Enigmatis: The Mists of Ravenwood – Review

How long have we waited for an Enigmatis sequel to come out? The first Enigmatis game came out around the same time 2 years ago although 2 years may sound like a long, long time. We are pretty sure that Artifex Mundi has used every single second in a very effective way, we could complain less if only we knew how amazing Enigmatis: The Mists of Ravenwood is and how that 2 years of waiting seems short thinking back.

Everything about Enigmatis 2 is so perfect that we do not know where to start first. So…let’s first get on with the story. One of the strongest aspect of the first Enigmatis was the game’s exciting, intense detective story. We are more than happy to say that the same style of story is still here in the sequel, and perhaps it is even better than the first game. Enigmatis 2 is as creepy as the word “Ravenwood” might suggests; the story is so compelling, full of heart-racing actions and twists on every corner of the road. The characters are just so natural and their animations are smooth as silk, their voice overs are not over-the-top and we can just easily feel the emotions within their voices. As we know, Enigmatis 2 is a detective-themed HOPA and one of its unique features is the Evidence Board where you can organize your evidence, group them and try to figure out the story on your own – this really makes the players feel as if they are part of the story.

The presentation of Ravenwood is simple mind-blowing. The colors, shades, lightning, everything are just so right that the environment feels so realistic. Many scenes are indescribably beautiful, all of the scenes are very sharp and wonderfully fill our widescreen monitors. On the audio side, Enigmatis 2 also did a great, great job. The soundtracks fit the mysterious atmosphere of the game nicely; they are not repetitive and are very pleasant to listen to.

Enigmatis: The Mists of Ravenwood might not featured the most challenging gameplay of the HOPA ages but it is not very straightforward either. The Hidden Object scenes are very cool as you can switch between the Hidden Object mode and the Matching Puzzle mode. The Hidden Object mode is very well done, many items require some creative interactions before picking them up while the Puzzle mode is also fun to play. The Mini-Games are on the easy side, many of them are new to the genre, some of them are amazingly twisted.

In addition, if you are one of those HOPA fans who enjoy collecting items then Enigmatis 2 is just the game for you. Apart from 12 relief pieces you can find to unlock more background story, you can also hunt for 30 ethereal butterflies and 30 more illusive (morphing) objects scattered across the game. The length of the main game is comparatively long, around 4 hours for fast players. The Bonus Chapter is also very well-crafted and although not required to complete the story, it is very worth playing. What’s more? In the Collector’s Edition, Enigmatis 2 has every type of Extras imaginable from Gallery items, Soundtracks, Guide, Achievements to Encyclopedia.