Adam's Venture: Origins (Xbox One, 2016)

Adam's Venture: Origins
Developed by Vertigo Interactive
Published by SOEDESCO
Released for Xbox One (4/1/2016)
Also on PC/PS4/Switch

Adam's Venture is a third-person puzzle/adventure series that originally started on PC back in 2009. There was a trilogy of games released for PC between 2009 to 2012, which were eventually ported to the PlayStation 3 in 2014 as Adam's Venture Chronicles. In 2016, we received Adam's Venture: Origins, which released for all of the big systems this time around. Initially I thought Origins was a prequel to Chronicles, but after watching CGR Undertow's review of Chronicles it looks like it might just be a remake, as I saw several parts in the video that also occurred within Origins, just with a slightly better presentation. Having never played the original games, it's all a bit confusing and I had a bit of trouble finding info on these titles as they just don't seem to be that popular. Let's delve into Adam's Venture: Origins and see if there's a reason not many are talking about this series...

Adam's Venture: Origins takes place in 1920's and you take control of Adam Venture, one of the cheesiest names I believe I've ever encountered. You have set forth on a journey to discover the secret of Eden. In addition to the cliched action hero, you also have the stereotypical attractive companion, who goes by the name of Evelyn. As you explore ancient ruins, you'll be tasked with solving several puzzles along the way while unraveling the mystery. There's also some sort of evil corporation that wants in on the action and plans to use whatever knowledge is gained for bad intentions. The game is chock full of tropes, but the writing is so self-aware of how dumb it is that it can actually be amusing at times. The story actually isn't bad and helps provide the player with some incentive to push along to see what happens next.

Gameplay involves exploring and solving puzzles, with the occasional stealth section thrown in. The exploring aspect is actually not bad, with the ability to run, jump and use a grappling hook with the X button. There are certain spots you can use your hook, which will be designated by an X symbol that pops up when you're within grappling range. These mostly involve swinging from one point to the next, but at some points you'll have to use the hook to pull down bridges or activate levers. Since you can only use the grappling hook on designated spots, it works much better than I initially expected. Navigation works well for the most part, with the ability to climb up ledges and shimmy across at certain points. It's all stuff you've seen in other games and while it's been done better, it's at least functional here. Sometimes the game is really picky where you stand when trying to climb up ledges, but other than that I didn't run into any issues.

Along the way you'll encounter several puzzles and the game does a decent job providing a variety between them. None of the puzzles are too taxing and this can either be a good or bad thing. If you're a puzzle vet, it'll probably be easy to the point of boring but for more novice players it'll be refreshing to be able to complete one of these types of games without consulting a guide. The game stumbles a bit when it comes to the stealth sections, of which there are two in the game. These feel half-baked, allowing to run right behind guards so long as the enemy doesn't flash their light in your general direction. It really fails to give any kind of impression that you're actually sneaking around.

Adam's Venture: Origins can actually look quite impressive at times, featuring a mostly smooth frame rate, detailed environments and good use of colors but unfortunately there are several issues when it comes to the graphics. Throughout my play of the game, I encountered numerous graphic artifacts, strange lack of clipping with many objects and tons of highly noticeable graphic pop-in. The voice acting is also pretty bad, but it wasn't as glaring of an issue as the graphical problems. The Adam's Venture games feature a Christian theme in them, but this one never came across as preachy and other than a few Biblical themes, completely forgot this was a Christian game while playing it.

Adam's Venture: Origins certainly isn't a good game, but it's not entirely bad either. The exploration and some of the puzzles were actually fun, but the graphics issues and stealth segments bring the overall experience down a few notches. There's a decent game hiding somewhere in here if the developers could clean up the visuals and make the stealth sections a bit more enjoyable. If a Tomb Raider game without guns sounds like your thing, give Adam's Venture: Origins a shot, but I'd advise to wait for a sale because this one is by no means worth the suggested retail price.

Final Verdict: Adam's Venture: Origins has some enjoyable exploration and puzzle segments, but the numerous graphical issues and subpar stealth segments drag it down a bit.

Purchase Links:
Buy Adam's Venture: Origins (Digital) - Microsoft Store
Buy Adam's Venture: Origins (Disc) - eBay

Related Links:
SOEDESCO - Official Site
Adam's Venture: Origins - Metacritic
Adam's Venture: Origins - GameFAQs
Adam's Venture: Origins - True Achievements
Adam's Venture: Origins Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements

Fearful Symmetry & the Cursed Prince (Xbox One, 2017)

Fearful Symmetry & the Cursed Prince
Developed by Gamera Interactive
Published by SOEDESCO
Released for Xbox One (12/12/2017)
Also on PC

Fearful Symmetry & the Cursed Prince comes from Italy-based developer Gamera Interactive and was released for the Xbox One in December 2017. Fearful Symmetry is a puzzle game where you control multiple characters at the same time, with each being in different dimensions. When you move one, the other character moves as well, but in the opposite direction. Controlling both characters, you'll have to navigate them through treacherous puzzles filled with traps.

