Here I am again, to bring you guys an adventure game review. Created by Daedalic, the studio that created games such as Deponia, this is a fairy tale adventure involving evil witches, dragons, talking animals, and little girls with special powers. But is it a game worth playing? Let´s find out.
Plot
You play as the titular Anna, a little girl who lives with her Grandpa on a farm. One day, he gets sick, so Anna goes on the path to find a cure, only to be kidnapped by an evil witch. During her incarceration, she discovers the power of telekinesis and uses it to escape along with her new friend Ben, a boy who got turned into a bear.
Meanwhile, she finds out the Queen has gone missing and the witch is responsible. So, it´s up to her and her friends to stop her and save the kingdom.
At first glance, it´s pretty much a standard fairy tale, it even references a couple of them like Reynard the fox, Hansel and Gretel and even it´s own twist on Cinderella. I even had a chuckle from the puzzle section when I had to trick the child-eating witch into a trap.
The game is divided by chapters complete with narration as if someone was reading from a book.
There a couple of twists, especially when it comes to the main villain. As Anna progresses into the story, she learns a bit more about the witch's past, one chapter even lets you play from her perspective. It made the ending a bit heartbreaking.
Characters and Dialogue
What fairy tale wouldn´t be complete without your typical fairy tale characters as well.
Anna is this sweet little girl who just wants to help everyone she meets. Unline some typical adventure character I´ve played, there is no cynical bone in her body or ironic quips, she´s a bit of a goody-two-shoes, and a bit naive at times. But, she can be kinda boring at times, I wonder if I´m the wrong audience.
You also have Ben, another kid who got dropped into this, he kinda plays the role of a cowardly lion and doesn´t do much for most of the story. He also is related to the disappearance of the missing Queen somehow.
Then we got the main villain, the Witch, I consider her to be the most interesting character. There is an entire mystery to her, she looks like a typical evil woman, but she also does science experiments and not just magic. We also found out she wasn´t always completely irredeemable, and only became what she is due to a terrible incident as a child.
Then you have the other fairy tale characters, the Hansel and Gretel Witch who hates children was hilarious. You get to defeat the Devil in a riddle, trick goblin guards, and arrogant royalty.
And for the dialogue, oh boy is there a lot, and by that, tons of exposition. I know it´s pretty much typical of adventure games since you will need to speak to people to gather clues. But I felt it took too much time, and a lot of the jokes kinda fall flat. And while the voice acting isn´t that bad, I know that some people will Anna´s and Ben's voice a bit grating at times, having that sorta whiny child voice. I know it fits the character, but add that in with the boring dialogue, doesn't help.
Gameplay
The standard inventory puzzle, with the only difference, is the telekinesis ability. With it, Anna can lift objects with her mind and play a part in puzzle solving. If you click on the middle mouse button, it will show all the clickable objects. There are also some dialogue puzzles, which you can solve by talking to different characters and try to give the right answers. The Devil Riddle and Trapping the Cannibal witch are an example of this.
The puzzles themselves aren´t difficult, a lot of the dialogue gives out clues to the point they practically are giving the answer straight away. And they can be solved through trial and error. I barely had to look at a game guide.
Environment
The characters have a cute 2D design that fits in with the children's storybook look, although the real form of the Devil and the Sirens can have a scary appearance. Same with the background. The different areas you get to explore are, a witch house, a quaint village, a dungeon, a castle and a children´s magic school.
The game itself has a couple of dark moments juxtaposed with the lighter fairy tale stuff. You got references to murder, cannibalism, loss of a loved one, and social rejection. On the other side, you have themes of family love, heroism coming to the least likely of places, and dealing with the past.
Soundtrack.
There isn´t much to say since there the music doesn't stand out. It sounds pretty much as you expect for a game based on fairy tales.
Conclusion.
Despite some of my criticism, the game does a good job of portraying a typical Brothers Grimm Story. It´s sufficient for the casual gamer and will only take a couple of hours. However, I feel that this game is more suited to a younger audience, probably not just because of the theme, but because of the kid protagonist. I can see it as a way to introduce kids to adventure games. But to me, this game doesn´t really stand out when compared to others of the same genre. Not bad, but not really good either.
But if fairy tales are your thing, feel free to check it out.
Game Link:GOG/Humble Bundle/Steam