Amulet of Dreams

There are a few bugs that prevent me from progressing in the story, and I have to start a new game. It was a waste of time playing this game.

This is the least intuitive hidden object/puzzle game I have ever played.The path forward takes these bizarre twists that you have no idea how you were supposed to know to do that. 4 hours into the game and I'm stuck, no way forward.

Multiple players have reported a bug on the desert portion that renders the game unable to be completed. The bug still hasn't been fixed. This is the first time I've requested a refund on a game because a bug rendered it unplayable.

This game was not bad but it was kinda easy. The story a little lacking. The puzzles were good. For achveiment hunters this was a little to easy to get a 100%. The game only took me 5 hours to finnish, but because I got it on sale it was worth the money I paid for it. All in all I enjoyed the time put in to completing the game. I give it a 5 1/2 out of 10.

Visually pleasant, but poor voice acting, shallow story, and illogical item usage weigh down the experience. Most hidden object/puzzle games have an internal logic on why certain items are used for certain tasks and not others, but when I found myself holding two swords and a dagger which can only be used once each in very specific ways I was beyond disappointed. Instead of providing 300 different items to figure out their specific use, why not use the dagger charging mechanic to imbue it with different uses per new area instead? (More of a commentary on all games of the like) Why are all items one use only? Rope or matches may be used up, a medallion may need to stay in place, but who finds tools like pliers or a knife and decides to leave them behind? What makes one of the two swords better for branch cutting than egg cracking? Why do I need to wait to find rope to tie something when I already have fishing line? If you want to enforce a specific use, plan the finds so that I either have to use the rope before I can even get the fishing line, or simply don't require so many similar items, be more creative in how my character would solve the problem. Quality of use over quantity of items.
The voice acting is simply very, very bad. Perhaps it wasn't professionally done and was just recorded by the developers or the actors struggled with finding the right emotions for the weird plot. (which seems to be a common problem with these types of games) Either way, I skipped most cut-scenes by the end.
The only positive was the art which was pleasant and varied, keeping the scenes interesting in a way the plot couldn't manage on it's own.

This was an average, but moderately entertaining HOPA game. Not the best out there, but definitely not the worst. Get it if you're looking for a very casual, fantasy-style HOPA. Despite a few grammar mistakes in the text, I found very little fault with the vocabulary used in the HO scenes. I had more trouble figuring out the puzzle instructions (to the extent available), but no more than many games.

Many of the negative reviews are accurate, but maybe a little harsh. Know what to expect: basic, but nicely drawn and composed HO scenes; limited, but very pretty music; a few okay, but mostly less than stellar puzzles. The story isn't very coherent, but I enjoyed the game since I like going to "different worlds" and figuring out what to do. Don't play this game if you aren't in the mood to tolerate tossing away perfectly good items. It usually annoys me, but I still felt like I got my money's worth from the game overall.

There are Steam achievements and trading cards, if those add value for you (I like having them).

Overall: 6.5 out of 10 **Depends what you're looking for.**
Buy it on sale; it's fine if you know you can enjoy basic HOPA games.
It's a little weird, but things are pretty and relaxing.
The point to the game is hopping around between worlds doing stuff. You are allegedly trying to save your childhood friend, but in reality, the story is a thin framework for a bunch of odd quests in strange places.
The biggest downside for me was not enough HO scenes. I agree with others that object placement/activation is occasionally too picky and can be frustrating.
The hint system is very good, and there's no penalty for using it. (I used it 2-3 times even though I generally dislike hints.)
The achievements are all earned automatically by playing the game.

[Note: My time on this game is long since I left the game idling a few times.]

PS I'm always happy to answer questions or comments :)

This game does some things well: the environments are beautiful and the music is very good and unusually memorable. The premise is interesting. Unfortunately there isn't much story, meaning you just wander aimlessly through unconnected worlds, and the puzzles aren't very logical. Its technical functioning is not very good. The map seems to show actions at locations where there aren't any. At least one object is incorrectly named. Adjacent scenes have different music, so as you traverse through a progression of scenes, the music stops then starts then stops again.

The deal-breaker is a bug right near the end of the game, where if you don't pick up a lens before the rest of the objects in the scene, then you cannot pick it up at all. This means you can't complete the game without starting again, which would mean repeating about 3 hours. This is noted as an issue in posts going back to at least 2017 and evidently hasn't been fixed yet.

If you're going to play, watch out for the camel scene in the desert, and pick up the lens first!

I had mixed feeling about this one. it is just a weird game it doesn't know where to point you.

pros.
nice art
decent length almost 3 hours for the main story

cons.
a bit buggy
sometimes its shows no infos on what to do
very easy puzzles
no bonus story
the music keep repeating and just cut off when leaving an area
meh story
the voice got 0 emotions big nope.

overall i do not recommend this one. you can still try it but only under a discount.

3/10 for the game +1 for the cards = 4/10

Does nothing different to many other HOGs. Perfectly average entry. A just pass effort at 50/100, and I recommend it if you get it cheap in a bundle etc.

