Collectibles hide throughout the castle, taking the form of things like coins and figurines – and they are all eventually explained through the texts, too.
Objects that seemed decorative at first take on a new meaning, and notably, the existence of the mind-bending puzzles at every corner starts to make sense. Their brevity is appreciated, since it’s important to read all of the notes: most of them contain puzzle hints in addition to lore.Īs you learn more about the characters and their actions, you will begin to notice the meaning of certain details around the castle. The entries are refreshingly short – up to two small pages. The game takes its time in answering these questions, exploring the nuances of each character’s feelings through their own writing found around the castle. As you uncover more notes and journals, you slowly gain answers to the big questions: What exactly was this man researching? What befell this family? One of the first notes you encounter in the game reveals that townsfolk near the castle believe it was once occupied by a man who conducted research there, as well as his sister, niece, and nephew. From the outset, you learn that this seemingly simple job has scared many off before you, since the castle is believed to be haunted… godspeed!
You’re a technician tasked with getting to the bottom of a strange signal that’s begun emanating from an abandoned castle. With three distinct areas and plenty of hidden collectibles throughout, I easily sank over a dozen hours into this game on my long commutes. This game invites players into a mysterious castle where seemingly simple tasks can turn into multi-step monstrosities of puzzles.
Fans of classic 3D brain-ticklers like “Myst” and “The Room” will be thrilled to know that the genre is still very much alive through “The Eyes of Ara,” which originated as a PC title before coming to the Switch.