Sunday 22 May 2011

Spirit Seasons Little Ghost Story (Game)



A few puzzles are mixed in among the hidden object searches, but they're pretty rare and are the kind of brain teasers you've seen many times already. You'll reconnect wires to complete circuits and reassemble jigsaw puzzles to undo locks (sometimes more than once for the same lock, hooray). The puzzles are all well done, and skippable if you're simply not in the mood, so while they're not exactly something to get excited about, they don't get in the way of the fun, either.

Spirit Season's biggest problem is the way it constantly fumbles the language. At first, its awkward grammar is almost charming, as you read a news clipping hoping that Agatha's parents can "insoul" the town, but as you engage in more conversations, the mangling becomes more obvious and off-putting. Agatha calls Jacob "a great fabulist," (she means "liar") and your dialog choices are so curiously phrased that it's sometimes hard to guess what you're about to say. These kinds of mistakes could perhaps be excused because you can still get the gist of what's going on, but when the language issues begin creeping into the actual gameplay, it's tough to maintain your enjoyment. I spent several minutes scanning a scene for two "jawbones," only to give up in frustration and use a hint. Turns out they were staring me in the face the entire time – a set of wind up chattering teeth from the joke shop.

Spirit Season: Little Ghost Story is just shy of being really enjoyable. It's lovely to look at, and its twisting, turning story will definitely keep you interested, but it simply falls short too much of the time. With the recent trend in spooky HOGs, there are far better ways to get your ghostly fix.

 

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