Rhiannon: Curse of the Four Branches

 PC
User Score
6.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 11 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 11
  3. Negative: 3 out of 11

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  1. LucidDream
    Sep 7, 2013
    8
    I very much enjoyed this game. It has a very interesting story, great graphics and fairly challenging puzzles including some quite creative ones.

    The story is told through emails, letters and diaries found in the game, so a lot of reading is required. This may put some players off but I enjoyed this format of storytelling, in particular since it allows the story to span several    I very much enjoyed this game. It has a very interesting story, great graphics and fairly challenging puzzles including some quite creative ones.

    The story is told through emails, letters and diaries found in the game, so a lot of reading is required. This may put some players off but I enjoyed this format of storytelling, in particular since it allows the story to span several different time periods. Besides, the writing is good and I found that the diary of a former inhabitant of the farm in particular was a real pleasure to read. Many of the puzzles are based on hints given in the reading material and sometimes require combining information from several different sources to figure out the solution, something that I found made for an interesting challenge, but which will again put some players off, in particular if they are relatively new to the genre (or subgenre).

    The sound effects were good and added to the atmosphere of the game. There is not much music in the game, but the music that does exist is good and it is used at appropriate occasions. The graphics are excellent, both in terms of the level of detail and the visual design of the locations (for example I found that the 15 year old girl's room looked just right given the information about her gained from her diary).

    At first I found the navigation system a bit confusing, but I quickly got used to it. In the end, the main weakness I found with the game was that the automatic notes which provide a useful reminder of your current objectives sometimes also provided unwanted hints, giving away things that I would rather have figured out on my own. Also, since it is only possible to pick up objects when you need them, it was sometimes easy to guess the use of an object based on at what time it became possible to pick it up, providing another source of potentially unwanted hints. Without these minor problems the game would have provided an even more interesting challenge.    … Expand
  2. Maxgallow
    Aug 22, 2013
    4
    Concept- great. Execution poor. The game grinds after about 30 minutes. You cannot collect items until you are on the "right" quest, meaning there is a lot of back and forth go fetch moments. While recognising this is an older game, it isn't so old that some of the graphics issues and the horribly bulky movement should have been used. This game could have benefited from voice over asConcept- great. Execution poor. The game grinds after about 30 minutes. You cannot collect items until you are on the "right" quest, meaning there is a lot of back and forth go fetch moments. While recognising this is an older game, it isn't so old that some of the graphics issues and the horribly bulky movement should have been used. This game could have benefited from voice over as a thinking out loud commentary from the POV of the player. The real game killer is the movement:
    - turn right-click- turn left click-straight-click-straight-click... There is no sensation of actually walking or natural movement.
    I gave it a 4 for concept and there were potentially creepy moments.    … Expand
  3. tupungato
    Nov 24, 2014
    3
    I just finished this Welsh point-and-click adventure game. You find yourself in a desolate farmhouse in Wales and get to investigate strange ghost-demon related activity there. Let's begin with the fact that it was fun at some times and some of the puzzles were enjoyable. Some moments of the story, too. On the other hand, many of the puzzles were very typical (find a light bulb to enter anI just finished this Welsh point-and-click adventure game. You find yourself in a desolate farmhouse in Wales and get to investigate strange ghost-demon related activity there. Let's begin with the fact that it was fun at some times and some of the puzzles were enjoyable. Some moments of the story, too. On the other hand, many of the puzzles were very typical (find a light bulb to enter an unlit room etc.), some of the puzzles were randomly stupid. Many of the parts of the storyline are boring and they feel really random and illogical.

    The game was made in 2008, but it feels like 1997. Graphics is OK at times, but most of the time it feels like a high school project, same goes with animation (but there isn't much of that). Music is almost non existant and when it's there, it feels like MIDI made by a single person over a weekend...

    Rhiannon was made by a three person development team with Wintermute - freeware amateur software for creating point-and-click games. I got it in a game bundle, but I wouldn't recommend paying more than $1 for this game.

    Also, there are bugs. Sometimes inventory items disappear. Sometimes menu buttons (MAP) disappear. If you save afterwards, you'll never get them back. It is a known and never corrected issue.

    To sum up: if you ever played a point-and-click adventure game, you probably won't enjoy Rhiannon. If you haven't, you may enjoy it. I wouldn't recommend it though.

    GRAPHICS: 4/10
    AUDIO: 3/10
    GAMEPLAY: 3/10
    STORY: 2/10    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

98
#98 Best PC Game of 2008

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
67

Mixed or average reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. GameSpot
    75
    Welsh spooks, ancient myths, and subtle scares abound in this stylish point-and-click adventure.
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  2. GameZone
    75
    Despite agonizing movements and getting lost a lot, it’s a joy to play — and experience.
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  3. IGN
    75
    In spite of a few missteps, Rhiannon: Curse of the Four Branches is a good-looking, entertaining and well-made game, especially considering the size of the dev team. It's the perfect title for people who dig history, mystery and the paranormal, not to mention people who like to think when they game.
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