Echoes of the Past: The Citadels of Time
Game Review

The Citadels of Time is the third game in the Echoes of the Past hidden object adventure game series, continuing the story told in Royal House of Stone and Castle of Shadows. Travel back in time to different eras as you once again face off against the time-altering powers of the witch. The game features similar art styles and gameplay mechanics as its predecessors, but with a lot more polish and a sleeker interface. The puzzles now also provide a more satisfying challenge.

The game begins with a video explaining what happened in the previous game and why the witch has it in for you. Since you thwarted her previous plans, she has now taken her revenge by trapping you in a castle that is lost in time. You will need to explore the many historical eras connected to the castle in the hope of finding a way to repair a magical clock that will break the witch's spell and allow you to return to your own time. Along the way, you will also need to free other people who have been trapped by the witch.

Incidentally, this introductory video is really good. It (as well as other cutscenes throughout the game) is animated with very beautiful graphics that evoke the perfect atmosphere for each historical era you visit. In addition, the voice-acting of the narrator, witch and other characters you meet along the way are also very strong and believable. This definitely makes the game stand out from other games in the genre.

Story-wise, the game is entertaining but does draw from familiar themes. The witch has broken the main clock in the castle, and you need to find all the parts and repair it in order to escape. Those clock parts are hidden in the different timelines in the past, and you will need to visit each one to retrieve them. Unfortunately, they are in the hands of other characters who have been trapped by the witch, and you will need to help repair their timepieces and free them before they can give the clock parts to you.

The gameplay is the standard hidden object adventure game style and is very similar to the previous Echoes of the Past games, though with a noticeably more polished interface. You will explore the many locations in each timeline, and try to achieve your goal in repairing that era's timepiece. This is done by finding the appropriate item or tool to get past obstacles or to create required tools. For example, a crucial item may be at the bottom of a damaged well. A well handle is required to get that item out, but you will need to find a smithy to craft that handle. This will require you to find other things such as firewood, a torch, tongs etc.

Most of the time, solving these problems just requires you to manipulate the items you see in plain sight (or a zoomed-in view of them). Sometimes though, you will be required to solve more intricate puzzles. These are unique re-imaginings of your standard puzzles, and are entertaining and quite challenging. An example is a jigsaw where the pieces appear as crumpled paper when you aren't holding them, requiring you to be more alert and have a good memory.

There are also plenty of hidden object scenes. These are standard fare where you are given a large "shopping list" of items that you need to find. Some of these items will require a bit of manipulation before you can find them, such as items hidden in locked chests. Overall, Echoes of the Past: The Citadels of Time is a pretty entertaining game that presents quite a challenge, and is a solid sequel to the series. You will love the game if you liked the previous Echoes of the Past games or other medieval-themed games such as the Drawn series or time-traveling games like the Flux Family Secrets series.

You can get the basic version of the PC game, or you can get the Collector's Edition which contains exclusive extras such as bonus gameplay, a strategy guide, wallpapers and more. Or get the basic version or Collector's Edition of the Mac game.

Check out the other games in this series!

Related PC Games at Big Fish Games:

Echoes of the Past: The Citadels of Time Collector's Edition

Echoes of the Past: The Castle of Shadows

Drawn: Dark Flight

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