Someone suggested this game the other day, so I downloaded the Trial Game. It is marvelous! It starts very cinematically, and continues in that vein. It is much more like a true adventure game than anything I have found in the Casual bin for a long time. I feel like I'm in a Laura Croft game or a later one of the King's Quest series.

The way it is drawn/painted and the way lighting is used are marvelous. There are no "Collectibles" nor pop-ups to muddy the water or throw you out of the story although there have been a couple of HO scenes. The game consists of the usual plot (rescue Grandpa and stop the demonic forces from crossing into our reality), but I am loving this game's style. I definitely am going to buy it!

I guess it is older than a year because I did an Advanced Search here and didn't see any other posts about it in that time frame. Anyway, grateful thanks to whomever did mention it!

Here is the original thread of the game announcement on GameBoomers years ago. From the date on the thread, you can see that the game was released on Big Fish on May 9, 2013.

8dognight is the person who has recommended this game recently. I have this game in my Purchase History and haven't played it yet! After reading what she had to say about it, I am really looking forward to playing it. Glad you are enjoying it.

Reenie said:

Which other ones can you think of?

Boy, I had to look back at my list to answer that question. I have played or tried out over 400 Casual games, and there aren't many that I'd call "Adventure-style" games!

Angelica Weaver: Catch Me If You Can is pretty good and I don't remember HOs being featured in it.
The Azada series is pretty good, but they are short games. Same with the Drawn series.
The Dana Knightsone series varies, but they are more "Adventure" than HO.
Dire Grove Sacred Grove
Eternal Journey: New Atlantis is one of my favorites. Excellent play, long, and I don't remember any HOs.
Forbidden Secrets: Alien Town is another favorite.
Nearwood is different enough to include. I don't remember if it had HO scenes, though.
The New York Mysteries series is excellent. There are a few HO scenes but not opressive and the game play is quite Adventure-like.
Shiver: Moonlit Grove may have some HO, but it is more Adventure than HO. Best of that series.

And, of course, Portal of Evil: Stolen Runes that I am playing now, and Agency of Anomalies: Cinderstone Orphanage that I just bought and will play next. (Thanks for these recommendations!)

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Margrave: Blacksmith's Daughter is an HO-type game, but still is one of the best games in the genre that I've played.
Riddles of Fate: Wild Hunt is also an HO, but still worth playing.

That's a good list, Reenie. I would add True Fear: Forsaken Souls to that list. There are some hidden object scenes, but it feels far more like an adventure game than anything else. Shiver: Poltergeist would be on my list as well.

Agreed. I rated Forsaken Souls as a good game, but it is far too grim in content for me to recommend it to anyone else, not knowing how they feel about brutality themes. I would never replay it. I tend to recommend only games I would replay.

I can understand that.

I have to give a BIG shout-out of "THANKS!" to 8dognight for this game recommendation. It is now in my Top Ten list, and I know I will be replaying it after I forget some of its particulars. Wow, what a ride.

As I said already, it is very "Adventure-sh" in style, not your typical HO game AT ALL. There is a lot of shagging around to do, and taking notes is vital. Quite a ways on in the game, you'll be going back to a very early scene in order to use or retrieve an item you find later. It is hard enough remembering how to make your way through a very complex world without knowing where you are trying to go. If you don't remember where an item was or a puzzle that needed solving is to be found, you'll be running around in circles once you find that Clue or artifact needed.

Oh yeah, there are a few HO scenes, but most of them aren't typical. Sometimes, it is difficult to finish them because the zone where you click on the item is quite small. A couple of times, I clicked on what I thought was correct and it dissed me. After looking ALL around the whole scene again, I got bored and clicked the Help. It zeroed in on the item I already had clicked. So, it was the correct item but I had to go back and click on it more carefully. So a head's up there.

In the CE version, there are Message Scrolls from dear old Grandpa (who went before and you haven't seen since), but you don't have to pick them up. You don't get anything from them except a bit of chatter from Grandpa; no "help." I've stumbled across a few, but I don't usually go in for pixel-hunting a scene for such things. If you do take one, you get a Pop-Up; if you don't, you stay focused on the game. So, you choose.

None of the puzzles is difficult and some are brain-dead easy. Some of the puzzles are so easy that you know how to solve it without a Clue, but you still have to find and retrieve that Clue in order to trigger the action of the puzzle. At one point, I had to find 10 Rune Stones for what I thought would be a pesky puzzle, and it turned out all I had to do with the Rune Stones was insert them ~ nothing to "solve." That was disappointing. It is like they ran out of programming time and just called it "Done." I still am enjoying the game, anyway, because of the vastness of the scale and all the stuff there is to interact with as I jog here and there.

I have been playing this game off-and-on for a couple of days and haven't finished the Main Game yet, so look for hours of game play if you buy it. And I still have the Bonus Game to go because I bought the CE version.

That sounds delightful, Reenie! I am going to be in for a treat.

You're very welcome, Reenie. I'm a pop-up hater, too, but I do enjoy reading back story in games if it doesn't include hidden objects. You know the type. There once was a KING, and you find the stupid, sepia toned crown. Stolen Runes just has grandpa's story notes so I rather liked them.

Is your top ten list the same as the one you posted above as most adventure like?

There is some overlap to what I wrote back to you on your prior question. My personal Top Ten are games I would come back to play again, and have. Sometimes, there are more than ten games on the list, because I might encounter a whole series that is excellent (like Lost Lands, House of 1000 Doors, Royal Detective, New York Mysteries.)

Most of the casual games are not engaging enough to warrant a Replay, however. That isn't to say that they can't be fun.