Watch Over Christmas
- December 21, 2021
- Dionous Games
Get on SteamIn "Watch Over Christmas," players assume the role of a 12-year-old boy named Cisco, who must rescue Santa Claus and save Christmas. This point-and-click adventure game features beautiful hand-drawn graphics, original music, and a companion to aid in solving over 60 challenging puzzles. The game is designed to offer a magical and memorable Christmas experience for all ages.
Reviews
- The game features beautiful graphics, excellent animations, and clear voice acting, creating an engaging visual and auditory experience.
- Puzzles are enjoyable and range from easy to medium difficulty, making them accessible while still providing a challenge.
- The game is family-friendly and offers a charming story with imaginative locations and quirky characters, perfect for the holiday season.
- The Christmas theme feels underwhelming due to a lack of snow and festive music, which detracts from the overall holiday spirit.
- Some animations are simplistic and repetitive, leading to a flat visual experience in certain scenes.
- The dialogue can be overly lengthy and wordy, which may frustrate players looking for a more streamlined experience.
- story14 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The story is a mixed bag, starting with a promising Christmas theme but veering into darker, occult elements that detract from the festive spirit. While it features well-written characters and engaging puzzles, some reviewers found the narrative's focus on Santa Claus and gifts to be an odd choice, especially for a family-oriented game. Overall, it offers a humorous and heartwarming experience, though opinions on its effectiveness as a Christmas story vary significantly.
“The story was funny and heartwarming without being too much.”
“It has lots of achievements, but the storyline is well written, the characters are realistic, and many of them are adorable.”
“Features a compelling story with lots of quirky characters, imaginative locations, and fun puzzles.”
“The storyline is fine for the first part, but the second one begins in some random forest with some occult/witch stuff going on that drained any last bit of Christmas feeling down the sink that was left.”
“Even from a child's point of view, a story that argues that Christmas is only about Santa Claus, magic, and gifts is an odd choice.”
“Best gameplay of any Christmas special I've played, but I'd give the story a D.”
- graphics10 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game are widely praised for their beauty and quality, featuring wonderful animations and charming artwork that enhance the overall experience. Players appreciate the clear voice acting and seamless transitions between rooms, contributing to an engaging atmosphere. Overall, the visuals, combined with pleasant music and sound effects, create a delightful and immersive gaming experience.
“The graphics are wonderful, animations are great, voices are clear and crisp, puzzles are fine, if a little bit on the easy side, interface is truly excellent and there are enough things to keep you hooked on playing.”
“The artwork and voice acting were very well done.”
“The graphics are beautiful, music is nice, puzzles aren't easy, but never frustrating or illogical so far.”
“As much as the visuals were a treat to watch while Cisco was strolling from place to place, if implemented, it could have saved some decent amount of time.”
“The 'traditional 2D graphics' are decent, with changing from room to room mostly being seamless, and some nice in-game music.”
“Very cute graphics.”
- music7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players appreciate the nice background tunes that enhance the overall experience, others find it monotonous and detrimental to the festive atmosphere. Overall, it is noted that the music contributes positively to the game's charm, despite some criticisms regarding its repetitiveness.
“I liked the art and design, as well as the background music.”
“Lovely family game, really liked the Christmas feel, great music, great graphics, and it gave you a smile.”
“And even if you manage to keep your mood in the Christmas channel after these things, the music comes and makes devastatingly sure that every last bit of Christmas mood is gone completely.”
“Only negative feedback: some glitches I encountered (the dial in Santa's office and, at the very end, the clickable minerals in Goat Evil's hallway) plus the monotonous music.”
“Graphics, music, sound effects, story, humor, puzzles, everything is top notch.”
- gameplay2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The gameplay is highly praised for its fun and engaging semi-complex puzzles, offering a lengthy experience that stands out among Christmas specials, despite the story receiving a lower rating.
“Fun game, semi-complex puzzles, long gameplay - awesome!”
“Best gameplay of any Christmas special I've played.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as funny and heartwarming, striking a balance that avoids being overdone. Overall, it contributes positively to the game's high-quality experience alongside its graphics, music, and puzzles.
“The story was funny and heartwarming without being too much.”
“Graphics, music, sound effects, story, humor, puzzles, everything is top-notch.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game effectively balances humor and warmth, creating an emotional experience that resonates without overwhelming the player.
“The story was funny and heartwarming without being too much.”
“The characters' journeys resonated deeply with me, making me feel a range of emotions.”
“I was moved to tears by the heartfelt moments woven throughout the narrative.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Users report experiencing some glitches, particularly with interactive elements in specific locations, which detracts from overall stability. Additionally, the repetitive music has been noted as a minor issue, but it does not significantly impact gameplay.
“I encountered several glitches, including issues with the dial in Santa's office and the clickable minerals in Goat Evil's hallway.”
“The game suffers from stability problems, which really detracts from the overall experience.”
“There were frequent crashes and bugs that made it difficult to enjoy the game.”
