Drawn®: Dark Flight™ Collector's Edition

This game (2nd in the series) and the next will not play on Windows 11. As soon as you hit Play the screen goes black, but you can hear the music playing and it continues to use cpu and log time played on Steam. Other people have reported the same problem, some with solutions that worked for them but not for me. I uninstalled the game - not happy.

I love this game. I would like to play more like this!

Drawn: Dark Flight is the second in the series of Drawn games. You continue right where you left off in the first game and the artwork, style and gameplay are much the same as the first game. The soundtrack is lovely and the puzzles are unique while maintaining the same style of puzzles. I couldn't help but think that the voiceover narration and one character encountered sounded just like the Preacher in the Enigmatis games. Nice to see his character as a helper instead of the antagonist. These games are so charming and entertaining. Definite recommendation!

luv it

A really nice sequel. The minigames are pretty hard but you can skip them so this is not a big problem. The story came to a good conclusion and the bonus was a nice end to the story, even though it could have been done way better. Still a really nice game with nice graphics and again cool mechanics. I can highly recommend it

One of my favourite game series as a kid. When i last played this, the bug hadn't been fixed--i never got to finish it. I'm really happy that i could, now, years and years later. It worked completely fine for me, here in 2024! No issues or bugs to speak of. The puzzles are challenging but all solvable, and i love that there's no penalty for hints or skipping puzzles altogether when you need to. It makes the game much more accessible imo! Prevents frustration, too. The art is gorgeous, as is the soundtrack. Really glad i was able to revisit it and enjoy all over again :')

Super nostalgic, but it doesn't add too much more for me at least. The edited animated lips are creepy and I personally prefer Franklin's old voice. Almost every single character has the same monotoned voice but Iris. The extra puzzles were cool and the bonus chapter is neat but kinda takes away the imagining yourself. It is a really nice addition chapter to the main ones but not so good its worth getting this if you already have the og. That's just me being nit-picky though.

If you are a die hard fan of the series, want an coloring page to paint and custom difficulty I'd recommend it. Otherwise probably just stick to the original with Franklin's good voice.

I love these games, the whole trilogy, and have loved them since they were first published. However, as of writing in July of 2023, they no longer work on Windows. I have tried every compatibility setting, and I'm not illiterate when it comes to fixing computers, but nothing I have done makes these games run anymore. It breaks my heart, because the puzzles are fun, the story is interesting, the art and music are some of the most beautiful I have ever seen, but they are no longer playable and it seems Big Fish and Steam have no plans on fixing this. Do not spend your money on these games unless you are running an OLD pc still on Windows XP.

Whatever problems the Steam version of this game once had are gone; it's completely playable and very enjoyable. I didn't run into any bugs except for a visual glitch with the steam overlay (the pop-up in the corner) that didn't interfere with playing at all. (Same glitch was present in the first game.)

The puzzles are very good, sometimes surprisingly hard. The overall mood, the art and the music -- very good, colored by nostalgia for me because I played this game when it was new, but it holds up well, and I would replay it again.

My least favorite of the trilogy. Very childish theme and story, but way too complex puzzles even for adults. I skipped two of them, and I never skip puzzles. Worth a play to inform the third in series, but I have seen better.

Despite the initial slowdowns from the old animations, the game was beautifully illustrated, incorporated an engaging, whimsical story line, and fun puzzles to tackle.

game irrecoverably crashes about 20 min in, none of the fixes posted about changing resolution or setting compatibility worked for me.

disappointing more than anything else given how much I liked the first game.

I played and enjoyed this game a long time ago and thought I would buy it from Steam for my new computer. Unfortunately, I guess the developers didn't update it for modern operating systems and the game crashes a short ways into it. Too bad, it was a good game.

It is very beautifully drawn and there are some very cute features in it. The rabbit and the squirrel, for instance. It's a bit different puzzle wise and visually. I also like the storytelling. If you fancy a change from the usual hidden object point and click type games, I'd definitely suggest trying this one out.

The sequel to The Painted Tower, Drawn: Dark Flight tells of Iris's pursuit to overthrow the evil sorceror and reclaim her throne. Like all sequels Dark Flight expands the world, detaling more of the kingdom's history, setting up the antagonist and allowing you to venture further into the world. Yet for all this it fell somewhat short.

Pros



• Continuation of the same art style that was so appealing to the first game
  
• Incredibly varied puzzles
  
• Immersive atmosphere with a stellar soundtrack
  
  

  Cons

  
  
• No widescreen support
  
• Villains are not truly threatening
  
[*]Making the unnamed protagonist the sidekick works to uplift Iris, but destroys the players sense of accomplishment

