The Dark Eye: Memoria

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Description

The game is a point-and-click adventure, a sequel to The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav released a year before. Memoria is set in the realm of Aventuria ‒ the game is based on The Dark Eye universe, a fantasy role-playing game very popular in Germany. The story picks up shortly after the end of the previous game: our hero, a bird-catcher Geron, is travelling with a fairy, Nuri, only in the body of a raven. As he seeks for a cure ‒ any type of magic spell or artifact ‒ to transform the fairy back, Geron happens onto a travelling merchant promising to change Nuri back into a fairy. A deal is: Geron solves the riddle based on the tales of a long forgotten princess Sadja, and the merchant provides the magic spell. So is introduced the story of a second protagonist, Sadja, at the very beginning of the game.

We are once again in Andergast, Geron's home city and the capital of the kingdom of the same name. This time the events in the "real world" revolve around Geron completing pretty mundane tasks in Andergast and nearby forest. His goal is to learn more of Sadja's story. Her story, on the other hand, is an epic quest set some 450 years ago, covering ancient tombs, forests, mountains and fortresses. As Geron uncovers more and more of her past through journals and mysterious dreams, Nuri starts losing her memory of the time she were a fairy...

The gameplay is mostly traditional for point-and-click adventures, though, as it is often in Daedalic's adventures, there are some additional mechanics. Traditional gameplay is represented by items in your inventory which you can examine or use with objects around you. You can also combine them with other items you have. This point-and-click mechanic is accompanied by several spells your characters can cast: Geron can break/repair brittle items, while Sadja (shortly after the onset) can use up to three spells provided by her magic companion (an ability she, obviously, loses when they get separated). For example, the ability to send visions of nearby objects and people to the characters, so that you can mildly incline them to do something they don't want to. Memoria also features several puzzles where the player is expected to pay close attention to their environment or chose the correct actions.

In case the player gets confused, this game features tools to simplify solving puzzles. First, which is already customary, the "point of interest" are highlighted when you press Spacebar (or the corresponding button in the inventory). Second, you can enable combination helper through the Options. This tool makes your cursor glow as soon as you hover an item over a point of interest you can use it with (though, the helper is not consistently reliable). Finally, several time-consuming puzzles you may skip altogether. There are numerous cutscenes, all of them available later as an unlockable content, so you may watch them again. The game also has achievements: some are unlocked automatically as you progress through the story, others are connected to a specific path to solve some quest or an optional action you may or may not perform (eg. turn over a roast in a tavern).

Once again, the sequel features pre-rendered background art in the same semi-realistic style. Characters are implemented in a similar manner, though main characters (as the most animated ones) are based on 3D models with hand-painted textures.

Screenshots

Promo Images

Alternate Titles

• "Memoria" -- Steam / GOG title
• "Das Schwarze Auge: Memoria" -- German title

Part of the Following Groups

• Game Engine: Visionaire
• Gameplay feature: Multiple endings
• The Dark Eye / Das Schwarze Auge universe

User Reviews

Good but not great

Windows

piltdown_man (152108)

Critic Reviews

Eurogamer.de	Windows	Aug 30, 2013	10 out of 10	100
GamingXP	Windows	Oct 04, 2013	88 out of 100	88
COGConnected / Canadian Online Gamers Network	Windows	Sep 20, 2013	81 out of 100	81
Miasto Gier	Windows	Sep 01, 2013	8 out of 10	80
Lazygamer	Windows	Oct 14, 2013	8 out of 10	80
Edge	Windows	Sep 18, 2013	7 out of 10	70
Gameblog.fr	Windows	Aug 29, 2013		70
StopGame	Windows	Sep 19, 2013		67
Riot Pixels	Windows	Sep 13, 2013	65 out of 100	65
Realm of Gaming	Windows	Oct 16, 2013	6.5 out of 10	65

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