Grim Facade: A Wealth of Betrayal Collector's Edition
April 25, 2014
ERS Game Studios
Widescreen Support
Interactive Jump-Map
Voice Overs
3 Difficulties + Custom Mode
Diary
Exclusive Bonus Chapter
Integrated Strategy Guide
Wallpapers & Screensavers
Concept Art
Soundtracks & Cutscenes
Achievements & Collectibles
Pet Bull
ERS’ latest release The Fall of the House of Usher was so terrific that it has restored our faith in the works from this developer. Unfortunately, with Grim Facade: A Wealth of Betrayal, it seems as if ERS has again, taken a step back.
You have been hired to solve a spooky case of a headless fire knight that has been terrorizing the city. Rosa Ramirez is suspected for stealing the sacred sword from the statue of the headless knight and waking him up from the dead. Your task is pretty predictable as you have to explore the city and discover clues that lead to the real criminal. The story in A Wealth of Betrayal adds absolutely nothing new to the genre and we quickly lost our interests not long after starting the game. There are a lot of dialouges in the game, however, the problem is that although there are voice overs, none of the character’s lip is moving and that somehow really annoyed us.
Moreover, we are also disappointed with the visual presentation in A Wealth of Betrayal. The graphics are still very colorful and detailed as well as of the style expected from ERS. The problem is that they are not very fascinating or beautiful to look at, they are not very sharp either. There are no extravagant graphics or fancy details that distinguish this game from all of the others in the series, or even all of the games from this developer. In addition, the audio side is not very favorable. While the music is just fine, we found the sound effects to be really distracting especially the horse gallop effect which come up very often.
As some of you might have expected from ERS-G, the gameplay in Grim Facade: A Wealth of Betrayal is very straightforward. The only aspect that might have been improved are the hidden object scenes, they come in various formats with an option to switch to Mahjong mode. Otherwise, all of the tasks and interactions are mundane and even though the puzzles are not too uninspired, few of them are repeated during the course of the game.
The Collector’s Edition content left a lot to be desired. The Bonus Chapter is of average quality and length, all of the other extras are gallery features, Achievements, Collectibles and a Strategy Guide. You cannot replay mini-games or searching scenes in the Extras section. Nonetheless, there is a space for you to use the collected collectibles to buy furnitures and items for your bull. It has nothing to do with the game or the story and it is not even entertaining.
In this series:
- Grim Facade: Mystery of Venice
- Grim Facade: Sinister Obsession
- Grim Facade: Cost of Jealousy
- Grim Facade: A Wealth of Betrayal
- Grim Facade: The Artist and The Pretender
- Grim Facade: Hidden Sins
- Grim Facade: Monster in Disguise
- Grim Facade: The Red Cat
- Grim Facade: The Message
- Grim Facade: Broken Sacrament
- Grim Facade: The Black Cube