Labyrinths of the World: Shattered Soul Review – Clockwork Craziness

Ready for a hidden object experience packed with mad scientists, three headed dogs, and mechanical crabs? Labyrinths of the World: Shattered Soul is here to please! This semi-surreal adventure sends you on a quest to investigate your sister’s recent disappearance. …

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Ready for a hidden object experience packed with mad scientists, three headed dogs, and mechanical crabs? Labyrinths of the World: Shattered Soul is here to please! This semi-surreal adventure sends you on a quest to investigate your sister’s recent disappearance. She wanted you to see a new invention she’s been working on, but instead you find a mansion filled with mystery. And portable, gear-driven robots.

Labyrinths of the World: Shattered Soul is a very busy game. One of the very first things you do is fill up your inventory with seemingly random items, things like fishing line and empty bell jars. They make absolutely no sense at the outset, forcing you to head out and explore. Fortunately the more you poke your cursor around the more things fit together. Don’t be afraid to experiment with these unusual inventory items, you never know what will work.

Hidden object scenes pop along frequently in the Shattered Soul experience. Each one gives you a text list of items beneath a cluttered screen. Darkened words denote interactive objects, meaning you’ll need to move, assemble, or even discover those items by manipulating the environment above. See a feather? See a hat? Bring them together and make a feathered hat!

Outside of the main adventure, Labyrinths of the World: Shattered Soul keeps you entertained with plenty of off-the-wall mini-games, optional collectibles, a museum to play around with, and a storyline that just keeps getting more interesting. There’s also a fun persistent item system that gives you tools to carry with you throughout the adventure. The water pitcher, for example, lets you clean off certain items without having to hunt for empty jugs and bubbling fountains. Just click and clean, puzzle solved.

Labyrinths of the World’s puzzles are simple and enjoyable, but they do occasionally suffer the curse of being arbitrary. With so many items to find uses for, you can get frustrated really fast. Fortunately the hint system alleviates a lot of this difficulty, and if you play the game with a careful eye for detail you won’t stumble all that often.

Labyrinths of the World: Shattered Soul has a fun surreal-meets-steampunk setting that’s a lot of fun to explore. The puzzles are off-the-wall, the hidden object scenes entertaining and lively, and the extras encourage you to keep your eyes peeled. There may be some minor flaws here and there, but overall the game comes together to create a grand hidden object experience.

The good

  • Inventive mini-games and hidden object scenes.
  • Excellent artwork and overall atmosphere.

The bad

  • Some puzzle solutions are a bit too arbitrary.
  • Dialogue is awkward in places.
75 out of 100
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