Oldies But Goodies Sort Of: Worth a Second Look

Casual games have been around just long enough for me to have a few that I still remember or at least think “Yeah, I kinda’ liked that one” when I see the title somewhere, so before I get a new computer and won’t bother with any of these games that won’t run on Windows 10,* I am noting them for anyone who may be interested.

All prior to 2014, the listed games are by no means perfect. Some of them twinkle occasionally; some only run for me on a windowed screen leaving a 90 degree angle of desktop icons; and some have clunky mechanics. Cursed Memories and probably a few others have demonic super villains who disappear in a regulation swirl of black smoke (Come to think of it, there must be a sizable portion of the demon population in HOPA land racked by COPD). On the upside, none of these games are smudged looking or pink and purple; the graphics in all are reasonably sharp and well rendered. Game play, story, and those ubiquitous black bar tips which developers use for hints and as a substitute for story are by and large less condescending and more story forward than in most casuals. I did quit most of these games for one reason or another the first time I played; the games below are casuals I came back to because on reexamination they seemed immersive enough to start over. I abandoned the vanishing hitchhiker to her fate when a decrepit town gave way to a surfeit of gray crumbling shacks, boats with holes, and rusty tools. I only returned in desperation a couple of years later and discovered it was a pretty good game. Echoes of the Past: Kingdom of Despair probably lost sales due to its ghastly name; in fact, there is only one chapter littered with the kind of depressing, stereotypical medical grunge that might justify the title.

My tarnished oldies lean heavily toward fantasy/genteel horror. This may be because I don’t remember the ones with more realistic settings. If anyone has any other suggestions, I will be grateful to hear them. Although there is some overlap, this is not intended as a games of the year, must play list. There are quite a few I would put on here if it were and others I would remove. For example, I think Shiver: Moonlit Grove is superior to the two Shiver games below. Also I would have included older games like the Otherworld series, Nutcracker, and Grim Tales: The Legacy. Making this worth a second look compilation, I have been surprised at how many games I turned up checking purchase history on BFG.

9: The Dark Side
9: The Dark Side of Notre Dame
Contract with the Devil
Cursed Cases: Murder at the Mayboard Estate
Cursed Memories: The Secret of Agony Creek
Echoes of the Past: The Kingdom of Despair
Echoes of the Past: The Revenge of the Witch
Haunted Hotel: Charles Dexter Ward
The Keepers: The Order’s Last Secret
The Keepers: Lost Progeny
Portal of Evil: Stolen Runes
Sacra Terra: Kiss of Death
Shiver: Poltergeist
Shiver: Vanishing Hitchhiker
Tears of the Fallen
Timeless: Forgotten Town
Timeless: Lost Castle

*To be clear, I don't know whether these games run on Windows 10 or not.

What a great list! I did play Shiver: Moonlit Grove and it was a lot like an adventure-lite game. I did enjoy both of the other Shiver games as well.

Nice to see Haunted Hotel: Charles Dexter Ward on your list too. I have only played it once, but I thought it was very good.

Thank you for taking the time to post this.

I agree about the Shiver and Timeless games. Loved all of them. There are some other series that stand out for me, too, like Lost Lands, House of 1000 Doors, Surface, Riddles of Fate, and the Enigmatus series. I'm always happy to see them issue a new game. More recently, the New York Mysteries series has pulled me in. I have replayed these games during a dry spell, and enjoyed them as much the second time around.

Thanks for sharing your list! It is a great idea to keep track of the games you've played, so you know which ones you might like to replay. Some others are stinkers and you wouldn't want to waste your time downloading them again from BF.

Played quite a few of those, myself, 8dognight - with varying degrees of enjoyment !!

Mad and Reenie, I pay attention to which games you like, also Marian, Starcom, Colpet, and anyone who posts in this forum on casual games they like or don't like. BFG reviewers are harder to wade through. On BFG, Lunanik, GrannyGruff, and two other grandparent related monikers are often helpful because they never say yeehaw and whoopee over almost everything and rarely give 5 stars. Penmom, who lamentably loves everything, can be useful in terms of weeding out games with moronic puzzles; however, you have to read down the review to find if the puzzles were too simple for her taste despite the fact she gave the game 5 stars. Lunanik turned me on to Beast of Lycan Isle which was a treat. At the moment I am adventure game starved. I wish that new Wind Monks or the long awaited Blackenrock games were released.

It has occurred to me that I should have made a list of casual games I bought and regretted buying, the ones I gave an internal dear-god-what-was-I-thinking rating. To do that now I would have to reload them and check them out again which is not appealing.

