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About the StoryIt was meant to be a routine visit on behalf of the imperial government, just to remind the settlers that the Empire hadn't forgotten them, and if you stick rigidly to the letter of your orders and refuse to use either your eyes or your initiative that's all it'll be. But with an interstellar war brewing in the background, you'd be wise not to take anything for granted.Game Details
Language: English (en-GB)
Current Version: 2.01 License: Freeware Development System: TADS 3 Baf's Guide ID: 2943 IFID: 81702977-39AB-348D-B914-E4422DDDFD83 TUID: qpecxgjpxnvw50xq |
Awards
3rd Place overall; 2nd Place, Miss Congeniality Awards - 12th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition (2006)
Winner, Best Game; Nominee, Best Story; Nominee, Best Puzzles; Winner, Best Individual NPC - 2006 XYZZY Awards
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Member Reviews
| Average Rating:  Number of Reviews: 3 Write a review |
Nice and enjoyable game, June 9, 2008The settings might sound a bit cliché but works well, it reminded me of some Asimov's novels, 'The Naked Sun' or maybe the 'Foundation' serie. There is a distinctively old-school sci-fi aspect to the game.
Technically, I found the game flawless : there was no dead-end, the built-in hint system was really nice and I really liked the conversation system.
(Spoiler - click to show)
Regarding the plot (and the title), maybe I missed something, but I was a bit disappointed that the planet hadn't some sort of secret itself. At one point I even thought that the Elders had manipulated both the Imperial and Federation spies to hide something bigger.
Where are the Last Two Points?, March 24, 2008The puzzles fit seamlessly into the story, and are on the easy to moderate scale. These range from the perennial find-the-key to distract the animal to proceed.
There are three NPC's in the story, two of these are very well drawn. The dialog choices with them drive the narrative forward in a very nice and natural way.
I would have given this game four stars, but have given it three because of a slight niggle with the ending. All through the game you have quite definite objectives, but at the end it is not very clear how to finally finish. In the end I finished the game with 28 points and have been unable to get the final two points, even with the built in hints.
In brief, I thought it the discrepancy between how much the player is likely to guess about the situation and how little the character figures out on his own was well handled and most interesting to me from a design standpoint, though the game is also thoroughly implemented.
If you enjoyed The Elysium Enigma...
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Recommended Lists
The Elysium Enigma appears in the following Recommended Lists:Active Non-player Characters by Emily Short
Games which make use of non-player characters that have a great deal of independence, often moving around and acting on their own, or taking the lead in conversation. Some of these are more successful than others, but all are likely to...
Polls
The following polls include votes for The Elysium Enigma:Games with high replay value by Wendymoon
What games do you find yourself returning to again and again? Maybe to get every last lousy point, to do some amusing things, to try for different endings or just for the enjoyment of replaying?
This is version 3 of this page, edited by Dave Chapeskie on 29 April 2009 at 6:16pm. - View Update History - Edit This Page - Add a News Item