The Tarot's Misfortune
Game Review

The Tarot's Misfortune begins with the fortune-teller Rosalie receiving a late-night visitor asking to have his fortune told. As she is reading the tarot cards, the mysterious stranger somehow puts a spell on her and she loses consciousness. Rosalie then wakes up trapped in the village prison, and her deck of tarot cards have been thrown all over town to prevent her from using its magic.

This is where the game begins. Without her tarot cards, Rosalie has to rely only on her resourcefulness to escape the prison cell and find her tarot cards. With their magic, she can then track down the mysterious stranger and find out why he imprisoned her, and to fight him if need be. Your objective is to help Rosalie accomplish her goals by helping her solve various hidden object puzzles as well as other puzzles such as tangrams, object manipulation and more.

The first thing that strikes you when playing Tarot's Misfortune is how vivid and enchanting the game visuals are. Each scene looks like something taken directly from an actual gypsy village in Eastern Europe, with colors that perfectly set the tone of the game. Furthermore, the soundtrack is the icing on a cake rich with character and soul.

The actual gameplay involves you helping Rosalie escape the prison cell and explore the village as she tries to retrieve her tarot cards. When she finds the cards, she will be able to use their magic to find out what dangers have befallen her precious village. The exploration is done by moving between hidden object scenes similar to old-style roleplaying games. You will need to move back and forth between these scenes in order to use items on previously encountered obstacles or objects.

Each scene will have a list of hidden items that you will need to find. Some of these items will be "locked" until you figure out what objects are hiding them. You will also need to figure out what other items are required to interact with those objects in order to release the locked items. One hidden object aspect in Tarot's Misfortune that is different from other hidden object games is that the scenes have a 3D layout to them. In each scene, you can move left and right, and as you do so, different parts of the scene become revealed and hidden. For example, a hidden object might be obscured by a pillar from one angle. But if you move a few inches to the right, the pillar will no longer be blocking it.

There are plenty of other puzzles throughout the game, most of which have a distinct gypsy or tarot feel to them. For example, finding certain tarot cards in a hidden object scene will start a puzzle. When that puzzle is solved, it will provide clues as to how an object (that you will encounter later on) needs to be manipulated to progress further. Also present in the game are jigsaws, tangrams, musical puzzles, gear manipulation and many other different mini-games.

Tarot's Misfortune might not be too complex in terms of difficulty, but it provides enough challenge to make it feel refreshing and not too boring. It also provides a very immersive experience and a true adventure for the player. Be enthralled by the creepy-yet-seductive atmosphere and be intrigued by each mysterious tarot card and the prophecies and secrets contained within. This is a game that will easily take up hours of your time... but you won't realize it because you will be so engrossed by it.

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