The Secret Order 6: Bloodline

The sixth in the series and... Two more to go.

It's not like these games are tedious or lacking in graphics, no... They just completely became different from the whirlwind of intrigue and fun gameplay that was all the way in the beginning. Sigh.

So this game... Has no Time Travel... (Did you already break too many timelines/dimensions and give up?) No complexity... (It's so easy you can try the Hidden Objects blindfolded and puzzles with constant eye rolls.)... No Order Battles or Magic Fun (Well... Okay, that one doesn't ALWAYS have to be there... But everything was so... Downplayed... One can take a good nap with this one as well).

Let's see the positives: I already said graphics. There were Two and 1/4 new animals to help you... Except they were no longer traveling with you until the very end. I say 1/4, because the third one only helps you one time. They stopped caring. The Developers. Not the animals.

Oh! There was a guy... Whose name wasn't even mentioned, but...! He kind of looked okay. I woke up for a moment.

Now for the stupidest of parts: They re-used the bad guy from Game Five... WHO WAS EATEN BY A DRAGON! Apparently not! STUPID! That death was actually FUN! So he sucks and gets foiled by one girl and her mom. I am okay with that weird plot, except for these parts: the bad guy absolutely has no security. He has NO ONE guarding the precious Flower of Life and NO ONE was even guarding the freaking super powerful weapon in the helicopter!!! WHAT IN THE HELL?! HE ALSO made sure to provide two parachutes for the two family members so they can escape after foiling his plans!

How convenient. What an accommodating bad guy.

So I don't know. What do YOU really want? A super freaking simple puzzle/H.O. scene game with nice graphics? You buddy... Are in the right spot!

For everything else? Find your own delight elsewhere or if you do play... Enjoy your nap. :3

Another fun title if you need a fix for your HOG itch

Good fun and nice sounds, plus the animals are actually cute instead of being somewhat abominations! It also has a pleasing amount of destruction as the puzzle solution. I'd love to have more - just let me kick the door in, pretty please - but melting locks is pretty good, too.

A shorter HOG, finished both the main game and the bonus chapter in about 2.5 hours. I'm playing these games in order and this is the best so far. I'm glad to see these getting better and better. I think that I would start on game 5 if I were to discover this series for the first time. 7/10

Yeah, this one is an okay one... with some annoying mini-games, that are confusing af, unable to reset it, and then if you "Use the Skip" then you don't get the achievements, unless it's for the "Bonus Content".

But overall, the game is fine, no game breaking issue, just a FYI, this is the 1st time that "Collectibles" carry over to "Bonus Content" chapter.

On a Sale is worthwhile

Bloodline is one of the better titles in The Secret Order series. The puzzles are generally easy and fun without being too complex or difficult. The graphics look nice and there is improvements, if only minor, to the cut scenes and voice acting over the earlier titles.

Overall this title makes the series worth continuing!

+ Beautiful background graphics
+ Hidden Object scenes are good
+ Puzzles make sure your bring is on occasionally but aren't frustrating.
+ All achievements work properly and can be finished in a single play-through.
+ The music is good and mood fitting.

Nothing negative to report on this one.

The storyline for this one is far more straight forward than the others in this series, although I still had a lot of questions.

Pros:
- Map allows fast travel.
- Map shows which locations have an action available.
- Ability to skip dialogue.

Cons:
- No alternative option for hidden puzzles (most games allow you to play a card game instead of completing the hidden object puzzle).

Other:
- The ending comes up VERY abruptly, and the bonus chapter contains the actual ending rather than being a separate mini adventure.
- Some of the collectables are in the bonus chapter.
- Not many true hidden object puzzles in this game. Most were the sort where you interact with items in specific orders in order to collect a final item.
- It took me 3hrs to complete the base game and half an hour for the bonus chapter, the rest of the time was a replay to get the last achievements.

This is one of Artifex Mundi's better games. They do re-use some of their puzzles, as usual. But, that's why I recommend getting this game over some of their less good games.

