Final Cut: Fade to Black – Review

All good things must come to and end, including this iconic HOPA series that helped launch Eipix into the casual games market. In this last installment of the Final Cut series, you get to solve another ‘who-dun-it’ case. Investigate a suspicious business deal between Wolf Studios and its rival, Horizon Studios and find the infamous projector that is capable of changing one’s appearance before things get out of hands!

Right from the start, Final Cut: Fade to Black lured us in with a captivating opening sequence that promises a quality storyline. Although at its core, the story in Fade to Black is basically just another murder mystery – all the twists and turns, as well as the background stories and details really help make it much more interesting that we had expected. Besides, since you also have the high-tech projector for your own use in certain parts of the game, changing your appearance can alter the course of the game dramatically and make the storyline less predictable.

Eipix is serving art-deco style artwork in this installment of Final Cut. The majority of the scenes are brightly-colored and sophisticated-looking – the visuals in this game are just pure magical. We also love the creative use of lighting in many locations of the game, they added some depths of the scenes. As for the soundtracks, we didn’t mind them, but they are forgettable at best.

To be honest, there is nothing particularly new in Fade to Black – however, it is certainly an insanely entertaining game. The adventure part of the game is not much of a challenge. Despite that, we are glad to see some creative tasks and interactions, and less of the same-old tasks that we are all too familiar with. Further, there is an excellent balance between the hidden object scenes and the puzzles, just the right amount of both. The hidden object scenes come in a variety of formats, all of which are extremely well-made and fun. The puzzles can be quite innovative, with a nice mix of easy ones and moderately difficult ones.

For those who are wondering, Final Cut: Fade to Black is more than worth its value. The main game took us over four hours to complete, and the amazing bonus chapter took us just over an hour. The Collector’s Edition also comes with a handful of extras; a strategy guide, wallpapers, soundtracks, cutscenes, concept art, a souvenir room, replayable hidden object scenes and puzzles, puzzles from the previous Final Cut games, a tribute video, achievements and collectibles.