Mystery Tales: Art and Souls – Review

In Mystery Tales: The Hangman Returns, you rescued Hayley from the grasps of the evil. Now, she has returned to ask for your expertise once again. Hayley and her husband recently opened an art gallery to great reception from the public. However, something more sinister seems to be at play when her husband got absorbed into a painting and is now lost in the Painted World. Can you help a former client and her husband from this dilemma?

Over the years, we have seen multiple HOPA games with this same storyline of rescuing people from the world of paintings, some notable examples include the brilliant Subliminal Realms: The Masterpiece and the classic Lost Souls: Enchanted Paintings. Thus, the story in Mystery Tales: Art and Souls is perhaps not as inspired and imaginative as it is clearly trying to be. Despite some creative ideas and scene designs, the game remains quite a predictable one with not nearly enough exciting moments and activities.

Mystery Tales: Art and Souls’ gameplay suffers from a similar issue. Long-time fans of the Hidden object genre will find the adventure gameplay extremely familiar and straightforward, the same case goes for the puzzles. Luckily, the well-thought-out and varied hidden object scenes are extremely entertaining, which somewhat make up for the dullness of most parts of the gameplay. In addition to the main features, the game comes with a gadget and a helper. The gadget is a mobile phone, which is sort of similar to the magical glasses introduced in previous Mystery Tales games. As for the cat helper, its sarcastic and arrogant attitude gives it a distinct, fun personality. Other than that, it is not necessarily required for the full experience of the game.

While some aspects of the game might be shaky, the production is spot-on in Mystery Tales: Art and Souls. The visuals dazzle with colors and great special effects. Each scene is vividly designed, drawn, and painted with acute precision. At the same time, the music and the voice-overs are exquisite, making the game surprisingly immersive.

If you enjoy the game, then that’s great, because Mystery Tales: Art and Souls is a long one. The main game needs more than five hours to complete, while the bonus chapter takes another 70 or so minutes. As usual, the Collector’s Edition is packed with extras; a strategy guide, wallpapers, concept art, soundtracks, videos, replayable hidden object scenes, replayable puzzles, achievements, collectibles, morphing objects, and a customizable study.

For what it lacks in gameplay and storyline, Mystery Tales: Art and Souls makes up with incredible sights and sounds.

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