Gamebook Edgar A. Poe: The Oval Portrait

The Oval Portrait is a work of Edgar Allen Poe's that is very similar in tone to many gothic Victorian stories, notably, Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. It's a beautiful short story that can be a bit hard to follow. This audio active gamebook does nothing to really help enhance or clarify the story. If anything, the gamebook leads to further confusion due to switched wording, needless tapping on the screen in order to progress the story, and overall lackluster art and voice narration. While I recommend The Oval Portrait as a read and/or audiobook that gleans light on the theme of focusing on reality vs. fantasy, art, and creation, I do not recommend using this gamebook to engage with Poe's writing. 2.5/10

Жена сказала, что если на этом обзоре наберётся 10 лайков и 5 наград, то она подарит ящик пива. Мужики, выручайте!

Unfortunately, even though it was an interesting (and rather one in a time) experience, I cannot recommend this game. It fails at the very thing it is based on - sound. If you choose the exploration mode there is no distinction between up and down, and the accumulation of sounds in some chapters makes it even more difficult to guide your character. In addition, I came upon a bug in chapter 5 where there was no way to move but left and right and I just got stuck. You could of course pick the Story mode, but there is little to no gameplay there as you just click the spacebar, which makes this game an audiobook and not a gamebook. But even though the actor that plays the Sir in the English version is ok, and his accent gives the story some character, you can't say the same about Pedro, whose voice is just boring. And that's after omitting the wrong pronunciation of many words. When I discovered the Polish version though, I found out that the actors are also not very interesting, but I could work with that - there were also a couple of spelling mistakes in the text. Shame that this is so unpolished, as it could've been great. Keeping my fingers crossed for more productions with a good idea, but hoping they will be just prepared better.

Uma incrível experiencia como fã de edgar alan poe achei maravilhoso

The concept was interesting. I like it.

This gamebook [b][i]*DING* [Spacebar][/i][/b] was an interesting concept, but [b][i]*DING* [Spacebar][/i][/b] ... [b][i]*DING* [Spacebar][/i][/b] the execution leaves you a bit wanting. [b][i]*DING* [Spacebar][/i][/b] I would have preferred [b][i]*DING* [Spacebar][/i][/b] absolutely NO [b][i]*DING* [Spacebar][/i][/b] interaction required during [b][i]*DING* [Spacebar][/i][/b] Story [b][i]*DING* [Spacebar][/i][/b] Mode. Instead, just let it run like a regular audiobook. Pedro's voice actor needs a bit more enthusiasm in bringing this Gamebook to [b][i]Life[/i][/b]. I cringed at "appalling" being pronounced "appealing". Thanks to the devs for the effort though; hopefully you try another story! [b][i]*DING* [Spacebar][/i][/b]