Fairy Tale Mysteries 2: The Beanstalk

Developer: GOGI | Publisher: Artifex Mundi sp. z o.o. | Release Date: 2015 | Genre: Adventure / Casual / Hidden Object | Website: Official Website | Purchase: Steam

Fairy Tale Mysteries 2: The Beanstalk offers a new spin on a familiar fairytale, in this case the one of Jack and The Beanstalk. However in this tale the giants were vanquished by a noble race of peace-keeping guardians. One of the giants was merely banished to a mysterious land above the clouds though and now, thousands of years later, poses a threat again thanks to a boy who got hold of some magical beans. It is up to players to step into the shoes of a fledgling detective from the Brothers Grimm Institute who is tasked with ensuring that the giant does not escape and wreak havoc.

The Beanstalk boasts five worlds with 52 locations to explore, which allows for quite a sizeable adventure. Surprisingly there are only 15 hidden object scenes to complete and none of them are revisited more than once. The majority of the objected needed to progress are broken up into pieces and players must first find and assemble these. The result is that the game feels more like a fragmented hidden object game. The downside is that the inventory feels a little cumbersome at first since you have to constantly switch between different objects to see the required parts. In addition, object fragments cannot be picked up before you know what you need them for, which means you have to remember where you saw them and then go back for them. This task is made a little less cumbersome due to the interactive map that allows you to fast travel around the gameworld.

The Beanstalk also features 29 mini-games for players to complete, but none of them poses any serious problems. The game does feature three difficulty settings, with the lowest allowing these mini-games to be skipped, so players of all skill levels should be able to finish this adventure. The mini-games all feature clear instructions, so there is never any doubt about what is expected from you. Upon completing the main story a bonus chapter is unlocked and while it is a continuation of the storyline it feels more like a traditional hidden object game. Overall the length of the game is decent enough for the genre and players can even hunt for decorative egg collectibles along the way as a bonus. Strangely enough there is no Steam Achievement for finding all of them, but the eleven achievements on offer can all be attained during a single playthrough.

Visually the game fares well with tons of very detailed and imaginative locations. Finding the fragmented objects can be quite a challenge on some scenes thanks to all the detail, but sadly the backgrounds feature very little animations. The game also features quite a few cut-scenes to advance the storyline, but these look noticeably fuzzier compared to the in-game visuals. While the fragmented objects players must locate are represented by images, the hidden object scenes feature more traditional word lists. Unlike some of the other titles published by Artifex Mundi there are no alternatives to completing the hidden object scenes either. The five different worlds, each one with its own guardian are all very different, which makes exploration fun even when encountering familiar puzzles.

The Beanstalk is also fully voiced and most of the actors do a pretty good job with their lines. The voice-overs can however be disabled if players find them obtrusive. The audio is pleasant enough and features a selection of mellow melodies to listen to while playing. None of them really got stuck in our heads after playing, which is not necessarily a bad thing. The interface is very simple and features plenty of contextual cursors to help players interact with the game world. For example, the cursor changes into a magnifying glass if an area can be examined closer or becomes a hand if items can be interacted with.

For fans of the genre this is another solid title that should provide a couple of hours of solid entertainment. The story is a little predictable, but provides a decent enough excuse for sightseeing through a couple of very unique environments. The focus on finding fragmented hidden objects also makes for a bigger challenge. Fairy Tale Mysteries: The Beanstalk is not groundbreaking by any means, but definitely offers value for money.