by Tim Peters

Created on: July 28, 2008   Last Updated: August 09, 2008

Forgotten Riddles: The Moonlight Sonatas is everything a sequel ought to be: A proven formula infused with something novel. Blue Tea Games took the combination of riddles and object spotting found in its first Forgotten Riddles game and significantly polished all of the elements, resulting in this elegant gem. All of these elements are borrowed from other games, with only minor adjustments. However, when you take into account the entire package combined with great visuals, a haunting score, and a compelling story, The Moonlight Sonatas distinguishes itself from the rest of the pack.

Your job is to investigate a ghost sighting in the former home of composer Francis von Amadeus. In each of the game's ten chapters, you must search various rooms for a number of items before your time runs out. Unlike similar games, you're given a list of riddles that point to an item in the room as its solution. All of them are rhyming couplets which look something like this: "I've two stout legs, but I'll never roam. I'm too busy valiantly guarding your home." If you get stuck on a riddle, you can use one of your limited number of hints to guide you to the item. The beautiful rooms may be recycled throughout the game, but since different riddles can lead to the same object, it'll take a while before the game loses its challenge. However, The Moonlight Sonatas goes one step further and throws in other puzzles to keep things even more interesting.

In addition to the object spotting, some rooms require more direct involvement. One room asks you to solve puzzles to construct a statue, while another requires placing objects into an intricately-framed map. As you correctly solve the puzzles, the room slowly evolves. Curtains part, glyphs light, and murals raise to reveal the surprises hidden at first glance. Another type of room allows you to earn bonus hints for the level by matching tiles to a board. None of these puzzles seem thrown in at the last minute and all of them add even more variety to a game that already offers a lot of replay value.

You won't find anything in this game that's completely groundbreaking. But other than major innovations, you won't find anything lacking in this game, either. Like the puzzles it offers, it's a textbook example of how hard work and attention to detail can transform something drab into something dramatic. If you've never tried a spot-the-object game before, Forgotten Riddles: The Moonlight Sonatas will give you a run for your money.

4/5

(By the way, the answer was a garden gnome.)

Learn more about this author, Tim Peters.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.