Dark Sisterhood: The Initiation

Dark Sisterhood: The Initiation
by Blue Lizard Games - September, 2013

Available at:
Big Fish
GameHouse



After receiving a letter from an old friend, you start a journey to the remote island of Cold Peak, a place with its own traditions where people observe a forgotten way of life. In this village ruled by fear and arcane traditions, you are drawn into a web of ancient cults and murderous deceit, where villagers are bound together by the law of silence. In order to save a little girl's life, you will have to unveil the mystery surrounding a cruel witch-hunt and the events that triggered it. Gain the confidence of the secretive people of Cold Peak in order to get closer to the truth and save the innocent.

• Intriguing story and immersive atmosphere
  
• Reveal an ancient power and discover the truth of Cold Peak!
  
• Walkthrough
  
• Strategy Guide (Big Fish)
  

Click images to enlarge
__

Okay, This Is Officially Creepy    
  

BASED ON DEMO

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Nice to see a stand-alone standard edition with a walkthrough and strategy guide, so first impressions are positive before it’s even downloaded. The intro is dramatically done, with okay cut scenes and very good voiceover. The main menu page shows some good graphics, but unfortunately the visuals don’t follow through.

This game feels like an adventure game. There is a lot of dialogue, lots of characters and we are presented with quests by them. But it is not an adventurer’s game. The bulk of the gameplay is HOPs with some easy other puzzles every now and then.

SIGHTS & SOUNDS
The graphics are, unfortunately, not much good. Very dark, grainy, and the later cut scenes are quite pixelated . The characters are weird, ugly, just plain strange, and I wonder if the graphics are a deliberate part of that atmosphere. The graphics are not so bad that you can’t see what’s going on, or have any problems finding objects, but I didn’t adjust to them. They still irritated me at the end of the (30 min) demo. Sounds are great. The voiceovers are very well done and the background noises suitably icky.

WHAT’S HAPPENING
Okay, now admittedly witch hunts always creep me out, but this is one game where the atmosphere really suits the mood of the tale. You are too late to save your friend, Bloom, when she is executed for witchcraft, but you are set upon saving her daughter, Lily. There is definitely something evil going on, and no doubt you’ll have to face it before the game concludes, but first you have to survive the villagers.

Some characters you come across, just like in an adventure game, are not at all interested or involved in your story. Others give you quests to perform in order to get their help. All of them are scared silly. That’s all you really know at the end of the demo.

MAKING PROGRESS
This is really, ultimately, a HOG. There are two types of HOPs. A straight list (no interaction) and fragmented objects. At this stage, you haven’t returned to any of them. The puzzles are very easy, and there are not many of them.

In terms of the adventure gameplay, each character gives you a set of 3 quests. Items needed for completing it are all used up at the end and you receive an item from the character that lets you progress. There is a map, for which there is little need, but it is a jump map (no interactivity). There’s also a journal and a hint that gives you hints.

This game is not much really, poor graphics, simplistic gameplay, and yet I find myself oddly compelled by the story - witch hunts, evil lurking invisible nearby, corrupted ignorant villagers.

While I can only give it 3 stars, I know I’ll be buying it. I’m just not sure why. 

I Recommend This Game!

You have intrigued me Just!! I'll have to demo this.

lol, JustTheFacts! I've also demo'd this game and found the graphics horribly bad, but very colorful.
The game was not centered on my monitor, for it was bearing to the left and that was a little off-putting.
The first FROG I ran into was a pain because I truly did not know what was going on. I tried to watch in which direction my fragments were headed & they all went to the same place. I didn't know what tool I completed...
I asked for a Hint and it wouldn't work, so I just gave up!
Though I did like the storyline, the game mechanics were very poorly done.

I was actually enjoying this game very much until I had some technical issues.  It was a big clunky but not unbearable.  Anyway, I was knocked out of a hidden object scene.  The scarecrow did not go into my inventory but the game thinks it did.  I was at a standstill.  I complained to BFG and got a coupon.  I really just wanted to finish the game!!

I never did figure out the FROG system.  It was very strange.  Anyway, if you have troubles, send a message and get a refund!!

No worries, volnole68! All my problems were in the demo, so no need for me to buy.  


I had to laugh, you are right! That was the strangest FROG system I've ever seen!