a minor annoyance for me and I never had any game-breaking issues, others have reported serious errors.”
- emotional3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The emotional impact of the game is largely negative, with players expressing disappointment in the lack of meaningful engagement and connection to the plot. The combination of a boring story, average visuals, and frustrating gameplay contributes to a sense of disconnection and dissatisfaction.
“The story was dull and uninspiring, leaving me emotionally detached from the characters and their struggles.”
“I felt no connection to the narrative; it was as if the game was trying to evoke emotions but failed miserably.”
“Despite the game's attempts at emotional depth, the execution was so poor that I found myself completely disengaged.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is generally considered to have low replayability, with many users expressing that they find little incentive to play it again after completing it.
“All in all, this game has zero replayability for me.”
“The replay value for the game is low.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is noted to be hit-or-miss, with some players finding certain moments amusing, particularly the unintentionally funny voice acting, especially the portrayal of Da Vinci. Overall, while the humor may not be consistently strong, it adds a lighthearted touch to the experience.
“It's still a nice game and there were some funny parts, too.”
“The terrible voice acting (although the Da Vinci voice is so bad it's actually quite funny) adds to the humor.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviewers praise the game's atmosphere, highlighting its engaging storyline, well-paced gameplay, and appealing art style, which collectively enhance the overall immersive experience.
“I liked the storyline, the pace of the game, as well as the ambiance and the art style.”
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