I do have one complaint about this game. There are a couple puzzles where tiles that you moved remain in the foreground, occluding other tiles, after you've moved them. What's wrong with that? Well, after you put them down, you can't see the tiles you placed them over. It's not game-breaking. The tiles you've put in the correct spot seem to get locked into place. At the worst, you sort of have to fish around, clicking and dragging, where you think there might be tiles, until you find the remaining ones. It's just not refined UI is all.

Finished another one!
So, again, among the best and most consistent series between the Artifex Mundi hidden object games.

Like the previous one, this is less of a mix of things, and perhaps sticking closer to a story related to the series itself.

This time, you go after your mom who is also part of the Secret Order and researching something deep into the Amazon jungle.
So, the lore this time has all to do with ancient tribes, a giant flower that is supposed to cure any and every sort of disease, and how you have to again rush to reach it before the Dragon Clan puts it's hand on it and subverts it's power for evil.
Jungle animals help you through this time, a bunch of them. They don't stick through the entire game though... they help you for a while and then thanks bye. xD

Bonus round included, which instead of being a totally different thing, is just sequel to the main story. Which I think is what happened in the past... couple of games or so too?

Recommended!

Good storyline and very creative puzzle at the bonus round where you have to listen to understand the puzzle.
And I like the futuristic robot dog that was a big surprise for me.

Loved this game! Great puzzles, lots of HOG scenes which was nice, good music and voice acting, really pretty scenes. The rain forest vibe was a fun mix-up from the previous installments. I had a great time with this one! 8/10

I keep collecting Artifex Mundi games because I love puzzles,... with one exception, I truly detest the marble puzzle with the three rings. It seems like it has been in almost all the games I've played. I could really do without this one!

However, with all that said, I continue to love the games. The puzzles are enjoyable (except as noted above) and its an easy way to chill out after a long day of work. Plus, the little sidekicks they add into the game are adorable.

If Artifex Mundi keeps making games....I'll keep buying them. But please, if any of the developers are reading player comments, ditch the marble puzzle. LOL

The "Secret Order" hidden object games published (but not developed) by Artifex Mundi are not going to set the world on fire, but they are (thus far) consistently fun to play with lovely scenes and environments and decent (though not revolutionary) plots/writing.

And this entry in the series is no different.

The scenes and environments are colourful and imaginative, and the puzzles/mini-games are decent (nothing truly unusual, mind you).

Note that the writing is pretty naff, and the plot machinations/scene transitions verge on nonsensical (you will find yourself in strange and unusual places with little clue as to why your'e there and what the organically derived reasons are for you doing the things the flimsy excuse for a plot insists you should be doing), featuring the weakest plotting of the series.

All in all though, I can ultimately recommend this game to HOG fans (but wait until it's on sale!)

A disjointed MESS! Basically just a bunch of random objects that interact with other objects. Once you find them it makes no sense why you place them where you do. Reminds me of Myst but in a bad way. The scenes are just a blur of crap. Don't let the cute animals fool you. You use them a few times but mainly to get objects. The puzzles are a mess too. Just awful!

The games get better and better! This one is Central/South American themed. The design is beautiful with gorgeous scenes every step of the way. The puzzles are all about the same so once you've mastered some they can get pretty easy. Which is great if you're really in it for the story line.

Slightly different, but clearer and sharper art style to the previous games. I much prefer this. Story is fun and the pacing is good.

Fun puzzle game, find this, find that. One puzzle threw me for a loop but I got it thank goodness but not before spending 2 hours on it thinking it was needed for the achievements. Derp. All in all the puzzles were simple except the one I'm referring to. Worth a play through on sale! I HATE HUNGARIAN RING PUZZLES FOR LIFE NOW, THANKS SECRET ORDER 6: BLOODLINE

This game was really gorgeous, but also really simple. This can be a issue for some since most perfer a challenge. Also if you need a game that has story, I wanna say this hidden object game is the most lacking in storyline, out of all the hidden object games i have played and the voice actors are not the greatest either. All this game has going for it are the graphics and a few fun puzzles.

Apparently, the fact that I was going to write this review today coincided with the add of trading cards (which was weird not to have seen dropped during my playthrough but well...).

