Love Alchemy: A Heart In Winter

There are a few bugs in the English translation and gameplay is quite basic, but I would still recommend this game for its exceptional graphics, atmosphere, and storytelling. Just make sure you have a walkthrough handy if you can't figure out how to work around the bugs. The story is not in itself very interesting, but it progresses nicely and coherently, and each new character adds something to it. The protagonist is not the usual "super mom" you tend to find in the genre. She is quite a naïve and delicate woman, but not a victim! The game is entirely safe-for-work, but note that there is a sensual, even sexy undercurrent. Generally, I think this game takes a few risks, which should always be applauded in this rather narrow genre.

[code][h3][b][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45030479/]🧩Undecided & Puzzled Reviews🧩[/url][/b]Visit and follow my curator page if you enjoyed this review❤️[/h3][/code] [h2][b]Love Alchemy: A Heart in Winter[/b][/h2] This is my first negative review and it's sad because the game has potential. TL;DR at the end :) My thoughts: [list] [*]The game is about 2 to 2 1/2 hours long. [*]The puzzles are incredibly easy to the point a child may even speed through them [*]The music gets very repetitive and annoying at points (I had to mute the music to be able to pay attention) [*]Hidden object moments are very few and far between. This is the point of the game after all, at least it should have a decent amount of them. [*]Items received only have one use. I understand that for "game play" purposes this seems like a good idea, but its more of a lazy tactic to be able to incorporate more "spots" to find the same item you just used 5 minutes ago. Most games do this with certain unique items but lets say a hammer for example should at least have 2 uses, in my opinion. [*]Animations are almost non existent. For the date the game was released, there were plenty of the same kind with animations between scenes or when a plot milestone was hit. [*]There is no voice over, again for the release date and current price, it should have had some at least. [*]Story, to me the second most important up there with the hidden object portion. The story lacks so much but it had potential. It feels rushed and underwhelming. It has good bones. The team could've spent a little more time with each character developing how they came to be. Also, the journal. The journal is the place to go to see what the character has seen, attached found written material or pictures, codes too. One of the more important aspects of the journal in most of these games is to read the perspective of the character you are playing as. Thoughts, reactions etc. When something "big" happened and went to the journal it was blank. No reactions, information just I guess the character was not impressed shocked or scared etc. This part was very disappointing. [*]Price is way too high for what it gives you. For an almost 10-year-old hidden objects game, the price is way too high. Now add the date to the lack of, well everything, it is a very overpriced and unreasonable. [/list] TL;DR The game lacks in most places. A hidden objects with almost no hidden objects and a story that fails to deliver. Overpriced. There are better, longer, more entertaining games of this genre available and some at even lower costs.

The game is short and even compared to other Hidden Object games its pretty simple, but I did like the story it told.

The hint function is hilariously bad. It rarely works. There are some localisation issues with the English version too - on several occasions in hidden object scenes, the names of items were still in Cyrillic characters. The ending is very abrupt.

This is one of the best Adventure Hidden Object games.

translations not done fully thoughout the game freezes on some puzzles

Not recommended. I have mixed feelings. On one hand, you have a pretty standard hidden object game with what is to be expected, nice graphics, lots of easy puzzles, some basic hidden object scenes and some form of light story to keep you moving forward. On the other hand, there are a lot of loose ends in the writing, some object names in the scenes don't match, the story is very rushed and there is a lot of backtracking so keep the hint button handy. Also, you have to play from the start if you want to see the alternate ending instead of having an option to resume at the decision point. Lastly, for the short length and price, its just not worth it in the end.