A short time ago, I noticed that Blue Tea Games had released a third game in their Dark Parables series. So I decided to go back and replay the previous two games before diving into this latest installment. First up is Dark Parables: Curse of Briar Rose. Although they have a collector’s edition available, I played the regular version.
Dark Parables: Curse of Briar Rose Storyline
Blue Tea Games decided to take a familiar fairy tale and reinvent it in this present-day hidden object game. You are a detective who has been assigned to a case in Edinburgh, Scotland. It seems that vines in a nearby castle have started growing at an astronomical rate. They are growing so fast, in fact, that they are threatening to destroy the city.
You find that the legend of Sleeping Beauty is not just a fairy tale after all. Like the story, the princess is cursed to die by an evil witch. The girl’s fairy godparents ameliorated the curse so that she would only fall into a deep sleep. That’s where the legend and the hidden object game depart.
When Sleeping Beauty falls under the spell, vines began to aggressively grow and threaten the kingdom. The prince saves the day with a kiss. The vines go away, but Sleeping Beauty never wakes up. Centuries later, the curse afflicting the princess is mysteriously reactivated. It’s up to you to solve the puzzle and save the city.
Dark Parables: Curse of Briar Rose Game Play
There was nothing particularly noteworthy about the game play in Dark Parables: Curse of Briar Rose. It is the standard find and click hidden object adventure game. There are about 25-30 hidden object games plus about 20-25 supplemental games and tasks. A hint button is available to help you find items and figure out what to do next. The story and your progress is tracked in a journal.
One thing I liked about Dark Parables: Curse of Briar Rose was that the hidden object puzzles were tightly integrated into the game play. You found pieces of one object that was later used to unlock other parts of the game. For example, the first thing you find is pieces of an object that helps you open the castle door. With similar HOGs, you have to find 15 random objects that have no connection to the game.
Article comments