Phantasmat: Reign of Shadows – Review

Your father has recently passed away and it is your responsibility to inform your estranged sister of the news. On your way to find your sister, you discovered that she is working for the quirky Dr. Edward Corvine at the mysterious Arcadia Resort. Upon arrival, you immediately realize that this is no ordinary resort and that this mad scientist is certainly up to no good. Can you help rescue your daughter before the monster gets to you, all in the middle of a brutal winter?

The first Phantasmat was not just a great game, it was a revelation – and thus far, no other games in the series have yet to match it. Sequel after sequel, we have been waiting for Phantasmat to return to its peak again – and dare we say it, Reign of Shadows might just be the one. The thing that sets Reign of Shadows apart from its predecessors is that it is genuinely creepy, There are no fancy gimmicks or over-the-top effects, just good-old horror. We also love the characters in this game, their eccentricity reminds us if the original trio from the first game.

Being an Eipix game, Phantasmat: Reign of Shadows unsurprisingly has a top-notch production. The visuals are mind-blowing, with just delicate details, great lighting and terrific artwork. We also found the background music and sound effects to be extremely well-done, not to mention that the voice-overs were also incredible.

The gameplay in Reign of Shadows is nothing extraordinary, but it is indeed very captivating. While the tasks to be completed can be quite mundane the development of the game is fairly predictable, the game excels when it comes to the hidden object scenes and the puzzles. There is a neat variety of hidden object formats offered, all of which are creative and fun. What surprised us the most was how much we enjoyed the puzzles. Unlike typical Eipix’s puzzles, the ones in Reign of Shadows are innovative and very challenging – big congrats to the developer on this one!

We were thrilled all the way through four hours of the main game, and were equally impressed by the one-hour bonus chapter. We highly recommend the Collector’s Edition as it comes with a handful of extras; a strategy guide, wallpapers, concept art, soundtracks, videos, replayable Match 3 games, replayable hidden objects, replayable puzzles, morphing objects, achievements, collectibles.