Two thumbs up. King Art Games really pulls you in.
Euphoric elven castle placed rightly on the edge of a mountain with the bluest waters streaming upwards toward the moonlit pool. A valley of vibrant orange, yellow and red leaves peppered for miles to see while they dip up and down like a roller coaster placed on mountains and valleys.
If you can imagine a foreign wooded scene pulled from a fairytale with stones and mountains as tall as you can see with a little bit of mystery and imagination of awe, then you have arrived in my world. Something from "The nightmare before Christmas" and "9" with hints of your fantasy stories and beauty all around. These are the games I love to play. They make me feel like a child and give me the ability to imagine and believe. If you could wake up to the most beautiful open sun lit room, with golden make up tables that have majestically twisted spines crafted to run all the way up and then branch out to hold the mirror, while décor with round jeweled music boxes and a balcony with the tallest sunflowers set upon it, would you? I have, and for miles in the distance many variant colors of hue are splashed upon the scenery that could take your breath away. An elven castle so beautifully crafted. A throne lounges right in between the two pools of the Moonwell water while a very old fairy tree lathered with the colors of Autumn, which is directly in the middle of the throne room, brightens the white stone that makes up this marvel of a castle. The castle walls being nonexistent, you have nothing but beautiful nature as far as the eye can see. This goes without saying, I would love to reside in this world until my heart was content.
Here we have a game of choice. By that I mean you have to make the choices to progress in your adventure by putting an item here and an item there together to create, in a sense the key to progress. If you are having an issue with a magical plant, then you may have to waltz around and maybe read a book on plants or go and find some sort of antidote in order to save said magical plant. Very similar to "The Raven" a game that King Art Games made also. Memory and investigating are a main factor as is it in The Raven. This is not an easy game. You have locations all around the screen that you can either inspect or engage with. My advice to anyone that will have the chance to enjoy this game, look at everything, then go back and check three more times. Especially after you have completed a section of the puzzle, that one thing that you just looked and it didn't do anything, I can guarantee you that it will soon. This game can be frustrating at times, but when you complete that chapter after all the hard work, it'll be well worth your efforts. Back and forth, back and forth. That is a lot of the game summed up. Don't let that lead you to believe that this game sucks, it does not. The game is only slow. It's a magical game and I loved every minute of it, even the frustrating bits.
Graphics
As I mentioned earlier, this game has a feeling of everything fairytale, but sometimes, The Nightmare Before Christmas. the work is miraculous and stunning. I couldn't have imagined a better setting for most of the scenes. Gives you a little bit of an animated comic feel. Like the new Spiderman, into the Spider-verse. Time was definitely taken during the development. King art Games have a way with putting you into some breathtaking worlds. Similar, as I said before are this game and, The Raven. The style of the graphics pulls you right in. When you get stuck on a certain part, which you will, at least you'll have the scenery.
Gameplay
Slow, very slow at times and it can be very irritating trying to get past a certain part while not have the item needed to do so. It took more walking back and forth many times. The characters walk very slow and turn slow as well. So, the time It takes you to go from one point to the other a couple of minutes would have passed. I was thinking, why don't they allow you to have a running option? My conclusion was that it would take away from the scene and art. Also, it would take away from the way the game is meant to be played. This game is made so you can soak in everything around you. To basically just be there. If you were rushing around then, I'm sure you would miss a lot. I really hope that knowing the mechanics are slow, that it wouldn't change your mind on giving it a go. It's a great game and that is why I am vouching for it.
My conclusion
This is a great game. It has been out for a while now, but the fact that it came to Nintendo Switch is brilliant. I love the option to be able to take it on the road, anywhere around the house or on the TV. I'd have to say that playing it on the tv with my controller works best for me. King Art Games gives you this very warm feeling when playing their games, shock will also occur as well. You are setting things up, getting ready to advance to the next segment then bam! A twist. It's very satisfactory. I enjoyed the journey of the Tales that I indulged in here. Though the game is slow, don't let that stop you from giving this ago. It beats sweating over a game that you grind day to day. This would be considered a vacation for a lot of gamers.