The good

Interesting scenes in the different worlds you visit
Unmissable chance to get a perfect game, if that's your thing
Some challenging puzzles

The bad

Many items in HO scenes are mislabelled
Not enough of them
No real challenges to be had
Minimal replay value

This is a difficult game to review. I got this game on special and it is certainly not worth full price. The game took me 4 hours to complete and in the end I had lost interest and had forgotten what the story was about!
The graphics are good, music is repetitive (if I hear violins again I will scream!), voice acting is bad, plenty of HO scenes which were ok as objects were not miniscule. Puzzles were easy.
Game play was illogical as I was constantly confused what to do. The hint button was my best friend. I didn't even see the map, so I didn't know what was the next step. Too much back and forth between worlds. In the end, the hint button needed to recharge after each page. Ended very abruptly, but I was relieved to finish it! Borderline pass for me due to good graphics and unique storyline. 5 out of 10. Meh.

Wanted an easy, relaxing point and click to play while sick and this looked to be that. But the game is buggy and doesn't recognize when the player has solved a puzzle and award the next piece required to unlock future puzzles. I put the zodiac pieces in the plate on the tree on the left side of the path, but when I retrace my path that part of the puzzle shows as incomplete with the center medallion missing again. Steam needs to take this off the store catalogue until it's repaired.

Once again, I find myself wishing that there were a 50/50 rating of some kind. Because Amulet of Dreams is hit/miss in places. In AoD, you actually play as a child. According tothe end cinematic,you're about.. six? seven? I'm surprised that a seven-year old can be counted on to do much more than play with Lego and eat crayons, but maybe I'm unaware of the maturity of present-day pre-teens.

The story reason for playing the game demands a truly epic suspension of disbelief. I'll buy thatthe hooded man wants to kill an otherworldly princess, for no clear reason.I'll even buy thatsomehow, your friend is connected to said princess because the girls look EXACTLY alike, just in different universes.But I won't buy this:your friend is sick, and ... she's all alone in the house? Except for a strange, hooded man in the sitting room? And she's what, seven? Maybe nine?'Kay. No. That's just taking it too far.

Pros:

+ pretty artwork.
+ plenty of areas to explore.
+ the adventure parts were mostly interesting.
+ pretty artwork (it really is pretty).
+ can be played in windowed mode.
+ it has a map.
+ the map tells you where you still have tasks.
+ I liked the little helper elf.
+ achievements.
+ trading cards.

Cons:

- the map is buggy: you will always have a task marker at the first location.
- the music wasn't at a consistent volume.
- the voice acting wasn't the greatest.
- the HO scenes had nothing to do with the story.
- the items you receive after HO scenes have nothing to do with the scene.
- the scenes where you have to find pieces/parts (see second video) are incredibly unintuitive.
- typos.
- instructions are given for only some of the mini-games.
- I encountered a bug in a certain mini-game after tabbing to another window, and had to restart to fix it.
- some unintuitive backtracking to replay HO scenes.
- the 'story'.
- awful, awful, awful end 'cinematic'. truly, awful.
- no replay value whatsoever.

Ephy Rating: 5/10

Summary: If you can suspend your disbelief for long enough, and you play with the volume as close to 'off' as makes no appreciable difference, it's not a bad game. It is not as good as some I've played. (I play a lot of HOGs.) But I have played worse. If you've got the usual three hours to kill, and you're looking for some pretty scenery and a cute elf helper (and an incredibly ugly ...rat? thing?), then get it on sale, if you've run out of really good HOGs to play.

I've been seeing issues more and more with HOGs. The developers language and region is mattering way to much, using names for an object I have never heard of because that's what it's called in their region (simple example spanner vs wrench) or having items on the HO screens that match a clue but aren't accepted (find leaves 2 but the maple leaf doesn't count is an example from this game)

Specific to this game it was very picky when placing some items, so much so I had to use hints to figure out just where it needed an item to be placed, and some actions weren't available just because the story wasn't far enough along, even though I had every item I needed to do it when I got back later...

I don't know where to start with this game. I was going to rate it negatively in the first two areas. My main issue was the music and how it cuts off when you move from a location to another. The second issue was the voice acting, I even paused the game and went to the review section (Thankfully) and discovered there is a huge flaw in this game which is the (lens part) so I passed that one.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1278193352

Strangely enough, I started to enjoy the game in the last four locations but the story itself isn't the best, but you can still enjoy the visuals and the music if you ignore the fact that it keeps cutting off every time and resume whenever you get back to that area.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1278193170

Pros:
+Beautiful graphics.
+Music is nice if only it doesn't cut off when you move to the next area.
+Fast travel map.
+Good map design.
+Good hidden objects scenes.
+Nice diary/ journal, one of the best designs I've seen.
+Steam achievements.

Cons:
-Very very poor voice acting, the way the villain speaks it is so cringy, however, the narrator by the end of the game sounded really good.
-Short game.
-No replay value.
-Puzzles are very easy.
-Misleading map, sometimes there is nothing to do in that area yet it still indicates that there is something must be done, especially the gate of her house.