Fearful Symmetry is presented with pixel-art, looking like something between 16-bit and 32-bit graphics. Puzzles are viewed from an overhead perspective with the entire puzzle visible on-screen. The sound design is quite minimal as there's no music during the levels, just the ambience of the forest with birds chirping.  There are also key sound effects, such as when traps are activated or your character dies. The quiet nature of the game had me often listening to something else while playing. Overall, the retro graphics look nice but the sound design is a bit lacking, making the presentation a bit of a mixed bag.

The main story in Fearful Symmetry features 25 levels and 3 characters that you'll have to run through each level in order to get the true ending. The story involves each of the characters having their own reason for seeking out the legendary Symmetry Scrolls. You'll only start with the basic character named Hero, but the other characters you'll unlock come with a special ability. Nulan, the 2nd character you'll unlock can use her sorceress powers to burn any bushes or enemies in adjacent tiles. The 3rd character, Haim, has the ability to warp ahead one space, allowing him to dash over traps and obstacles. The levels are slightly tweaked for the characters with skills, setting up ways for you to utilize your new powers. As you play through the story mode levels, you'll unlock bonus levels that you can access at any point from the main menu. There are a total of 10 bonus levels and these are easily the most challenging puzzles you'll encounter in the game.

Fearful Symmetry will probably last you somewhere between 5-10 hours, much less if you end up using a walkthrough for assistance. Considering the game's $5 asking price, you'll easily get your money's worth out of this one and I've also seen it go on sale for something like $1 several times as well. If you're a fan of logic puzzles, give Fearful Symmetry a look. There's a free trial for the game, so if you're on the fence give that a shot first.

Final Verdict: Fearful Symmetry is a challenging puzzle game where you control 2 characters simultaneously moving in opposite directions on opposing screens. Recommended for fans of logic puzzles.

Related Links:
Buy Fearful Symmetry & The Cursed Prince - Microsoft Store
Gamera Interactive - Official Site
SOEDESCO - Official Site
Fearful Symmetry & The Cursed Prince - Metacritic
Fearful Symmetry & The Cursed Prince - GameFAQs
Fearful Symmetry & The Cursed Prince -True Achievements
Fearful Symmetry & The Cursed Prince Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements

Elea (Xbox One, 2018)

Elea
Developed by Kyodai
Published by SODESCO
Released for Xbox One (9/6/2018)
Also on PC/PS4/Switch

Elea is a walking simulator with a sci-fi theme which was first released on PC in April 2018. In September that same year the game would release for the Xbox One, followed by a PlayStation 4 release in July 2019 and a Switch release in February 2020. The Switch version was released as Elea: Paradigm Shift, but from what I can tell is the same game with a new title.

Elea takes place in the future, where a pandemic has hit Earth and made it uninhabitable. A new planet with features similar to Earth has been located and an expedition has been launched via the ship named Pilgrimage. The Pilgrimage arrived on the foreign planet but shortly after landing all contact with the ship was lost. You take the role of space scientist River Elea Catherine Jones, one decade after contact with the Pilgrimage was lost. Your husband, Ethan, was among the crew on the Pilgrimage, and it's up to you to piece together the events of what happened.

Most of your time with Elea will be spent on the research ship named Recovery, though there are some virtual reality segments that will take you to other locations. At the start of the game you'll start off in some sort of virtual machine that messes with your memories, which will be seen several times throughout the game. You'll navigate the game from a first-person perspective and gameplay involves walking, interacting with objects and listening to the dialogue as you discover more about your missing husband. There are documents and PDA devices you can pick up along the way to read up on the lore if you so wish.

Elea is a good looking game in the visuals department, with some stand-out scenes that look great. The environments are detailed and some of the virtual reality segments are very psychedelic. There's lots of flashing lights and colors, so those prone to epilepsy from such things may want to avoid this one. While the graphics look nice, the voice acting leaves a bit to be desired. The low-budget aspect of the game shines through here, and while the voice actors read the lines competently they just didn't really seem all that into it.

Like any game in the walking simulator genre, Elea is not going to appeal to everybody. Those who like the laid-back style of these games may find something to enjoy, as well as those who just enjoy sci-fi in general. It's likely only going to last 3-5 hours, so if you decide to take the plunge you may want to hold out for a sale (I got it for under $2). It's not a bad game by any means, but certainly not really good either, just a bit above average. Those looking for some easy gamerscore will appreciate the fact that all achievements can be unlocked in such a short period of time, though beware that the achievement for getting out of the labyrinth in 15 seconds is very iffy and will likely require many, many attempts before you finally get it to unlock. Other than that one problematic achievement, unlocking everything else is incredibly easy.

Elea was billed as being the first episode in a series, but seeing as the 1st episode came out well over a year ago at the time of this writing and the 2nd episode still hasn't been announced, I wouldn't be surprised if it never sees the light of day. Elea was ported to the Switch in 2020 however, so perhaps if that version sells enough copies we'll see the next entry in the series.

Final Verdict: Elea is a provides some nice visuals and decent gameplay for those who enjoy sci-fi, walking sims or easy achievements.

Related Links:
Buy Elea - Microsoft Store
Project Elea - Official Site
SODESCO - Official Site
Elea - Metacritic
Elea - GameFAQs
Elea - True Achievements
Elea - Xbox Achievements