Lost Grimoires: Stolen Kingdom Critic Reviews

Lost Grimoires: Stolen Kingdom delivers an interesting adventure involving alchemy, transmutation recipes, mini-games and a new take on Hidden Object scenes.

Maybe it’s the onslaught of releases, or genre fatigue, but Lost Grimoires simply felt as if something was lacking compared to their other titles, which I really enjoyed each time. If you’re looking for a quick distraction and want some puzzles to solve, you could do worse though. Given its cheap price point it still garners a recommendation from myself, a self-proclaimed HOG expert, even if it isn’t as great as their other titles.

There’s nothing particularly wrong with Lost Grimoires: Stolen Kingdom, per se. Had I not played any Artifex Mundi game before, I’d probably be pretty satisfied with what’s on offer. It looks nice, it plays well, and the puzzles are fine. But there’s nothing particularly outstanding about it, either.

Stolen Kingdom, the latest work from Artifex Mundi, is worth it if you don’t expect much from it. It offers an amusing but brief adventure that could had been improved if its creators had taken risks with some new gameplay features.

After a great run of titles, Lost Grimoires: Stolen Kingdom doesn't quite match up to the standard of those that have gone before it.

The visuals are bright, and despite their overly rich nature, the screens are easy to read. The character graphics can be awkward though, and the voice acting is sadly pretty ho-hum, with only a few voice actors doing a bit too many characters for their skill range. Nevertheless, the numerous cut scenes enrich the experience. In the end, Lost Grimoires: Stolen Kingdom is not quite like your typical Artifex Mundi game, for better or worse. While the story is intriguing and mostly succeeds in its ambiguity, the game itself is a tad too simple.

The pros just barely outweigh the cons for me in this puzzle game. Since the puzzles are less than impressive and the animations seem to have taken a step back, it's only because the addition of the alchemy minigame and the extra easy completion that I would recommend this game. Without a doubt, this is one of the most forgettable Artifex Mundi titles.