The Tale of Doris and the Dragon - Episode 1 | Game Brain

About

In "The Tale of Doris and the Dragon - Episode 1," players navigate an elderly lady named Doris through Purgatory as she seeks her deceased husband. Featuring point-and-click gameplay, players will encounter various characters, solve puzzles, and face perilous challenges to aid Doris in her journey. This episodic game is the first of a series introducing an unlikely friendship amidst the afterlife's complex bureaucracy and dangers.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

The Tale of Doris and the Dragon - Episode 1 screenshot

95%

Audience ScoreBased on 128 reviews

story8 positive mentions

grinding4 negative mentions

Charming and humorous writing with witty dialogue and fun puzzles that enhance the gameplay experience.
Endearing characters, especially the protagonist Doris and her dragon companion Norb, create a unique and enjoyable narrative.
The game features a lovely art style and voice acting that adds to its overall charm, making it a delightful short adventure.

The game is quite short, with gameplay lasting around 30 minutes to an hour, which some players feel is not worth the price.
Voice acting quality varies, with some characters lacking convincing performances, which detracts from the immersion.
Certain puzzles, particularly the music puzzle, can be frustrating and may require external help to solve, which can disrupt the flow of the game.

story
46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
76%
7%
The story is described as a promising yet incomplete first chapter, featuring an old woman on a quest to find her husband, accompanied by a friendly dragon and a sinister plot. While some players appreciate the nostalgic point-and-click adventure style and the humor, others find the execution lacking, with dull dialogue and underdeveloped characters. Overall, the game has potential, but many hope for improvements in future episodes to enhance engagement and storytelling depth.
- “Finally, a story where an old woman gets to have a proper adventure and meet a friendly dragon!”
- “I loved this story episode from the second I saw it, while looking for games about dragons.”
- “The artwork, the characters, the gameplay, and the story are all amazing, and I'm looking forward to the next episodes!”
- “The story (or, rather, the beginning of it, as this is not the complete game) has potential, but is executed dully and never manages to make itself, or the characters in it, interesting or well-rounded.”
- “The dialogue itself, while sometimes quite funny, mostly falls flat in its attempts to interest us in the story and characters.”
- “Sometimes the tone is more passive and neutral and doesn't serve to pull the player into the story; it felt like I was listening to one of those middle school essay reports where the student, who really doesn't like speaking out in front of the class, blazingly skims through his report in the most blandest monotone ever.”
humor
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely praised for its wit and charm, with many reviewers highlighting the funny dialogues and unique characters that enhance the overall experience. While some noted that the voice acting could be inconsistent, it often added to the comedic effect. Overall, the game successfully combines lighthearted humor with engaging puzzles, making it a delightful point-and-click adventure.
- “This was a lot of fun - nice puzzles, humorous writing, and excellent voice acting made for a super enjoyable time.”
- “Doris is hilarious, the classical hating demon gets his comeuppance, the puzzles are interesting (if easy).”
- “Out of all of the point and click games I've played, I've never experienced anything so creative and so humorous like this.”
music
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
60%
8%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its soft tone and ability to set a mysterious atmosphere, while others found it bland and unmemorable. The music puzzles, particularly one involving a music box, were noted for their frustration, especially for those less familiar with musical concepts. Overall, while the soundtrack contributes to the game's charm, it may not leave a lasting impression for all players.
- “The music is nice and sets a nice tone for the game.”
- “Music: I don't know who wrote it, but the soft tone and simplicity of the game's music really captured the mood of how mysterious and vast this 'purgatory', the world that Doris has been stuck in, really is.”
- “The game plays smoothly on my crappy PC, which is always a lovely bonus for me; the music is dark and foreboding, and the sounds are excellent.”
- “There is a certain music puzzle that was frustrating for tone-deaf me, but I looked it up online easily enough.”
- “You gave players a puzzle with few visual and auditory clues other than the music box playing the song.”
- “This music puzzle ranks up there with the octopus puzzle from the first Discworld game in terms of frustration levels.”
graphics
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
50%
9%
The graphics of the game feature a cartoonish, pixelated art style that effectively complements its grim narrative, though opinions vary on its execution. While some players appreciate the charming visuals and find them engaging, others feel that the pixel art appears basic and does not enhance the overall experience. Overall, the artwork is praised for its creativity and ability to convey the game's themes, despite some critiques regarding its simplicity.
- “The beauty of a good pixel art game is that, through a combination of great storytelling, music, dialogue, gameplay, or level design, it removes any need for high-end graphics and animation.”
- “Loved it right down to the stylised visuals that reminded me of another world.”
- “The artwork, the characters, the gameplay, and the story are all amazing, and I'm looking forward to the next episodes!”
- “Unlike games such as Undertale, I don't think the pixel graphics are used to the game's advantage; rather, they make it look very basic.”
- “It might, in fact, serve as a cautionary tale against the pixel art style in the hands of weak designers - since none of the other elements in the game hold up under inspection, a dazzling distraction would be welcomed.”
- “Whether the art style was deliberately chosen, rather than based on the limitations of the designers' skills, the rest of the game lends credence to the latter theory.”
gameplay
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
55%
15%
The gameplay is characterized by basic point-and-click mechanics and simple puzzles, offering around 30 to 60 minutes of playtime, which many reviewers suggest makes it more suitable for a sale purchase. While the nostalgic revival of point-and-click adventure gaming is appreciated, some players find the large, empty environments and frustrating movement mechanics detract from the experience. Overall, the game is recommended for fans of the genre, especially given its charming pixel art and storytelling, but expectations should be tempered due to its limited content.
- “The beauty of a good pixel art game is that, through a combination of great storytelling, music, dialogue, gameplay, or level design, it removes any need for high-end graphics and animation.”
- “The artwork, the characters, the gameplay, and the story are all amazing, and I'm looking forward to the next episodes!”
- “There's not a lot of content - a handful of puzzles and about 45 minutes of gameplay, but it's definitely worth the handful of change I paid for it.”
- “The gameplay, which aims to be a nostalgic revival of point-and-click adventure gaming, involves a few simple puzzles that are spoiled by the absence of otherwise irrelevant features in the environment, leading to a series of large, mostly empty rooms, with occasional story-important details sticking out like sore thumbs.”
- “I believe this to be bad mechanics to implement into the game because the player ends up spending too much time getting frustrated moving Doris to a specific part of the map to reach that one specific item you need but have to be precisely nearby it.”
- “Definitely wait for a sale as it's only part 1 of what I believe to be a 5-part series, and as such, is only about a half hour of gameplay.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and frustrating, particularly due to the need to restart conversations to retrieve missed information, leading to repetitive clicking and a sense of redundancy. This mechanic detracts from the overall experience, making it feel laborious and less engaging.
- “Another annoying habit I've noticed is that when you need to re-enter a conversation with a character, you have to start over from the beginning to find that piece of information you might have missed. It becomes tedious and redundant because you end up skipping a lot and spamming that mouse button to get through.”
- “Controls: point-and-click stories have this one nasty habit of being tedious and frustrating, and that's having to click on the spot you want to interact with.”
- “Another annoying habit I've noticed is that when you need to re-enter a conversation with a character, you have to start over from the beginning to find that piece of information you might have missed. It becomes tedious and redundant because you end up skipping a lot and spamming that mouse button to get through.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The character development is noted for its appealing designs, particularly highlighting the cuteness of the dragon and demon characters.

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