Giant snakes are destroying the world. No, seriously, they are! They hid deep within the Earth for centuries, waiting for the right time to attack. That time is now, and the only one who can stop them is a young woman named Kate, who has a nice leather jacket. House of 1000 Doors: Serpent Flame doesn’t pull its punches when it comes to story or gameplay, and you’ll find it’s every bit as epic as the title suggests.
Giant snakes are destroying the world. No, seriously, they are! They hid deep within the Earth for centuries, waiting for the right time to attack. That time is now, and the only one who can stop them is a young woman named Kate, who has a nice leather jacket. House of 1000 Doors: Serpent Flame doesn’t pull its punches when it comes to story or gameplay, and you’ll find it’s every bit as epic as the title suggests.
House of 1000 Doors: Serpent Flame shares a lot of gameplay ideas and characters with previous games in the series, House of 1000 Doors: The Palm of Zoroaster and House of 1000 Doors: Family Secrets. You won’t need any prior knowledge going into Serpent Flame, and as a matter of fact, not being a follower of the series might make things a bit more intriguing. The basic layout is that of a casual adventure game, complete with rooms to explore, items to find, hidden object scenes to complete, and the occasional mini-game. Puzzles block your path and need certain objects in order to be solved. You’ll encounter a good handful of them with no obvious solution, leaving you no choice but to press onward and return with an inventory full of new stuff to try out.
Hidden object scenes are fairly standard with a list of text items displayed beneath a screen cluttered with objects. Interactive items are marked in red, informing you that you’ll have to work with things in the environment in order to uncover or assemble the target. You’re shown a fine example of this in the very beginning with “car” marked in red. To find it, you have to assemble a few pieces of paper to reveal a picture of a car. A little misleading, perhaps, but pleasantly so: almost like solving a riddle. You’ll also play the occasional reverse hidden object scene where you have to match and replace objects from your inventory.
House of 1000 Doors: Serpent Flame has all the drama and excitement of a summer blockbuster movie. The thirty seconds of cinema you’ll witness as you begin the game will have you riveted to your screen, and the game never lets up throughout its six chapters (plus bonus content in the Collector’s Edition). Even though the story sounds better suited for an action game, you’ll be surprised at how a calm hidden object adventure title can benefit from some giant snakes and an end-of-the-world scenario.
Extending the standard gameplay, House of 1000 Doors: Serpent Flame features a handful of “beyond objects” to find, which are simple items stashed in the main game that don’t quite fit the scenario. The visuals are also a cut above the rest, showcasing some really fantastic locations and dynamic cutscenes. The artists were probably sick of illustrating various types of fire by the end of development, but we thank them for the extra attention they gave it!
Even though House of 1000 Doors: Serpent Flame can be described as standard in a lot of ways, the sum of its average parts adds up to a much more entertaining whole. The story alone makes the price of admission worthwhile, and once the giant snakes and a floating fortress grab your interest, the rest of the game will easily keep you in your chair for the remainder of the experience.
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