Darkness and Flame: Born of Fire – Review

An ordinary day in the life of Alice turns out to be her most exciting one yet. Alice found a strange egg in a chest just outside her house – with one touch, a firebird hatches, heads straight towards her and leaves a tattoo mark on her arm. Unbeknownst to Alice, many are on the hunt to get hold of this bird and its power. Now that Alice is on the run, she gets to explore the worlds beyond her imagination!

It has been quite a while since the storyline in a HOPA game has captivated us to this extent. Darkness and Flame: Born of Fire tells a thrilling story about an innocent young girl, whose life has changed forever just because she was at the wrong place, at the wrong time. The game has us genuinely rooting for the heroine, a feat that is definitely not easy to achieve for a casual adventure.

An intriguing plot alone wouldn’t make this such a fantastic game, if not for its one-of-a-kind production. The visuals in Darkness and Flame: Born of Fire are out of this world. Every single scene looks absolutely breathtaking, and with flawless animations as well as epic cutscenes – the art team at FIVE-BN deserves a medal! Besides, the audio in the game is equally commendable. The mood of the music matches the situation in the game very well and the voice-overs showcase enough emotions to make the characters believable.

In the gameplay department, Darkness and Flame: Born of Fire does not disappoint. The adventure part of the game is not groundbreaking, but it did offer enough entertainment to hook us from the start to finish. We see more challenges when it comes to the hidden object scenes and mini-games. Both aspects are very creative; especially the mini-games, which are smartly adapted to integrate with the storyline.

If you are thinking of purchasing the Collector’s Edition, think no longer. Darkness and Flame: Born of Fire comes with over 5 hours of solid gameplay, plus another hour of an amazing bonus chapter – this game is more than worth its price! The Bonus section is also packed with extras; a strategy guide, a plethora of collectibles, achievements, wallpapers, concept art, videos, soundtracks, replayable puzzles and replayable hidden object scenes.