I finished the game and I still don't know what does that villain want, and why you have this whole adventure although you are a kid? Judging from your 'friend' she is a kid which means you are since you are her BFF >.>
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1278192868

I recommend it only for the visuals and hidden objects scenes. just don't buy it at full price.

[quote]𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑐𝘩𝑒𝑐𝑘 𝑚𝑦 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐹𝑒𝑒𝑛𝑎'𝑠 𝐶𝘩𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒[/quote]

While the game may have beautiful visuals and is entertaining enough, it is a bit strange and lacks any real coherency, but that's fine, some HOG's are just like that and can still be fun.

The worst aspect of this game is a progession-halting bug in the second last world that some will be unlikely to avoid unless knowing about it ahead of time, which I didn't.

One is supposed to be able to grab a lens object next to a genie lamp, but if you don't grab the lens before everything else in the scene the view closes as if completed and can not be reopened. Progression halted.

A known issue that still hasn't been fixed after 6 months. Do I really have to replay the 5 hours I put in just to avoid this one bug? Not recommended.

[Edited for grammar]

I was enjoying it, even if it was a little odd, until the second-to-last world. The in-game hint system, which usually gives you a gentle enough nudge in the right direction, kept saying there was nothing to do here, which was odd; up to this point I'd use it to point me where I needed to go and figure it out from there.

I caved and Googled for a walkthrough, finding a few on YouTube. They revealed that I was supposed to pick up an item next to a genie lamp / jewelry box (a lens) which wasn't there for me, and when I go back I can no longer open that window to pick it up. Huge bug right there.

Very frustrating as I was enjoying it up until now, and there's no way to roll the game back other than starting over, but screw that. Now I'm wondering where else it could be broken. Not recommended.

This game has a lot going for it: beautiful graphics, a wonderfully magical world, a nice hint system, and a nice map showing you where you still have stuff to do.

Unfortunately it has the worst fatal flaw a P&C adventure can have: dead end issues. At least that Is what I am assuming it is. The hint system merely states "There is nothing to do here" - and it reports that no matter where I go. I visit each of the locations where I still have stuff to do, but there is nothing I can do to advance the adventure. I googled the issue to find I wasn't the only person stuck in this fashion, and there were no known answers to the dead end.

That's the most important thing a game like this has to avoid - and it unfortunately is a game ruiner, for me.

Buggy crappy crap.

In at least two locations, if you don't take some necessary objects in the correct sequence, they close and you cannot get there again, having to restart from scratch. And these locations are almost in the very end.
Make sure to take the photo lens in the oasis before you touch anything else in that particular location.


... And while the graphics/animation are rather well done, the whole thing feels like just slapped together with no rhyme or reason, some worlds feel like authors ripped off famous games/movies just for the sake of having no imagination of their own.

The graphics of the game are nice. The story starts off promising, but after the first world you seem to end up in 6 random other worlds. After the last action of the game, there is a 5 second cut scene explaining how the story ends, but to me it doesn't make much sense.

The puzzles were okay'ish, but definitely not good. It regularly happened that when I clicked an object, I got an explanation what I needed to do much later in the game. There was no need to explain it that early, it would be nice if the hints appeared at the appropriate moment. Also some puzzles didn't make sense and even after using the hint button I didn't understand the logic. The "use" actions also seemed to be a bit random. Sometimes it was accepted if the object was used in the right area and sometimes you needed to put the item exactly in the place of the cog. But with one or two puzzles (e.g. the one with the basket) you had to make sure the cog wasn't visible, otherwise the puzzle wouldn't work. Very confusing.

The Steam achievements seem to be just a "tick in the box". You get them every time you move to a new world, so if you finish the game, you also get all achievements. The descriptions of the achievements are also poor. It would be better if they were left out (or improved a lot).

It took me 4 hours to finish. It's an okay game, but I definitely wouldn't pay much than a few euro for it.

By far one of the weirdest HOG's I've ever played. It reminded me of Alice in Wonderland as storylines go. Totally illogical in every aspect imaginable. As if the developers were on some type of mind altering drug whilst in creation of this game. For what may seem to be a hint or object for one thing is something else. Once you get past the bizarreness and battle of your wits to the visual chaos, the game unfolds into a fantasy realm with twist and turns to keep even a seasoned player amused.

Weird casual adventure game that is just a bunch of neat backgrounds barely tied together with a sprinkle of story. The puzzles aren't horrible, but they are far from great. You will end spamming the hint button a lot as most of the solutions are quite obscure. Not to mention the amount of puzzles that can only be solved using one specific item even if you have another item that does the same in your inventory (you have a saw in your inventory and you need to use a sawfish or you have one kind of vice in your inventory, but you need to use another vice).

The background music doesn't fade in and out, but rather is just switched on when you are in a location where it is supposed to play. Then it doesn't start from the beginning but rather just continues like it was playing muted in the meantime. I just mention it because it is rather disturbing.

The hidden object scenes are okay, but nothing special. Overall the game is just bland both from the story (which there is very little of) and the game play. I spend a bit over 4 € on the game and I wouldn't recommend getting it for this or a higher price. Get it with a big discount or in a bundle.