Sable Maze 1: Sullivan River

Sable Maze: Sullivan River
by Daily Magic Productions - October, 2012

Series links:  Sable Maze 1: Sullivan River, Sable Maze 2: Norwich Caves, Sable Maze 3: Forbidden Garden, Sable Maze 4: Twelve Fears

Available at:
Big Fish for PC as Collector's Edition / Standard Edition
iWin as Collector's Edition / Standard Edition
Steam as Collector's Edition



Every night you have the same nightmare. You see children wandering through a maze, crying for help. These sleepless nights are ruining your waking life. To stop them, you must return to Sullivan River Summer Camp to uncover what happened during that long-forgotten summer. Beware though, this camp isn't all that it seems. With every step, you can feel eyes watching you. Reveal the secret of the ancient labyrinth in this eerie Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game.

The Collector’s Edition includes:

• Bonus gameplay
  
• Full soundtrack
  
• Wallpapers and concept art
  
• Integrated Strategy Guide
  

For the Standard Edition

• Strategy Guide
  
• Blog Walkthrough (Big Fish)
  

Click images to enlarge
   

Sable Maze 1: Sullivan River CE (IHOG)
2013 review updated after playing Steam version in 2019

Options include separate sliders for Music, Sound and Voices, plus Custom Cursor and Full-screen. Choice of Casual, Advanced or Hard mode.  You can also view your trophies from the options menu.

Story:

Fragmented memories of the past have invaded your dreams, and the only way to make them stop is to face your fears and return to camp at Sullivan River.  What happened here all those years ago?


The story progresses nicely through a combination of short cut-scenes and frequent additions to our Journal.  There are a ton of articles, notes and diaries to read through, something I love.  I don't think you'll be terribly lost if you prefer not to have a lot of reading in your games, but it sure does enhance things!

Gameplay:

Something that I really appreciate is that we keep useful items and use them more than once.  We also use some things in inventive - but believable - ways, which I love!  I'm the queen of finding ways to get things done with a limited amount of items on hand, so this really made me smile. That's not to say that there isn't some "game logic", but it kind of balances out.  If we try to use an item somewhere and it's not going to work, the game tells us WHY.  For instance, maybe the tool we're using is too fragile for the task at hand.

We have a nice, jump-to MAP.  It does not show where active areas are, but I don't mind that a bit -- it just adds to the difficulty in a good way~  HINTS are rechargeable, and using one during the adventure portion of the game will either pinpoint something nearby or show you which direction to go. 

All discovered locations are available throughout the game, though you have a limited number of scenes you will be working with at any given time. 

The Hidden Object Scenes are lightly interactive, and sometimes you'll see gears as an indication, sometimes not.


Mini games are doable, although some of them really take some time to complete!

The main game was excellent, and I enjoyed it very much!  You can also re-watch the ending of the game by clicking on the Play button after you've finished.

Sights and Sounds:

The music and sound effects are beautifully done, setting the stage for this spooky experience without being annoying or overstated. I especially loved the ambiance of the graphics.  So perfect for the environment they're trying to portray!


CE Content:

• Integrated Strategy Guide
  
• Bonus Chapter
  
• 12 Music Tracks, which can be saved (one at a time) to your hard drive
  
• 7 Wallpapers
  
• 10 Concept Art
  
• In-game Achievements (Trophies)
  

Bonus Chapter:

The bonus gives us answers to questions we might not have realized we had, telling us

Spoiler:

Your full journal stays available during the bonus play, which is great if you'd like to review the story.

There are eight brand new locations (not including zoom-ins), and three new hidden object scenes.  Each HOS in the game (main and bonus) is played twice.

The extra chapter took me an hour to play, and it was very well done -- not just a "tack on" at the end of the game.

Verdict:

The graphics are beautifully environmental, the story interesting and bonus chapter added to the story nicely.  Overall, this is a truly enjoyable game.