Sarah Pennington received a word from her mother (we know about her father but nothing about her dear mamma) that she's near the discovery of the Flower of Life. However, apparently, the Dragon Clan is also interested in this and a familiar face returns, despite Sarah being sure of his demise. But her mother is kidnapped and Sarah must prevent the Dragon Clan to finish a serum that would allow them to control people.

While it's not necessary to play the previous games, it will provide perhaps a little more understanding on some returning characters. At least, Sunward isn't reintroducting the time travel! But the plot is perhaps a little less interesting and too fast on the Flower of Life being discovered and in the wrong hand (though Agent Walker, another game, worked in a similar fashion). There is just a little thing: the French translation keeps going from the singular you to the formal you... between mother and daughter. It would have been better to stick to one of them.

The gameplay is the standard one:use items, combine them, find them, clear hidden objects scenes of several sorts (which is kinda now the standard: list of words, shapes, actions required, etc..) and solve puzzles. As it's a Collector's Edition, special items are also hidden in each scene. The difficulty is also well-balanced. Here, the concept of having little friends to help is transformed into reusable pets (monkey or baby jaguar). The new artifact is a cube used with daggers to unlock powers: Eagle, Phoenix and Owl, to use to go forward. Each of them is about runes: the Eagle is to find the proposed rune into those hidden in the scene, the Phoenix is to find the second part of it and the Owl is to find the rune shown in three parts. However, that concept is quite underused for my liking.

The graphics are quite exotic and cyber. I mean by that that you're in the middle of a jungle, with ruins to explore but also the Dragon Clan labs, which are more modern and tending to sci-fi. The inventory was also redone. The soundtrack is also fitting.

That sixth entry in the Secret Order series is well done (though, if you've read reviews of the previous games, you'll find again an hint to a release of the first game on Steam). If anything, the game was enjoyable and keeping the series into a new direction and new surprises. I recommend it.

Sarah is returning with a new adventure in the secret order 6, but this time her mother is involved.

As usual, Artifex Mundi did an amazing job with the graphics, the art is amazing and the hidden objects scenes are well made. There is a new addition ability Sara can use now to help her through the journey to find a 'cure'. The story wasn't bad or boring like the previous ones but the puzzles are still the same, and I wonder when AM will stop recycling those puzzles, I'm glad there wasn't any sliding puzzle which they spammed us with it in the previous game. But still, most of those mini-games are always the same in each and every Artifex Mundi games.

The voice acting was ok, but Sarah didn't say a single word during the adventure other than screaming and gasping which was quite annoying.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1138121415

I got confused with one of the mini-games but I eventually was able to find a solution. I also liked that the little helper doesn't stick around till the end of the game and in this one, we got a help from two different helpers.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1138088001

Pros:
+Very beautiful and amazing graphics as usual.
+Fast traveling map.
+Easy hidden objects scenes.
+Good music.
+OK voice acting (Except for the main character).
+Collectibles
+Steam achievements.

Cons:
-Same puzzles as previous games.
-Useless journal, showing only the objectives, I like the journal to have entries about the characters and a brief summary of the events.
-Very short game (Took me four hours to finish the main game and the bonus chapter)

I didn't like the ending of the main chapter, it felt incomplete, and the bonus chapter wasn't very satisfying but the ending was OK. I'm not sure if there will be plans for a new secret order but I suggest they should stop it here.

I'm so glad there wasn't a 'complete the game in Expert difficulty' achievement this time. The other achievements are nice and casual.

I recommend this game if you've been following Sara's adventure and want to enjoy the graphics, music and the new story. It's not the best, but it is not bad either. I enjoyed it but I can't see myself playing it again.

Other Reviews from the same series:
The Secret Order 2: Masked Intent
The Secret Order 3: Ancient Times
The Secret Order 4: Beyond Time
The Secret Order 5: The Buried Kingdom
The Secret Order 7: Shadow Breach
The Secret Order 8: Return to the Buried Kingdom

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

Short version: 73%

Long version:

I can only recommend this game. Good puzzles and a good variation in the hidden object scenes. Further more it is a good story with great voiceovers og nice music. Even the bonus chapter has really good qualities.