Journey: The Heart of Gaia (Adventure-lite)

Journey: The Heart of Gaia
by Waterlily Games - November, 2012

Available at:
Alawar
Big Fish for PC
GameHouse
iWin



One evening a stranger appears at Liz’s doorway, whisking her away to a colorful world that lies deep within the center of the Earth. Not only is it controlled by a powerful tyrant, but the very heart of Underworld is dying! Can Liz save this world and find the way back to her own? Journey through a fantastic landscape filled with quirky characters. Rescue the captured citizens, and they will help you put an end to the tyranny of Scartaris Umbra! Dive deep into the world of Journey: Heart of Gaia, a thrilling puzzle adventure!

• Beautiful hand-drawn world
  
• Exciting story with charming characters
  
• Solve a variety of puzzles
  
• Strategy Guide
  
• Blog Walkthrough (Big Fish)
  

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Journey: The Heart of Gaia (Adventure-Puzzle)

There are separate sliders for Music, Effects, Voice, and Gamma (brightness). There are also options for windowed mode, custom cursor, and resolution.

There are two modes of play, and like Phantasmat, the puzzles are actually more difficult on Advanced mode. Hints and skips are are available in both modes, but if you're one that loves achievements, you might want to check out the HONORS section of the main menu before you decide to skip any mini-games! There are 20 + minis to do, and the game is separated into chapters.

The MAP is very useful, showing both locations that have current tasks that need to be done, and gives you a jump-to option. Every discovered location is available throughout the game, but ONLY the current, active areas (chapter locations) will have jump-to spots on the map. If you wish, you can go all the way back to the first scene of the game, then use the map to jump back to the current (active) part of the game.

During the course of the game, we discover three very different companions who help us with their unique powers. The graphics are a bit on the cartooney side, but in an endearing, pretty way. The voices are okay -- neither fantastic nor annoying. The gameplay is an enjoyable mix of adventure and puzzles, some of which are repeated (ie. one tangram-type puzzle per chapter,) but most of which are original and challenging. There is a reset and skip button available on the minis, but if you want to get all of the achievements, you won't want to skip any of them. The walkthrough is very handy if you need help, so keep that in mind

NOTE: A few of the games are dependent on mouse-dexterity :( I didn't have any trouble on casual mode, but I had to redo one of the minis a few times on advanced mode.

I had no problem with playing the game once on each mode of difficulty in order to get all of the achievements, as it's a fun game. Recommended