In Andergast, King Efferdan awaits a state visit from high-ranking dignitaries. For centuries the kingdom has been at odds with neighbouring Nostria, but now first steps are being undertaken toward a lasting peace. But a plague of crows troubles the king, for the birds are acting with unusual aggressiveness, even attacking humans. Moreover, there are those among the citizens of Andergast who swear that the crows are bringing them dark nightmares. As the belligerent creatures infiltrate even the castle itself, the king seeks a skilled bird catcher - an opportunity for young Geron to prove that the reputation for ill luck that has followed him since childhood is undeserved...

The town seeks a skilled bird catcher - an opportunity for young Geron

The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav, originally released for PC in 2012, is a point and click adventure game, from Daedalic Entertainment, GmbH. Both this game and its sequel, 2013's The Dark Eye: Memoria, are finally available for consoles.

You take on the role of bird catcher Geron, who is tasked with helping the king establish peace by catching suspicious crows that plague the notoriously superstitious and conflict-ridden kingdom of Andergast. However, not only does Geron’s task prove unexpectedly difficult, it also turns out to be the first step of the greatest adventure of his life - leading him to the borders of the charted lands of Aventuria and beyond.

One of the most notable elements of the game is the beautifully hand drawn animation. Stylistically this sets it apart from other games in the genre, giving it its own uniform look. The vocal acting on the whole is good, and there's nothing that stands out as below par.

Andergast market is full of colourful locals

As can be the case with a lot of point and click adventures, you never really feel as though you have free roam of the environments and you'll invariable come upon a task that proves frustrating. Thankfully a quick internet search will come in handy here, as there are plenty of handy walkthroughs... which I have to admit I had to fall back up on when I was seemingly painted into a corner. However, the puzzles are never too hard and the logic to them is pretty spot on. I only got stuck because there was an area leading off from the marketplace that for some reason I totally missed. So after going around and around in circles finding that there was another area to explore really helped me.

If I had one slight issue it's that you do feel like you're been shepherded through the game. And while, on the whole, this is the nature of this genre, it did feel more obvious here than in similar games.

That said, it's a wonderfully presented point and click adventure which is immersive and rather satisfying.

7

Darren Rea