The Book of Unwritten Tales: Critter Chronicles

 PC
User Score
6.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 36 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 36
  3. Negative: 3 out of 36

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  1. BinarySplit
    Apr 4, 2013
    7
    Though it's marketed as stand-alone, this really is more of a prequel expansion pack for the original TBoUT. It doesn't make much sense without first playing the original as many of the characters aren't introduced. Overall, it doesn't really have as much depth. I completed it in about 7 hours half as long as the original. It's still funny and enjoyable, but I'd recommend the originalThough it's marketed as stand-alone, this really is more of a prequel expansion pack for the original TBoUT. It doesn't make much sense without first playing the original as many of the characters aren't introduced. Overall, it doesn't really have as much depth. I completed it in about 7 hours half as long as the original. It's still funny and enjoyable, but I'd recommend the original TBoUT over this any day.… Expand
  2. joshxdr
    Nov 8, 2013
    8
    Critter Chronicles is a point and click adventure game with a comedy theme. Most of the puzzles are inventory based, with a few minigames thrown in. None of the puzzles are too hard, although I did get stuck once on a minigame and had to consult a walkthrough. About half of the game was completed by my nine-year-old with a little help. I think this is a great game to play with your kids,Critter Chronicles is a point and click adventure game with a comedy theme. Most of the puzzles are inventory based, with a few minigames thrown in. None of the puzzles are too hard, although I did get stuck once on a minigame and had to consult a walkthrough. About half of the game was completed by my nine-year-old with a little help. I think this is a great game to play with your kids, they love the sophomoric humor. Some of the jokes are laugh-out-loud funny. Overall I thought this game was a little more polished and clever than the first one. I definitely recommend playing BoUT first before playing this game, since the story makes more sense this way. Overall the game was very entertaining for the story and the comedy, the puzzles keep you busy but are not all that challenging.… Expand
  3. akarnokd
    Jan 30, 2014
    7
    Not that bad of the game, but feels less funny than the previous version. It is shorter, which I appreciated. Characters now move and run across the screen more often, but still one has to wait out animations and most cutscenes without the ability to skip them, which is kind of a downside if one wants to hunt for the hard-difficulty achievements right after finishing the game.
  4. dumle
    Jul 12, 2015
    5
    note: I have not played the first "the book of unwritten tales" so i can't compare this game to that game. There is also a possibility that i missed out on jokes or references because of this.

    I did enjoy my time with this game for the most part. The presentation is nice and i enjoyed the voice acting in the game. The lack of support for 16:9 ratio kind of sucks but it is hardly a deal    note: I have not played the first "the book of unwritten tales" so i can't compare this game to that game. There is also a possibility that i missed out on jokes or references because of this.

    I did enjoy my time with this game for the most part. The presentation is nice and i enjoyed the voice acting in the game. The lack of support for 16:9 ratio kind of sucks but it is hardly a deal breaker. There could also have been a bit more environments in the game but overall i enjoyed the presentation of the game and i found it to pretty charming.

    The story and character was also pretty charming and they kept me interested throughout the game. I wouldn't call anything especially good but they were enjoyable enough even though there could have been some more characters in the game.

    Overall i found everything except the puzzles to be enjoyable though nothing amazing. There are however a lot of really nonsensical puzzles in this game and i can't imagine that people could figure them out without simply trying every possible combination. It might just be me who is dumb and i am sure that there are people who really enjoy the challenge but they were just to many nonsensical and far fetched puzzles in the game for my taste. And it did somewhat screw up my enjoyment of the game.

    If you are fine with that then this game is a charming and competent adventure game.    … Expand
  5. Purgatory1
    Oct 4, 2014
    5
    Caution: this game doesn't work with Creative X-Fi soundcards, you will get stuck after the intro. The technical part of this game is horrible, there's no master volume setting or sound device selection, you can't change the mouse pointer speed and 16:10 screens are not supported (black bars left/right).
    The previous part had the same problem but there was at least a workaround available.    Caution: this game doesn't work with Creative X-Fi soundcards, you will get stuck after the intro. The technical part of this game is horrible, there's no master volume setting or sound device selection, you can't change the mouse pointer speed and 16:10 screens are not supported (black bars left/right).
    The previous part had the same problem but there was at least a workaround available.

    Imho overall worse than the first part.

    Most of the riddles are absolutely absurd and not in a funny way. They can sometimes just be solved by randomly + multiply clicking items / persons. Almost none of them can be solved by logic or intuitively.

    It nevertheless overall is a somehow entertaining game and at least some jokes are actually funny. Graphics and sound are okay (for a point&click adventure) despite the mentioned problems.
    The story of the game is okay but nothing special.    … Expand
  6. Torgall
    Dec 12, 2020
    6
    Although it seems to be marked as stand-alone, I treat it as a kind of prequel DLC for the first game. Nothing groundbreaking, definitely worse the core game, but still fun.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. PC Games
    Apr 8, 2013
    81
    A fun adventure prologue thanks to likable characters, nice production values and a good sense of humor. Writing and puzzle design are not on par with the original though.
    Read full review
  2. CD-Action
    Feb 6, 2013
    75
    Even The Three-Headed Monkey would not be unable to distract you from The Critter Chronicles’ shortcomings but this prequel to The Book of Unwritten Tales is still likeable. It’s just smaller in every aspect.[CD-Action 02/2013, p.56]
  3. PC Master (Greece)
    Feb 4, 2013
    72
    Despite limited environments and unstable puzzle design, Critter Chronicles is saved by the subtle charm of its characters and by some witty ideas. [February 2013]
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