I have to say I had quite a good time with this.
A serial killer has gotten the better of Detective Lazarus Bundy, so
much so that he is on suspension. In an effort to get back in the game,
he surreptitiously investigates the disappearance of Katherine Muzberg,
a member of one of Miami's most influential families.
Except he needs his badge, which means he needs to get into the
station, once he solves a parking problem but after he rescues his bike.
Environmental inventory based conundrums are the stock in trade here.
Find things, talk to people, to achieve all manner of things. From
making meatballs to breaking into and out of various environments, there
are a plethora of things going on. There are some wild and occasionally
wacky solves, as there are in these types of games, but by and large I
was pleased with the "logic" of what to do.
The ability to highlight hotspots can help, and Lazarus' own musings
and thoughts might assist. So too can Alice, a young intern who becomes
your willing assistant. A whizz with a computer, she is an integral part
of solving and deciphering, and you get to play her once or twice as
well.
Together they are an engaging partnership. Not George and Nicole, but
worth being with.
There are a couple of out and out puzzles, involving codes and
ciphers, and while they aren't brain busting they do offer a challenge
and were nicely done. Alice also engages in some short sequences where
she "perceives" bits and pieces of a character's behaviour to
ascertain their motivation.
There are also some sequences where Lazarus can die, about half a
dozen in total, where you need to work out the necessary next action
within a short period of time. There is no twitchy finger involved, but
you might have to try a number of things before you find the right one.
If you aren't successful, the game restores you automatically to just
before the fatal moment and you try something else. They weren't hard,
and I thought they added a little something to the mix. There is evil
afoot after all.
The Hand of Glory looks great. Rudimentarily stylish is my best
attempt to describe it. Perhaps best just to have a look. Cutscenes
punctuate the third person exploration of each scene, and the ones that
play like a movie reel were particularly appealing.
It sounds good too, both the score and the ambient sound. Voice
acting is appealing, for the main characters in particular, and the
dialogue can be snappy, silly, sassy and amusing. All up, it's a well
designed and appealing package.
It's linear in its progression, although you might find yourself
revisiting available locations if you are stuck. More of those open up
as you move through the game, and a map is available to move between
them.
Everything is point and click. Double click to run, or to jump to a
screen exit. The inventory ribbon appears when you move the mouse top of
screen, and you can right click to examine items and left click to use.
A notepad keeps track of objectives, and a little graphic will appear
bottom right when a new entry is occurring. Your phone is up there too,
and can be used for a range of actions.
Save at will, tweak settings, play with or without subtitles.
About the only disappointing element is that it ends halfway through,
and is effectively Part 1. There is a reveal that helps support a break,
but I would have liked for it to be a whole rather than a half. If you
go to the maker's website and read about the lush Italian hills as a
destination, that is still to come.
Which in the scheme of things is a smallish thing. If you like these
types of games the 8 – 10 hours of what is here (I clocked in at just
over 9) is well worth your attention.
I played on:
OS: Windows 10, 64 Bit
Processor: Intel i7-9700k 3.7 GHz
