Theatre of the Absurd

Theatre of the Absurd
by Gogii Games / Silverback Productions - April, 2012

Available at:
Gogii Games
Big Fish for PC as Collector's Edition / Standard Edition
Big Fish for Mac as Collector's Edition / Standard Edition
GameHouse as Platinum Edition / Standard Edition
iWin Collector's Edition / Standard Edition



Scarlett Frost, specialist in the dark arts, has been summoned to a luxurious and remote theatre in the snowy Italian Alps. Could it be that the infamous and diabolical Hapsburg Cube has been found and purchased by the sinister theatre proprietor, Dr. Corvis? The cube is said to imprison a powerful and ancient Babylonian demon that would wreak hellish destruction if the cubes should break.

In a moment of desperate confusion the cube breaks and the demon bursts forth into the souls of the Dr. Corvis and his young daughter Bethany. The ancient theatre in the lonely winter mountains becomes an arena of spiritual war, between the darkest forces of the underworld and the cunning mind of Scarlett Frost.

But Scarlett soon finds out that the only way to fight a demon this powerful is to become possessed by one herself. Only then can she acquire a ticket to the Theatre of the Absurd.

Main Game Features

• Vanquish evil spirits from the theatre
  
• Explore a beautiful and ancient theatre
  
• Collect artifacts needed to save a young girl
  
• Untangle unique puzzle environments
  
• Hours of mind-bending, next-generation hidden object adventure
  
• Use powerful spells against demons
  

The Collector’s Edition includes:

• Integrated Strategy Guide
  
• Bonus Content
  

For the Standard Edition:

• Strategy Guide
  
• Blog Walkthrough (Big Fish)
  

Click images to enlarge
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Theatre of the Absurd CE (IHOG)

Options include separate sliders for music, voice, and sound effects, plus full-screen and the ability to change the difficulty -- Casual or Expert -- at any time.  The explanation for the differences between the modes is very generic, not really telling you much.  I went with Expert, and there are NO sparkles in this mode, including those for HOS.

This game is a joint production between Silverback Productions and Gogii Games.  They also teamed up for the last two Empress of the Deep games.  Like the Empress games, the navigational arrows snap into place when you mouse-over possible exits, but thankfully, those arrows aren't obnoxiously oversized like the in the last Empress game I played. 

I found the graphics to be just beautiful, but sadly, much of the prime real estate (so to speak) is taken up by the task bars at the top and bottom of the screen :(  Shucks!  On the plus side, the game automatically adjusted for my widescreen, and looks great that way.

The journal tracks our tasks, as well as the story.

The HOS are your basic, non-interactive lists, with 12 items to find on each list.  There is a rapid-misclick penalty, and you will end up with multiple useable items from each search.  There are also areas where you have to place a circle of image back into a scene, kind of like in Redrum.  I discovered by accident that you don't have to drag-and-drop the pieces -- just click on the scene where you see the match, and the piece will fly into place

Instructions for mini-games are located in the top, right corner of the screen.

There is no MAP, but it's not hard to keep track of where you need to be.  The game does a lot of hand-holding in the name of story progression, but at least I'm not having to deal with sparklies!

Using a HINT during the adventure portion of the game will bring up your hand, and the hint is written on your arm.  It will tell you what you should be doing/looking for next, and it's an actual hint.  Sounds weird, but it works within the context of the game.  The hint button will bring up your arm where the hint can be seen, but it is also used to activate your powers.  It's all clearly explained in the game, don't worry  

CE Content:

• Integrated Strategy Guide
  
• Bonus chapter
  
• Concept Art
  

So as you can see, there's very little extra content to this.  The main game has a satisfactory ending, and the "bonus chapter" adds next to nothing, story-wise.   You revisit the existing locations to find six items that have been hidden, place the items, take six new items, place those, and go to a couple of new locations.  One or two HOS, a few puzzles, then you can access the room with six mirrors in it.  Each mirror  has a minimum of six concept art images to view.

While it is very interesting to see so much concept art, this definitely does NOT make for enough extra content to condone the extra price.  Unless you are able to hit a BOGO or 1/2 price sale, I do NOT recommend the CE!

This game is very in keeping with Silverback's other games (most specifically the Empress games, as mentioned.)  The story progression via intercoms was eerily reminiscent of these games, though their role in Theatre is not as prominent.  What really caused an overpowering déjà vu for me was the voice used for Dr. Corvis.  It sounds exactly like the same actor who played the male character we interact with in the Empress games.  It threw me off a bit.

Now don't get me wrong -- I think this is a very good game, and I enjoyed the spooky ambiance and creepy storyline.  My only real gripe is that it is NOT worth CE-price.  Otherwise, I do recommend checking it out!