Tales From The Dragon Mountain: The Strix Review

Tales from the Dragon Mountain: the Strix plays it pretty safe, never veering from the standard Hidden Object puzzle path that has proved so popular amongst many casual gamers. It's a shame, to an extent, as it would have been nice to see something a little different for once. There's still fun to be had though, and the slight boost in difficulty level will be popular amongst adventure gamers.

The story follows the tale of Mina, a young woman who is haunted by dreams of her grandmother's home being burnt down. A visit to the house leads to the uncovering of some very sinister events and the need to stop an evil spirit Strix. Despite the interesting plot line, Tales from the Dragon Mountain: the Strix does falter somewhat, never really getting going as much as it perhaps should have. The strength within comes from the puzzles.

Part hidden object title and part puzzler means a reasonable amount of variety for such a casual title. At times, it's not always clear what's required of the player next but a selection of difficulty options ensures that no one should be left behind too much. Many puzzles, like other adventure games, involves combining a series of items together but there's also a decent supply of logic puzzles. Unusually, it's the puzzles that offer a little too much explanation in comparison to the confusion that lies outside of these linear challenges. Two Match Three games also exist within the title, and it'd have been satisfying to see more of them.

Tales from the Dragon Mountain: the Strix isn't the longest of games by any means, meaning the $6.99 asking price is a slightly tall order. But, while there's nothing revolutionary to be seen here, there's also nothing shocking about Tales from the Dragon Mountain: the Strix either. It walks the line of respectability quite confidently but never has the nerve to dare to be different.