Gameplay & Story
Obviously I was going to do this sooner or later, as I already did Elansar, so here goes. This time you play as Elina and you need to save your husband. The game is played inside a dream which is always a nice twist on things and allows for more creative visuals. That's all I'm gonna say as there are some spoilers if you haven't played the first game
Basically the game is more of the same, point & click your way through, solving puzzles along the way, rinse, repeat...the puzzels are more complex than before but not impossible.
This time you get to look around 360° by either dragging your cursor to the left or right side of the screen, so it basically feels more like a FPS. Controls are nearly identical to Elansar, mouse and joypad are supported, look for items, click to stored em in a pouch (inventory), ready to be used at will. Saving is also done automatically.
Graphics
More of the pre-rendered stuff the first game was made of, but I must add that this game really improves on the first one. Where Elansar has a more static feel to it (click your way into the next screen over & over again), this one loads an area in 3D (which looks great), but it also lets you look around 360°which is new for an indie game AND very smooth to say the least. It all looks rather dark, but considering it is a dream & all...it does what it needs to do.
There are some loading times in Philia, no big ones though; a few seconds here, a few there. More like the loading times when entering a house in an RPG or something, but I'm not surprised by this as the areas are way bigger than before.
Sound/Music
Soundscapes, gloomy piano, etc...really adds to the atmosphere. Clicking sounds, doors opening & slamming shut, that sort of thing. Just what a game like this needs.
Replay
Same as before: once a year or so.
Overall
8/10
A well deserved 8, for the wonderful pre-rendered 3D stuff this time. imho Orion did an even better job on this one than on Elansar. Good job