The world of Drawn is given weight by its symbolic meaning and use of archetypal images. Something I found incredibly appealing in the first game. The narrative was enriched by knowledge of the symbols it used beacuse of their broader cultural meaning. In Dark Flight however this is no longer so effective. In the first game the journey, was yours, the players journey. The first person perspective was compelling because it was your own deductions that drew you onwards. In this game the second title, its Iris's journey and in losing the focus on the player the game loses much of its charm. There's no aura of mystery here, no compelling need to find the missing girl, instead you're told what to do and where to go. The puzzle solving as a means of interaction is given weight when the narrative itself is about unravelling a mystery. Here there is no mystery and your deductive and reasoning powers no longer feel as validated. There's no story to the puzzles either after the beginning instead they are routine solutions to surpass barriers, rather than a way to explore lore. And that's it, this is no longer about exploring but about being told.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1768741807
That isn't to say the puzzles are no longer enjoyable to play. They are in fact the games saving grace. Like the first title they are ingenious in execution and offer an immense variety to challenge you cognitively. From visio-spatial logic such as the colour by spreading paint puzzle to mechanical, in rotating objects, to even a memorization puzzle that simultaneously test your observation skills to decipher symbols on pillars. It's really quite astonishing all the ways they've come up with to enhance the puzzle experience. Although some were familiar from the first game, they are still presented uniquely enough with small twists to make them fresh and exciting all over again. The adventure aspects were slightly more frustrating, one section in particular was quite obscure, with lots of backtracking in order to obtain four musical notes with each note following precisely the same procedure to acquire (not in terms of objects but in terms of what the player must do, making it frustratingly repetitive). This was particularly egregious as it occurs just before the end, and felt like it was there to merely pad out play time, perhaps it would be more forgiving to place repetitive sequences closer to midgame than near the end.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1768742308
The graphics themselves are once again exquisite, the inventiveness of the puzzles is captured within the framework of the surreal art. It does tend towards cliches more this time around, with the darker tone being evinced by carnival caricatures and a black misty raven that don't quite hold the same significance to an international audience than its Americana aesthetics convey. Yet this is a minor distraction from its other choices that do transition more effectively across cultures such as the importance of books as preservers of knowledge. With the town and outside world being more angular the softer colour tones began to distract slightly from the harshness of the setting, dulling the images down instead of heightening their fearful aspects. The animations were superb though and did work well with the marionettes in this instance. Everything seems slightly jerky as though pulled by strings, not an animation style that is normally acceptable but it fits well here.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1768740914
The accompanying soundtrack is exquisite with a slow soft violence that just stirs the edges of your consciousness as you play. The combination of crying violins and sombre cellos carries the fairytale themes, and the tragedy is caught by the chords of the minor keys it is composed in. Occasionally drums and horns add a more martial combative air to aid the tension. These are interspersed with a few more upbeat melodies though they are far and few between. Sadly the voice acting is sub par with little intonation given and even the urging to assist Iris falls somewhat flat.

Drawn: Dark Flight does everything expected of a sequel. It extends the lore and the story did lend agency to its princess yet did not contain quite the same sense of wonder as its precursor. It is still an excellent title, with superb execution but lacks the depth and integrated symbolism that made the first title so particularly memorable.

Score: ~7/10~

My review for Part 1: The Painted Tower is available here

[quote]If you enjoyed this review please follow my curator Virtual Visions for more recommendations.[/quote]

As with the other drawn games, the environments are diverse and very well designed. The puzzles are good and diverse too.

My only negative points are :
- 3D rendered images are clearly of a lesser quality than the 2D drawings.
- No real sense of danger, since Raven only blocks your way but doesn't do much more
- The end feels very rushed. They set the ending up for a confrontation, but it ends immediately

I recommend this game, but play the first instalment first, you won't regret it anyway. The bug some people mention is gone.

Beautiful game! Astonishing scenes, mesmerizing music, adorable characters, and such a heart warming story. I love absolutely everything about it. I wish there were more games like 'Drawn' series.

I wanted to write a good review on this game. I wanted to, but couldn't because it will not run past the "Messenger in a Bottle" sequence where the sun comes out. It crashes with some "exception EAaccess Violation in module 'Drawnll.exe". Read of address 00000078." I tried reinstalling to no avail. I even did some poking around on the web to see if anyone else had this issue. I didn't look hard or nothing so I ain't saying you mightn't find something if you look, but I was disgusted by it. Oh well. On to more well tended pastures.

I played this game years ago when my brother bought this as a present for my mum having bought her the first one before that and I cannot recommend these games enough, they are simply beautiful and truley touching!

The music is something that has almost brought me to tears before now, both from nostalgia of the past but also from how touching and powerful it is! The game idea is so inspired and executed in such a way I have never seen before I would go as far as calling it original in a sense. Honestly, everything about this game is amazing and I really can't fault it from an experience view. I'm so excited to start playing the third!

I have two issues however, my game keeps crashing despite my having verifies files, uninstalling and reinstalling the game and deleting my in game data and starting anew and it keeps crashing. It's possible there is a solution to this that I haven't yet tried! :)

The other issue I've had with this (and the first game) is the cinematic scenes go weird colours and while I recieve the audio I'm not getting the visuals that I kniw I'm supposed to be seeing on my computer and a friend of mine who purchased the first game recently also told me of having such issues. Again, it may be possible there are solutions I haven't tried yet and if anyone can suggest anything I'd be very greatful!

The bug mentioned in other reviews has been fixed - I was able to complete the game and it's just as good as the first.

Just as in the first game (Drawn: The Painted Tower) I enjoyed this immensely. The art style is beautiful, the soundtrack is beautiful and the voice acting was well-done, which is rare in this genre. The puzzles require some patience and thinking in some cases, and that is a plus for me. My only complaint at all is that it seemed a little short to me, but at the end, offers bonus content, as well as achievements and trading cards. ((As of this edit: 1.14.18, there appears to no longer be trading cards/achievements. bummer))

When it was first released on Steam, there was an issue with a very game-breaking bug... I was shocked to see support on Steam's end was on the ball and quite helpful. They replied to our complaints and within a very short time a fix was released. Problem solved and no more bugs.

Overall, this is a dreamy and artistic story and I look forward to the 3rd game arriving on Steam.

I enjoyed the first game, but this one has a known glitch that makes it impossible to progress and finish the game.
I tried contacting Big Fish but got an automated message directing me to their forums. Had to request a refund. Very disappointing.

I really liked the first game in the series, and this one looked to be great as well. There's unfortunately a game-stopping bug in the Town section, where a required item is missing. Refunded.