Sacra Terra: Kiss of Death Review – A Wild Ride into Hell

I’m something of a veteran of hidden object games, despite my visual handicap.

I’m something of a veteran of hidden object games, despite my visual handicap. While I’m not a huge fan of that type of puzzle, the hidden object genre in recent years has produced some games which boast truly epic storytelling, and that’s what always gets me. I find most of these on my laptop through Big Fish Games, and a few years ago, one of my discoveries was a marvelously dark game from Alawarcalled Sacra Terra: Angelic Night . It was long, immersive, and I had to stay up until stupid o’clock in the morning to find out how it ended.

Flash forward to a few weeks ago, when I received an email from my editor announcing that Alawar wanted someone from IGM to reviewRemembering how much I had liked the first game, I pounced on it. It’s available on multiple platforms, but my review is based on my experiences playing it on my PlayStation 3.

The story of Kiss of Death is not a continuation or sequel for Angelic Night ; it includes none of the same characters or locations. You play as a young woman whose boyfriend, Mark, has some slight commitment issues (at least according to the in-game journal). While you’re dining on the deck of your apartment, it looks like he’s finally ready to propose… only for you to leave the table to answer your ringing telephone. While you’re out of sight for ten seconds, Mark gets diverted by a book you picked up at a flea market. He reads a spell out loud, accidentally summoning a succubus who promptly drags him through a portal into hell. Not the most auspicious beginnings for a happily-ever-after, but being the devoted girlfriend you are, you decide to rescue the hapless dolt. What follows is a dramatic, engaging, complex adventure that will keep you intrigued all the way to the end.

My biggest praise is for the graphics, which are beautifully rendered. However, this comes at something of a price. I know that most gamers today have high-definition screens; sadly, I am not one of them. The result of playing Kiss of Death on my rather outdated television is that anything in the way of writing is tiny . It probably looks fabulous on a high-def screen, though, and the characters and backgrounds are gorgeous even on my fifteen-year-old monster. If you don’t have a high-definition television, don’t worry; Kiss of Death is also available for PC, Mac, iPad, and iPhone. In terms of sound, the background music is pleasing and the effects during cutscenes are stellar. The voice acting is largely excellent; I was particularly impressed by that of Lilith, the succubus.

There are two difficulty modes, Casual and Expert, which is business-as-usual for these types of games. As you move the cursor around on your screen, it turns into a variety of typical hidden object icons – a pointing finger, a magnifying glass, etc. – to suggest your course of action. Once you play through the prologue and actually reach Sacra Terra Island, you acquire a map with fast travel capabilities; this is a lifesaver, as you would otherwise spend a great deal of time running back and forth. The map is also color-coded to indicate the areas where you can perform an action, which is likewise very helpful. The puzzles which are not hidden object scenes are tricky without being impossible, and the game does very much make you think.

It’s not a perfect game, particularly when it comes to the actual hidden object scenes themselves. In some of them, you must perform an action to reveal concealed items on your list; however, in many of the other games of this sort that I’ve played, the cursor changes when you hover over the part of the scene where this happens. Kiss of Death provides no such indication. Those parts of the scenes will glint subtly, if you wait long enough, but the glinting is very easy to miss. Easily my biggest peeve, however, is the faulty hint button. Multiple times while working my way through hidden object scenes, I clicked on the hint button for a clue and absolutely nothing happened. Usually, when you click the hint button, the image of a ghostly heart appears where you need to focus your attention, but it didn’t always work. I actually asked my husband to help me watch for the hint symbol a few times, so that I could be sure I wasn’t simply failing to notice it, and he said the same thing. On the plus side, the game doesn’t penalize you for clicking on the wrong object, so you can try as long as it takes to complete a hidden object puzzle.

Overall, my complaints are few, and I found Sacra Terra: Kiss of Death to be every bit as enjoyable as its predecessor. Gamers who enjoy puzzles should definitely give it a try. It’s available both in a standard format and also as a special collector’s edition, which includes a bonus chapter that you can play once you’ve completed the main game. Look for it on Alawar’s website, at Big Fish Games, or on the PlayStation Store.