So here we are, the final part of Adam Wolfe’s Episodic paranormal investigation. The case has taken quite a lot away from both Adam and myself, how he’s escaped death multiple times, fought off deranged cultists and danced with demonic spirits, and I’ve been there for the whole crazy ride. It may be a short episodic story in comparison to most available right now, but I’ve still dedicated a large amount of time apprehending how it all comes to end, so ultimately was it worth playing? But first, a quick recap.
Adam Wolfe is a series click and point/hidden object adventures from the team at Mad Head Studios, releasing as a 4-part season on Steam. The series revolves from renowned paranormal investigator Adam Wolfe, a cool confident dude who tackles the unexplainable and bewildering cases that the cops can’t handle. So far we’ve seen Adam seal away an Ancient Flame demon into a powerful dagger, seen him fight off demons to open a mysterious magic box, and in the last episode, we saw Adam coming face to face with a powerful time traveling cult, blimey I’m out of breath just writing this. After episode 3 left us with a juicy cliff hanger, the end was definitely nigh, and for a narrative that I’ve certainly enjoyed, does it come to a satisfying conclusion? Well … kinda.
Episode 4, entitled Zero Hour, is by far the strongest entry in regards to a deep, trippy narrative, yet disappointingly it seems to come to a rather abrupt ending. Without giving too much away, the final episode begins at the exact point its predecessor ceases, with Alex waking up after taking a bullet to the chest after attempting to save his sister Allie, who revealed she had been in cohorts with mysterious cult, The Timeless, and had gotten herself into a little pickle. Alex travels around the city searching for demonic symbols to fill a kind of book of the dead, which will eventually lead him to saving his and Allie’s life, seems epic right? So, imagine my upset upon reaching the end for it to be summarized in a poorly executed twist and a rushed conclusion that doesn’t really explain anything nor tempt me into revisiting the game if a second season gets released. It’s a tremendous shame, as throughout I’ve greatly commended the story and enjoyed it immensely, yet right at the final hurdle it comes a cropper and leaves a bit of a sour taste behind. For a narrative that has remained so fast paced, it became almost too literal and soon after the reveal/twist, I blinked and the credits were rolling.
Just as the story began to pick up, so did the difficulty and ambiguity of its puzzles. As this installment was a bit more “trippy” and psychological, each puzzle and hidden item task featured was just as weird but nicely a lot more challenging than the ones that have come before. In regards to gameplay, I’ve essentially just been playing the same game 4 times, however if it ain’t broken don’t fix it, and never at any point has it been dull or repetitive. The only criticism I do have of this episode’s content is that some of the puzzles didn’t offer any guidance on what to actually do, so for a good few minutes I was just blankly staring at my screen, completely bewildered. There is thankfully an in-game guide, however that just gives you the solutions rather than assistance on the puzzle, so not only did I have no idea on what to do, but once solved I still had no idea what I had to do. Throughout the entire game the puzzles have been pretty intricate, difficult and fun to complete. They’re not gonna win any awards or stimulate enthusiasts, but for what is ultimately a graphic novel with a few tasks here and there, it’s thoroughly enjoyable and a joy to experience.
Despite the savagely quick ending, Zero Hour is still the best episode of the lot, which is saying something considering this season has gotten better and better with each entry. The narrative is the strangest one yet and the puzzles are the most difficult so far, it is just a shame that the final 5% of the game is rather disappointing, stopping it from being perfect. I must admit, coming into this series I wasn’t expecting much, but right from the off I was thrown into this crazy, rollercoaster ride of a story that had me hooked right until the very end. The ending may have tried it’s best to put me off, however I do hope that I get a chance to reacquaint myself with Adam Wolfe in the near future, to see where his next cases take him, but until then, I’ll let Adam take a well-earned holiday, I’ve heard Hell is nice this time of year.
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