The Otherside: Realm of Eons

NFO Company takes a pride in their new ambitious product under the title The Otherside: Realm of Eons. The story runs on a writer named Miranda who’s suffering a bad case of writer’s block.

This is a hidden object game that asks you to do precious little besides look for hidden objects. There are quite standard puzzles and tasks but the most striking trait of The Otherside: Realm of Eons is its visual design. Individual levels are simply gorgeous to look upon, especially the levels that take place in the surreal OtherSide. Even levels that take place in mundane Earth locations are beautiful, like an early level that takes place in a “luxury store” laden with exquisitely rendered antiques. However, the graphics in the playable levels actually put the 2D cutscenes to shame, making them feel cheap and ugly.

The puzzles that break up the object-hunting are welcome but not especially inspired. The jigsaw puzzles are very good, since they can use the game’s gorgeous artwork to enhance the experience, but there are only a handful of these. The game does feature a hint system, but you probably won’t use it often. While you can get unlimited hints, the mechanic is tethered to a very slow timer.

Really, the worst thing to be said about the gameplay is that it’s pedestrian and repetitive once you strip away the lovely graphics. The story is the main thing that will keep you playing. Sadly, the engaging story’s resolution is ultimately a bit dissatisfying. After a long build-up you’ll see everything resolved very abruptly in the game’s final level.

As a result this title may have little effect on skilled hidden object gamers and it has absolutely no replay value. Overall, The Otherside: Realm of Eons is an enjoyable experience and worth playing just for a change.

10, December 2009