Dracula: Origin

Despite the fact that Dracula: Origin is rather short, Frogwares has achieved the apex of what designing intelligent and entertaining puzzle/adventure games is all about, thus making Origin’s twenty-dollar price tag seem unfit.

The game weaves a great yarn, full of mystery, surprises, and developments that will keep you drawn to the monitor.

One of the best point-and-click adventures we’ve seen in a very long time.

An elegant piece of work visually, using well-known fictional characters and blending it into a fun and challenging adventure game. Everything ranging from the puzzles to the music fit in perfectly with the story. Note that this game is not ground-breaking in any way.

A strong adventure title that gives an excellent, updated treatment to the vampire hunting classic. It looks amazing, plays well, and the quality storytelling is bound to suck you in immediately.

A nice Dracula themed point'n click adventure, which comes with decent voice acting and beautiful graphics. Unfortunately the game doesn't exploit the potential of the characters of Van Helsing and Count Dracula. Half of the story is wasted in weird Egypt episode. Luckily the story gets back on the track in the last third of the game. All in all, the inventive puzzles raise the game over the mediocrity and make it worth playing. More vampires next time, thank you. [Sept 2008]

For Origin, since it's a little easier than the norm, and since it has modest system requirements, it might be best for players who are new to adventure games or who have aging computers.

Classy, demanding and atmospheric - but it won't suit everybody. [Aug 2008, p.83]

What it lacks in logic, it more than makes up for in mood and atmosphere. [Sept 2008, p.114]

Dracula: Origin is an enjoyable point-and-click adventure with a solid story, recognizable characters, and great atmosphere that is slightly betrayed by some truly difficult puzzles that are more frustrating than fun.

There’s tension and frustration, but a good balance of each. Brain busting obstacles are easier to handle - when the journey is laid out in a good format. That objective is mostly achieved.

I'm not really happy with Dracula: Origin. At places we get nice old-school gameplay with demanding puzzles. But Origin isn't very extensive, the characters aren't very charming, the story is unspectacular and from time to time the puzzles are extremely hard. Advanced Fans of Adventures will have fun, everybody else will find more accessible alternatives.

It's well presented, incorporates some intriguing puzzles and actually involves a good deal of thinking. It's also repetitive, obtuse, and frustrating with game mechanics that seem a little dated.

Remarkably short.

It won't appeal to everyone, but those who like adventure games and vampire mythology should feel right at home here.

Spooky atmosphere and a great story save Dracula: Origin from being a formulaic pixel hunt.

Definitely worth playing for adventure fans, or gamers curious for something different.

Despite the criticism that prevent it from realizing its potential, this is by no means a bad game and could serve you well if you're looking for something new to try.

It's not without its share of the frustrating aspects of the adventure game genre, but Dracula: Origin still manages to provide an interesting story and some good gothic atmosphere.

As a light adventure outing, I can recommend Dracula: Origin if only for the puzzle elements because even though the source material is treated with a great of respect and care there's not a lot present to keep the tension up to find out what happens next.

Personally, it feels a little unbalanced to me. I like adventure games because of the "adventure" aspect, the blend of a compelling story, immersive dialogue and logical deduction. This game favours the last element at the expense of the first two, and therefore left me somewhat unsatisfied.

Beautifully written and visualised. Adventure fans will be seduced. [Issue#9, p.59]

This is yet another modern adventure game that's competent without offering anything out of the ordinary. The environments provide a great framing for the experience and the vampire hunter Van Helsing isn't difficult to like. There is a great wealth of challenging puzzles, as there should be. If you're a fan of vampires and the puzzle solving adventure genre you should definitely take a closer look.

Frogwares invites us to go after the Prince of Darkness, in this interesting and traditional point'n'click adventure, which delivers us impressive and polished backgrounds . However, the quality of the whole game seems to be diminished by its linear plot and also its lack difficulty.

A good puzzler if you're prepared to not only outwit, but second guess the quirks of the development team. [Sept 2008, p.75]

Dracula: Origin is an average point-and-click Adventure game with a few cool new features. The Dracula theme is the game’s biggest plus, and starved adventure fans may have fun with it as long as they think outside the square. [Jul 2008, p.56]

All in all Dracula Origin is not a bad game, it just seems to fall flat in some areas that are important to AG players.

But it seems that developer Frogwares spent more time attending to the genre's flaws than crafting an engaging adventure game. [Sept 2008, p.72]

Dark, moody, and full of hate. Your reviewer the day after the diary puzzle. [Aug 2008, p.89]