Enigmatis 3: The Shadow of Karkhala Review

Artifex Mundi are at it again with another entry into the Hidden Object genre with it’s latest entry Enigmatis 3: The Shadow of Karkhala. It’s the third in the Enigmatis series following the previous entries The Ghost of Maple Creek and The Mists of Ravenwood. As each episode has been released they’ve improved in quality so i’m hoping it’s the same with Enigmatis 3: The Shadow of Karkhala.

There is a demonic preacher who has escaped to some Karakorum mountains in pursuit of acquiring great power and releasing Asmodi which is not a good thing for the rest of the world. As you may have guessed the preacher has escaped more than once i.e. from Maple Creek and Ravenwood. You and your partner Hamilton are again trying to stop the preacher going through with his dastardly plans. For the purposes of the plot you should go back and play the previous two titles so you have a better understanding of what is going on.

Enigmatis 3: The Shadow of Karkhala is the best of the series and arguably one of the best Hidden Object games you can play. Strangely for a slow paced genre like this Enigmatis 3: The Shadow of Karkhala bucks the trends by throwing you straight into an adrenaline rushing start as you try to survive on a plane as it hits some serious trouble. There’s a lot more action in Enigmatis 3: The Shadow of Karkhala when compared with similar titles which makes the whole experience more enjoyable.

There are 43 beautifully drawn locations to progress through in Enigmatis 3: The Shadow of Karkhala. Like the rest of the Artifex Mundi’s catalogue you’ll be travelling between these finding items, completing puzzles and finishing several hidden object games, so it’s a good thing that each scene looks as well presented as they do. This time around the Evidence Board is in play, this has appeared before and adds an extra level of detail and skill that is required to piece clues together. You have to remember to utilise it because there will be points in Enigmatis 3: The Shadow of Karkhala where you will find yourself stuck and the only way to progress is to consult the Evidence Board and bring items and conclusions together.

Puzzle wise they are quite simple at the beginning of Enigmatis 3: The Shadow of Karkhala and become gradually more difficult and time consuming as you move your way through the plot. The Hidden Object puzzles are the usual case of finding a set of listed object again this gets more complicated as you proceed. One noticeable improvement is the transition between the still scenes and animation, early titles have looked really poor in this respect but in Enigmatis 3: The Shadow of Karkhala they are greatly improved. Whilst the dialogue across the genre can be hit and miss in Enigmatis 3: The Shadow of Karkhala it comes across well and reads how you expect people would act. The voice acting is the worst part of Enigmatis 3: The Shadow of Karkhala, it still lacks a professional polish in regards to how the characters converse but it is an improvement on its predecessors.

Enigmatis 3: The Shadow of Karkhala is a fine example of the Hidden Object Puzzle genre and is an excellent conclusion to the Enigmatis series. Graphically Enigmatis 3: The Shadow of Karkhala is the best looking of the genre whilst the plot is action packed which is saying alot for this genre. If you fancy a slower paced title which makes you use your brain then Enigmatis 3: The Shadow of Karkhala is definitely worth a few hours of your time and in the end you may find that this kind of game is something you want to play more of.

REVIEW CODE: A complimentary Sony Playstation 4 code was provided to Bonus Stage for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to press@4gn.co.uk.