The Legacy 1: Forgotten Gates

The Legacy: Forgotten Gates
by Five-BN - March, 2017

Series links: The Legacy 1: Forgotten Gates, The Legacy 2: Prisoner, The Legacy 3: Tree of Might

Available at:
Alawar as Collector's Edition / Standard Edition
Big Fish as Collector's Edition / Standard Edition
GameHouse as Platinum Edition
Steam as Collector's Edition



A journey to a mysterious ancient civilization.

Late one night, Diana hears a noise at a strange new museum exhibit. It’s the start of a grand adventure as Diana is transported to a parallel world where a lost Mayan civilization is flourishing. This other world was once connected to our world, but now the gates have been reopened. Only Shaash the Gatekeeper can help Diana return home, but it will not be easy. Diana must face many challenges as she journeys through the lush Endless River Valley. Explore a new world! Meet a unique culture, observe wondrous animals, and solve serious challenges to not only find a way home, but to save Diana’s world as well in this heart-pounding hidden-object puzzle adventure!

• Play as a new hero in the thrilling bonus chapter!
  
• Earn achievements to showcase your skills.
  
• Find lots of hidden collectibles and morphing objects!
  
• Enjoy bonus puzzles, wallpapers, concept art, soundtracks and more.
  
• Never get lost with the strategy guide.
  
• Big Fish Walkthrough
  

The Legacy 1: Forgotten Gates (HOPA)

SPIDER ALERT for you arachnophobes:  There is one large, nasty-looking spider in the game.

Options include fully-customizable difficulty (which can be changed at any time), sync w/Steam Cloud and separate sliders for Music, Environment, Sound Effects and Voiceovers.

I would not categorize this as a Hidden Object Game, but rather as a Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure.  The "hidden object" scenes are not your standard find-by-list, or even what you see, which is find-by-silhouette.  These scenes are actually puzzles, where you need to use each and every item you find in the scene in order to progress.  To increase the difficulty (and interest), there are multiple zoom-in areas that you need to interact with, as well.

This title is heavy on the adventuring, and items you find often need to be combined in order to become functional - sometimes more than once!

As you navigate through the game, be on the lookout for:

• 30 Morphing items - One per scene in the main story
  
• 42 Collectible Items - There are multiple types of collectibles, and you'll net an achievement for completing each set.  12 of these are found in the bonus chapter. *NOTE: You must complete all of the sets to unlock some of the puzzles in the Extras area.
  
• 8 Story Scrolls - Collect them all to unlock a mini-game in the Extras.
  

Your journal will track the story, of course, as well as info you may need in order to solve puzzles.  I did not spot any spoilers in the diary.

The MAP is fully-interactive, depending on what difficulty level you have chosen.  It will insta-transport regardless, but you also have the option of having it show you where active areas are and where you might have missed collectibles and morphing items.

Like other games by this developer, when something we try doesn't work, it tells us WHY it won't work.  "I can't dig with my hands, the ground is too hard," for example.

Bonus Content:

• 21 Achievements - Puzzle achievements CAN be obtained by replaying them in the Extras section.
  
• Integrated Strategy Guide, which is accessible from anywhere in the game.  Not only a walkthrough, but also shows every collectible and puzzle solution.
  
• Bonus Chapter
  
• 9 Wallpapers
  
• 10 Concept Art
  
• 18 re-watchable Videos
  
• 8 Music tracks
  
• 18 re-playable Mini-games
  
• 6 Mosaic puzzles (scenes from the game)
  
• Bonus Game - A fill-the-field mini-game with 20 levels to complete.
  
• Complete Collections - This is a GREAT bonus for the completionists and achievement-hunters.  Go to Complete Collections in the Extras areas, and it will allow you to go back in-game (main and bonus) to find any collectibles you missed! 
  

Bonus Chapter:
This is not needed to have a "complete" story, like some bonus chapters... It's simply a mini-story that is related to the main game, but could easily be a standalone.  Keep an eye out for some collectibles!

The music and sound effects are very nice, and the voice-overs were pretty good, as well!  I really liked the graphics, the story was entertaining and the gameplay is top-notch.

This is another high-quality offering from FIVE-BN, and one which I thoroughly enjoyed.  I believe that even people who don't usually like HOG's will enjoy this.  Highly recommended!