This is three hours or so of gentle pixelly point and click capers,
involving a dead old lady, a dragon and the realm in between worlds. It
never reaches any great heights but is a reasonably enjoyable way to
pass its playing time.
Episode 2 picks up where Episode 1 left up, which is helpfully
recapped before you start. I hadn't played the first but while the recap
is brief, it provided the salient points. Doris is looking for her
husband, who died ten years ago, and having crossed the river Styx, she
has arrived at a kind of after-life departure lounge where things get
sorted before crossing over. Norb the Transitional Support Dragon has
come too. The Management complex stands before her, and off she goes.
Not everything though is all as it seems.
Episode 2 ends with "to be continued" so don't expect any
resolution. Nonetheless, at the end of the instalment you will know a
little bit more about the mystery surrounding Albert, and Doris will be
off to the next location.
It's graphically minimalist, yet whilst nowhere near as detailed as
say a Wadget Eye game it provides a cheerful canvas for Doris'
adventure. Ambient sound and a musical score are both present, and can
be tweaked in terms of volume or even turned right off. Both probably
outscored the voice acting, which never got much better than OK, but
taken as a whole it suited the game's overall sense of home grown
frivolity.
Everything is point and click. Right click to examine objects, left
to use or collect them. Double click to scurry Doris about in her leg
waggling way. You also get to play Norb late in the game, so get the
wings ready.
There aren't a lot of things to find, and any hotspot will likely be
relevant. Move the mouse to the top of the screen to activate the
inventory ribbon, and you can then examine or use items, and
occasionally combine. Like any such game, not everything conundrum
solution is logical, but there is usually enough information available
in the game to suggest a way forward. I did though try a few things with
everything here and there.
Doris likes to chat, and there are quite a few characters to chat
with. Many have more than a few things to chat about. Doris can also
call Nord, which may result in an insight as to what to try next.
What else?
Doris herself is rather likable and well crafted. I particularly
liked her red trolley. Save at will, and a puzzle near the end might be
a little frustrating. The game can be humorous, and being able to speak
whale could be helpful.
It is clear when you watch the credits that the makers had a good
time with it. You might too.
I played on:
OS: Windows 10, 64 Bit
Processor: Intel i7-9700k 3.7 GHz
