Enigmatis: The Ghosts of Maple Creek

 Xbox One
Metascore
66

Mixed or average reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 8
  3. Negative: 1 out of 8
  1. XBLA Fans
    Jun 2, 2016
    40
    Enigmatis: The Ghosts of Maple Creek isn’t horrible, but it isn’t great. It finds itself somewhere in purgatory, floating in between the spectrum. On one hand, you have a game that lets you skip all the gameplay, and enjoy a simple ghost tale. On the other hand, you have a game with roundabout puzzles that are not so fun to play through. Either way, Maple Creek is filled with mystery and trash.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 7 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 7
  3. Negative: 1 out of 7
  1. GBHBL
    Apr 26, 2016
    8
    Artifex Mundi continue their trend of quality puzzle/adventure games (similar style to point & click games) with Enigmatis: Ghosts of MapleArtifex Mundi continue their trend of quality puzzle/adventure games (similar style to point & click games) with Enigmatis: Ghosts of Maple Creek showcasing one of their strongest stories to date.

    The game opens with a woman waking outside having no memory of how she got there. She is in Maple Creek & a storm has ripped through the town devastating the surroundings. There isn’t a soul in sight & in the distance the church bell tolls continuously.

    Taking control, the aim is to recover her memory while investigating the reason she even came to Maple Creek. It seems as though she is a detective & came here to investigate the disappearance of a young woman. Something strange is going on in Maple Creek & the explanation is far sinister than she could ever have imagined.

    Gameplay is straight forward; you have no direct control over the character rather you point your cursor to locations & click to move there. In each area there are items to be picked up, puzzles to be solved & an item search mini-game that might be a bit over-used here. These aren’t normally too bad but the frequency they arise gets a bit frustrating nearer the end.

    They offer convenient ways to find an item that you might need to progress but this happens far too often to be anything but lazy. To top it all off these item search mini games are some of the hardest ones I’ve done with items blending in incredibly well among the piles you have to search through.

    On the other end of the scale the puzzles are fun & just the right amount of challenging, never frustrating & there is always that sense of satisfaction upon completing one. Items that are picked up are stored in your inventory for use later. Every item you pick up has a use & you’ll be revisiting locations constantly to unlock the next area of the game.

    There are a lot of locations you can visit in Maple Creek so the hint button is handy to show you where to go next. It can also be used to show you where an item is in the item search mini-game & used to skip puzzles although it has a recharge timer (but I would suggest not using it as the game really won’t be much fun if you’re skipping everything).

    The locations are interesting & backgrounds are gorgeous, a highlight of the series of games so far. Being a super-natural orientated game there are plenty of moments where the spooky factor is cranked up & amazingly it’s very effective here. The town of Maple Creek is a creepy location & as the story unfolds it becomes more & more sinister. This is one of the darker stories Artifex Mundi have told.

    One of my favourite inclusions here is the evidence tracker that sees you collecting scraps of information & adding them to your evidence wall. It’s really cool to see it all come together slowly as you add more information to the correct section be it…the victims, the villain or the mysterious detective that came before you.

    The game can be completed in a few short hours but it’s ending will leave you satisfied (even if it has a ‘to be continued…’). A bonus episode is thrown in showing what took place in the town when the first detective arrived looking for his missing love. It’s very short, lasting about 30-45 minutes & doesn’t really add much to the overall game.

    One of the best stories that has appeared in this series of games so far let down slightly by the over-use of the item search mini-game. Still well worth picking up.    … Full Review »
  2. osprey
    Apr 11, 2016
    9
    Great game. Loved the puzzles and the atmosphere. Would buy more games from this developer for sure and any sequels would be welcomed.Great game. Loved the puzzles and the atmosphere. Would buy more games from this developer for sure and any sequels would be welcomed. Really relaxing to play but still has an underlying creepy atmosphere to fit the subject matter. My only complaint is that the picture search puzzles would benefit from a zoom which I believe is available on the pc version. Still a wonderful game. Thanks to the team for bringing this to consoles.… Full Review »
  3. Daelus
    May 1, 2016
    5
    To be honest, I am not positive what I thought this game would be as I have never played this style previously, but it has been a very badTo be honest, I am not positive what I thought this game would be as I have never played this style previously, but it has been a very bad year if you are anything but a shooter fan, so....

    This is a very simplistic game, with some very easy puzzles that take 2 or 3 forms, with the majority being a search for items in a picture (like a crossword but actual items); this one activity is the majority of the game and you continually backtrack to the exact same dozen or so spots "solving" these and getting the next item needed to advance the "plot",

    As a children's game I think this would be fantastic and I will definitely share with my niece; however for adults, let alone gamers, there isn't much to see here....not challenging, very repetitive, bland story and voice-acting; on expert it takes 4 or 5 hours...on normal the game would blur by (I played the post-game on normal and it was ridiculously easy).    … Full Review »
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