Reflections of Life: Utopia – Review

You have been invited to attend the exciting Mechanical Toy Fair, but things go south when you discover the outrageous plan of a corrupted puppet mastermind Gustav Weber. With your mechanical owl companion kidnapped, you need to make your way through otherworldly realms, find your friend, and stop this madman in Reflections of Life: Utopia!

The Reflections of Life series is one of my personal favorites. Each installment takes you on an adventure through well-constructed fantasy worlds like no other. With Reflections of Life: Utopia, that fantasy world is full of mechanical puppets. Sure, the concept is not totally original, especially since we already have more Puppetshow sequels than we need – but the well-built world in this game is also hard to deny. GrandMA Studios’ brings sophistication and intricate craft to world-building in this game. All imaginative scene designs hold deeper meaning, as are the fascinating characters. This elevates Reflections of Life: Utopia from being just another defeat-the-madman HOPA to something grander and more memorable.

A big part of the success also has to do with the game’s first-class production, which brings the fantasy world to life. From the color choices to the animations, all visual elements are precise, creative, and of course, absolutely gorgeous. I particularly love how GrandMA Studios cleverly uses a range of bright colors, while still manages to maintain an air of suspense and mystery around the game. The audio side of things is equally excellent. The voice-overs are all thoughtfully acted and the background music injects another layer of ominosity into the game.

On the merits of its concept and presentation alone, Reflections of Life: Utopia is an entertaining game. As far as the gameplay goes, it does enough to hold the player’s attention all the way through. None of the gameplay mechanics is novel or outstanding in any way, but the developer’s years of experience in the field allows them to expertly combine all elements and produces a cohesive experience. The hidden object scenes and the puzzles showcase hints of engaging creativity but do not venture too far outside the box. The mechanical ow helper that has become a staple of this hidden object adventure series is also missing from the inventory bar, which makes sense in the context of the game.

Reflections of Life: Utopia comes down to a decent length of roughly four hours, an equally-fun 45-minute bonus chapter, and a hidden chapter that is one final hidden object puzzle scene. In the Collector’s Edition, other extras include a strategy guide, wallpapers, concept art, soundtracks, videos, replayable hidden object scenes, replayable mini-games, achievements, collectibles, and morphing objects.

Even with a few derivative elements, Reflections of Life: Utopia packs a riveting hidden object experience in a visually-breathtaking package.

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