8dognight, that is exactly why I started my database. There are SO many Casual games issued and too many of them are not worth even a Half-Off Sale. When I see a new game issued, I check my List to see if I've tried any in that series. Seeing, "Ugh. Childish, derivative, too simple by far, don't buy any more from this series!" takes care of my questions. ha ha a

On the other hand, I also Star the good ones, and will go for a new issue from them right away. And if I like the game, I mark it as a Replay, and I have replayed a dozen games at least, waiting a year or so in order to forget the particulars. If nothing new interests me but I want to play something, I'll scan my List and be reminded of which games were favorites and then reload one of them from BF. So, having a List helps enormously.

I just reviewed my Purchase History, only to discover that Contract with the Devil is there. I must have picked it up with a free game coupon at some point. I am going to check it out when I have the time.

I like the fact that BF maintains a Purchase History. I have encountered a game I thought I'd like and went to buy it, only to have BF tell me I already owned it and only needed to Reload.

I have done that too! I think there's a message there; namely, that we have too many games.

Definitely guilty here. Since BF started in 2002 or 2003 (?), I've purchased over 300 of the buggers.

Marian, Contract with the Devil's title and opening screen are guaranteed to offend some people as signing the contract is the play hot spot, a clever but ultimately off-putting device and something that producers/developers should have considered. I am not easily offended, and I didn't like it. Other than that the game itself is not offensive and stands up well.

Good to know, 8dognight.

Reenie, the very first game I purchased from Big Fish was Mystery Case Files: Huntsville, and that was back in 2007. I had never heard of the site prior to that. People on GameBoomers were talking about Huntsville, I went on a search for it, and that led me to Big Fish. According to Wikipedia, the company was founded in 2002, so you are correct about the timeframe.

I can't remember the first game I purchased from BF. I didn't start my List until a few years into buying, when I realized I almost bought the same game again and/or forgot I had already played a Trial version of a game and dismissed it. By then, I didn't know when the earlier games were purchased, and many of them were bought in stores, in CDs issued by BF. So, quite a few of the games in my List aren't entered with a purchase date. The dates start at 2013. But I suppose anyone could check her Game List at BF, set it to list them chronologically, and see when the first one was purchased. Never thought of that.

I also am put off by a too-heavy emphasis on evil, abuse and suffering in my games. I get it that there needs to be a foe strong enough to mount a threat, at least for most game designers to come up with a "plot," but it can get oppressive at times. I have bailed on some trial games when it is clear that the level of horror and torture themes are going to exceed my comfort level. I feel the same way about horror films, and don't go to those. Fortunately, there are LOTS of other choices in games!

Looks like my first purchase waw Hidden Expedition: Titanic in 2008 -- almost 9 years ago. The second was Azada. I do remember Titanic being the first Big Fish game I played, though I don't remember when I first played Azada.

Big Fish lets you sort your Purchase History by date, so you can easily locate your first purchases at the bottom of the list.

That's right, Jenny - that feature of sorting by date had slipped my mind.

Interesting to hear what your first two purchases were.

Yes, I looked mine up once, and my first on-line purchase was in Sept of 2012, but I think I went to that site after first buying a few BF games in CD form at the computer store. I'm glad they don't also list how much you have spent! One of my orders was over $50.

Good thing they don't - we might never recover from the shock.

There was a poster on Big Fish a few years ago who said that during a CE sale weekend they picked up 72 of them. 72!

I guess whoever it was didn't bother to test the game via a Trial first. I never buy one without trying it. Sometimes, I don't get through 15 minutes of a trial before bailing.

I'm a buyer, not a trier. I've never tried a BF demo. I know I've bought at least 20 games at one time a couple of times. Not close to 72 but...

I never play demos either .... Just can't be bothered

And the most I've ever purchased from Big Fish at any one time is a meagre three !!

My first buy was Emerald City Confidential in June 2010

That's interesting, oldbroad. Have you ever played one of them and wished you had tried the demo first, thinking you wouldn't have purchased it if you had trialed it?

In the past, I haven't always played the demo prior to purchasing, either.

Yes, I'm curious, too. There are dozens on my List that I bailed out on before even finishing the Trial Game. I would not have been a happy camper if I had bought them, even at a half-price sale.

I always buy on sale, the 65% off or sometimes there is another one that I do. You buy the featured CE at full price and then all other CE's are $4.99 each. When I buy enough, the price averages out to somewhere in the $5 to $6 range. I have to want the featured game though.

I haven't really had that experience Marian. Some games are better than others but I've not bailed out on any casual games (yet).

Currently I'm playing The Spell which is a timed Match 3 game and keep mumbling how much "I hate this game" but I keep playing it. So far haven't skipped any levels but it is a brutal game.

Also currently playing Living Legends: Bound by Wishes.

That has been my experience too, with games that I have not demoed beforehand.

Good luck with The Spell. I have played some match-3 games like that, where I get a bit frustrated but also addicted to it at the same time. I just replayed Caribbean Hideaway and once you get into the last ten levels or so, the timer is incredibly unforgiving. Love the game, though.

Living Legends: Bound by Wishes is my favorite in that series, oldbroad. Several others were good, but that one stood out.