I haven't played The Legacy games yet so don't know if it matters but I think the order is (1) Forgotten Gates, (2) Prisoner, and (3) The Tree of Might.

Yes, you are correct about the order of release, oldbroad. I too am not sure whether the order matters in this instance. I haven't played any of the Legacy games yet, but they were very well received.

I thought the fourth game in D&F, Enemy in Reflection, was the best of the series. It was like they hit their stride with that one. The mini-games were original and creative, the atmosphere was natural as opposed to a lot of purple smoke and it was the most engaging. The others were too easy to be fun; meant for younger players.

I have to say that I did not find the other games in the Darkness and Flame series too easy, nor did I think they were geared towards younger players. Maybe that's just me.

The three Legacy games are three of my absolute favourite Casuals and I've played all of them three times now.
And just talking about them makes me want to play them again !!

(They don't need to be played in any specific order.)

So glad to know that they are three of your favorite casuals!

So I got the trial version of Legacy Forgotten Gates - that's a keeper!

(Shades of Stargate 🤩 )

Great, Tally Ho! You really should check out the Darkness and Flame series too if you haven't already.

If you like Forgotten Gates, you'll also like the third in this series, Tree of Might. Happy gaming!

All three Legacy games are "quality", Tally Ho

I just finished Paranormal Files: The Trap of Truth CE. I thought it was quite a good game, with a few puzzles that I hadn't seen much before if at all.

This morning, I started replaying the oldie, Mystery Trackers: Black Isle. This is one of the games I recently found in my closet, on DVD. It is simply fabulous! Top notch design, creativity and follow-through. It is intelligently crafted, the sound effects add tremendously to the feel of the game, all the artwork is realistic, the puzzles are challenging as is the creative use of Inventory and there are no pop-ups to break the Fifth Wall. The only downside is the frequency of HO scenes, the fact that some of them respawn and the very small size of some of the objects. It is like they don't want you to be able to find the items. ha ha

The game involves a LOT of running around, back and forth, revisiting sites repeatedly. When you find a piece of Inventory, your next move invariably is to run off to the furthest away location to use it. You can transport, in a general way, to the three main locations of the site, but there still is a lot of shagging around involved with repeat visits. It isn't one of those games where you enter a location, do a couple things to be done there, and then go dashing off somewhere else with that scene in your rear view mirror. You'll return again and again to work things out.

With this game, you definitely need to take extensive and thorough notes or buy the CE version with an onboard Walkthrough. I am a serious note-taker, but I have lost track of what I was doing or where that tiny piece of inventory needed to be used ~ multiple times.

Still, I'm enjoying the game because it obviously was a labor of love by the team that created it. It stands far above most of the HOAs I've played in the last couple of years. They all seem primitive and shallow in comparison, with their garish colors and simple puzzles. Now that I have found it again, I know I'll want to replay this game yet again after a few months. :-D

Started "Lost Lands : The Golden Curse CE" today - and it's lookin' good

Finished the first two Legacy games, and about to start the third, "Tree of Might."

They went seemingly quickly, for a couple of reasons. First, I don't think they were designed to be as long as the Lost Land games, and the Bonus games are particularly short; and second, I have gotten so accustomed to 5 BN's style, that I spent far less time trying to find morphing and collectible objects and get on with the business of the game (which is also somewhat predictable due to experience.)

None of that is a complaint mind you - these are beautifully produced games, and they all have what I have said so many times is the most important element in a game - a good story line.

OK - enough blathering; let's get back to playing.

That's how I play, Tally Ho. I ignore morphing objects (unless they are vital to game progress) and don't "collect" items either unless they, too, are vital.

But story IS important to me. And I feel the Legacy games have good, solid, if maybe more old fashioned in style, stories

Oh - Surprise!! I started Tree of Might, and found my name as player already there. And I was into the game a few scenes. Apparently I downloaded the Demo when the game first came out; and never bought it. Well, not remembering the beginning would be a problem, so created a new player and started fresh. Glad I did!

(Noticed that sometimes in the dialogue, they refer to the "Tree of Power" - send for the continuity editor 🤣 )

I finished Amaranthine Voyage: The Obsidian Book a few days ago but haven't yet started another regular casual game. This game was just okay. I am playing a (more or less) straight hog Amazing Adventures: The Caribbean Secret and also a Match 3 game, Cradle of Persia. I lost in level 61 though and have to restart the game. Argh .

You have to restart the whole game if you lose one level ?? After having played 61 levels ??

Aggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I remember Cradle of Persia as being one challenging game. I never made it through that one. Maybe I will give it another whirl at some point.

I just replayed Paranormal Files: The Trap of Truth CE. I think that is the first time I ever played a HOPA two times in a row with no other game in between. I decided to play the game again so that I could try to get all the collectibles and obtain all the pieces to a jigsaw puzzle you can put together in the Secret Room bonus content. I had fun with it. I also wanted to solve a couple of puzzles that I had skipped the first time.

So, I went to restart Cradle of Persia and it gave me the option to "continue". I clicked it thinking it would then tell me I had to restart but it only kicked me back to level 52 so I played that for awhile even though I could have completed it at least one time, but I was trying to build up some resources. I cannot keep enough lives though so I'm sure I'll run into trouble again soon.

Good Luck, oldbroad.

[I will still definitely be giving this one a miss, myself !!!! Phew ]

Congratulations on getting so far in the game, oldbroad!

I just finished the Mystery Trackers: Fatal Lesson CE. Not sure what's up next.

I just finished replaying Forbidden Secrets: Alien Town, and now am starting the Bonus Game. This game by Viva Media, from about ten years ago, has all the excellent and realistic artwork that I enjoy in a game. In fact, the graphics are superb throughout and the environmental sounds support and augment each scene. There are no pop-ups and no purple smoke, but you can look for Morphing Objects if that is your thing.

At a few points in the game, you interact with other characters, which enhances the sense of reality. I've gotten a little bored with games in which my character wanders around totally alone the entire time, or if there are other characters in the game, they are strictly eye candy and you have no meaningful interactions with them.

The game is deliciously complex, with a multi-stranded story line that follows diverging threads of inquiry all the way through and features some creative puzzles in a wide variety of styles. A few are real stinkers. Nothing is timed. The HO scenes can be a challenge due to their realism (if you are looking for a cork, it will be a small brownish item, not a garishly yellow object the size of a coconut).

It is one my Top 20 favorites in the casual games genre, so I was delighted to have found it in the cache of CDs in my cabinet. I'm working my through them all, happily.

Forbidden Secrets: Alien Town is a terrific game. The developer is Five BN (perhaps Viva Media was the publisher of your CD version?).

I definitely recommend it.

Hm. I actually have that game downloaded on my Win 10 computer waiting to be played.