Aurora Hills: Chapter 1 in IOS

★★★★★ App Store Editors’ Notes

★★★★★ Not worth your time

The last game by this developer was great. Puzzles made sense within the world and the ramp up worked. However in this game puzzles make almost no sense and are needlessly hard. The first puzzle when the lights go out has you decipher a lock in a very illogical way. This theme flows through the entire game. At the end the developer will even have the character lie to the player. The character makes a statement and then a puzzle later its proved that the character lied to them and you have to return. The location makes no sense also. There is supposed to be about missing people. Like 12 or something. But there are no police or anyone. All areas are trashed and the park is not one I would ever visit, its disgusting. The story is super predictable also. I was hoping through the entire game I would be proved wrong, that there would be something to change my mind. But no. Its a complete disappointment, just like this entire game. If I was told this was made before meridian I would understand. But since they have 3 games under there belt, the type of game I played is NOT acceptable. These developers need to hold themselves to a higher standard and not put out random trash like this. It feels like a cash grab, if that. Dissapointing.

★★★★★ Interesting

I enjoyed the Meridian trilogy and so played through this one, even though it’s chapter 1 of an unfinished series. It is an above average point and click adventure, with several nitpicking elements that pull it down from five stars. 1. As other reviews have said, the puzzles make no sense. There’s no reason for the puzzles and locks to be there. And even less for your character to not already know all the combinations. 2. This company’s games lack the humor that excuses similar logic gaps in Glitch games, from whom they’ve obviously borrowed a lot of other mechanics. 3. Too many of the puzzles require wild leaps that no sane person in the situation would attempt. If the game was more self-aware, this wouldn’t be an issue. But in trying to provide lots of puzzles while also trying to create any feeling of reality, they step on their own feet. Are we supposed to be concerned about being late to work or are we supposed to search what is allegedly our own home for our clothes? 4. This dichotomy of realism vs puzzle building also makes it very frustrating when a useful tool disappears after its intended use. 5. One final little style thing that bugged me - most of the game approaches photorealistic, except for your own hands or photos of your ranger partner. It’s slightly jarring to be walking down a beautifully rendered wooded path and suddenly your plastic looking gumby hand rises into frame holding a very realistic looking compass.

★★★★★ Cannot wait for Chapter 2!!

If I play any games on my phone, they are typically puzzle/logic/role-play, where I have to actually utilize my brain. Otherwise, I feel like I’m just wasting my life even if only for an hour or a week or so. I really don’t like hidden object games, that’s not difficult enough for me. I’m more drawn to games like crime bot2, detective stories, etc. this game was surprisingly fascinating and enjoyable. I think I finished the whole chapter one and maybe less than 2 hours. I’m going to replay on a higher difficulty level and see how it goes!

★★★★★ Brilliant and underrated

I’m a longtime puzzle and adventure fan. I’ve played every game in the Myst series… Honestly, this game reminds me of the classic experience from those early point and click games but mixed with modern graphics and an eerie storyline. Soundtrack is atmospheric, puzzles are a good mix of easy to moderately difficult, story is excellent, graphics are usually good. Sometimes the camera panning in cutscenes feels unnatural but it never really breaks the experience. I strongly recommend. It’s a good price too- I’d probably pay double or triple for a game of this quality. The devs’ Meridian 157 series is also excellent.

★★★★★ I can’t stop playing!

Hats off to the developers!! It looks as if this is a newer game and I must say…it’s well thought and simply amazing!! You did your homework and delivered a TRUE GAMING EXPERIENCE!! My iPad is literally on 5% because I was emerged into the storyline. You’re using what looks like real graphics and it makes that more interesting!! I love the storyline, the hints ie.. clues…especially the clues.. You actually give a clue step by step…just enough where a player can figure out the rest on their own. Anyway……major kudos!!

★★★★★ Incredible!!

We’ve been waiting for this game for more than a year, and we’re so excited it’s finally here! The artwork is gorgeous, the story had me from the first minute, and the puzzles are complex and interesting. Most other point and click puzzle games are so hard to navigate and have so many glitches that it’s not worth the effort, but Novasoft never disappoints, and it’s easy to get lost in the world without getting yanked out by glitches. Eagerly looking forward to the next installment!!

★★★★★ Awesome except for ONE big thing

I love the story. I love the puzzles. They are so complex I had to use a pen and paper to write down the puzzles and clues! And that’s the big problem. You can take a picture of the clue but there’s no way to put it next to the puzzle so you know what you’re looking at. You just have to remember. Which…for me involved pen and paper. So there needs to be the option of taking the picture and putting it next to the puzzle to help solve it. Can’t wait for chapter 2! When is it coming out???