Dark Canvas 1: A Brush With Death

Dark Canvas: A Brush With Death
by Vast Studios - January, 2013

Series links: Dark Canvas 1: A Brush With Death, Dark Canvas 2: Blood & Stone

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




Uncover the mystery behind an artist’s deadly talent in Dark Canvas: A Brush With Death! Your daughter, Angie, was traveling through Europe when she vanished without a trace. Her last letter urged you to come to a remote island town in Italy, where she had stumbled upon a dark secret. When you arrive, you learn that there has been a series of tragic deaths in town, accompanied by sightings of a legendary spirit called the Silhouette. With no way of knowing who would be next, citizens turned to Virgil, a local artist who could famously predict the future through his paintings. Now you must seek out Virgil and his mysterious paintings before you and your daughter become the next victims of his deadly predictions!

The Collector’s Edition includes:

• A bonus story
  
• Gorgeous art and screensavers
  
• Downloadable music tracks
  
• Integrated Strategy Guide
  

For the Standard Edition:

• Blog Walkthrough
  
• Strategy Guide (Big Fish)
  

Click images to enlarge

Really Enjoyable!  
   

BASED ON COMPLETED GAME

Sometimes the demos really can be very deceiving, and that was certainly true of this one. Although I loved the concept of this game, paintings that predict the future, I was not overly impressed with the trial.

I went ahead and bought it on sale anyhow, because of the story. I have only just now got around to playing it, and what a wonderful surprise. I sailed right through it in one sitting, not noticing the time, until suddenly it was 3am!

I loved every minute of this game. It had just the right mix of HO/Puzzle/Adventure for my liking . The HOs were varied and actually a genuine challenge (without ‘cheating’ by making the objects too small or the scene too dark).

Puzzles varied in the degree of difficulty, but few were hard enough to force me to skip.

The adventure aspect followed a logical progression without ever descending to linear. I was kept on the ball all the way, but never felt I was straining.

The story was excellent, treated very cleverly and I was kept guessing till the very end. The graphics, while not over the top, were still top quality, and the sound track was appropriate.

What was lacking was the WOW factor, but in this game I think that was a plus. Sometimes all that bling can detract from the experience by overloading the senses and overshadowing the story.

This is a game for every mood and every player, but I’ll not rate it as five stars, because that spot is reserved for the bling  

I recommend this game!