The Legend of Crystal Valley
April 3, 2009

Platform: Download (Windows)

The Legend of Crystal Valley is a mini-epic adventure game with an eclectic mix of fantasy and sci-fi elements. Gather items, solve both environmental and inventory puzzles, and examine everything you see as you travel through over 150 locations, each just as extraordinary as the last.

The main character, Eve, receives a note from her father asking her to visit his estate. After exploring the old farmhouse she discovers a portal that takes her to a fantasy realm known as Crystal Valley. A number of strange worlds collide here, leaving creatures such as dragons, witches, aliens and robots stranded in the most unusual of cirsumstances. Even more unusual is the fact that everyone seems to know her father! You'll run across a number of portals through space and time, magic spells and other oddities as you search for Eve's father and a way out of this strange world.

The gameplay sticks closely to traditional adventure fare. The mouse is your weapon of choice and allows you to take and use items, examine objects, and travel between scenes. The cursor changes color depending on which action you can perform, which is a nice user-friendly touch. Most of the gameplay consists of carrying out tasks and favors for characters in order to collect objects that solve the level. Eve has a knack for fixing an assortment of machines and you'll use this talent to solve several mini-puzzles along the way.

Analysis: While many games don't change much beyond what the demo showcases, The Legend of Crystal Valley isn't afraid to take you on a wild ride. You would never expect the many varied locations and bizarre characters you encounter given the modest starting location. The game has an ambitious storyline that works both for and against it. Mixing science fiction and fantasy is one thing, but to also include Eastern European mythology as well as references to the modern world is a little over-the-top, and the plot suffers from a lack of cohesion, especially at the end. However, the broad, complex scope motivates you to keep playing to see what will happen next, and the variety of worlds you visit makes you feel as if anything could happen.

The locations are quite compelling and beautifully rendered. The backgrounds, lighting and shadows are filled with detail. Traveling through impressive environments is what makes this game fun to play. Adventure fans will feel a bit disappointed with the slightly rough look and feel, as character animations are choppy and imprecise and Eve's default movement speed is agonizingly slow (hold the [spacebar] and she'll get a little spring in her step). Seeing as this was an self-financed indie effort, we can cut them some slack. There is no spoken dialogue (and a bit too much written dialogue), but it was originally intended for English speaking audience, so everything reads smoothly.

Although parts of its presentation could use a little polish and shine, The Legend of Crystal Valley delivers a wonderfully deep storyline and a great variety of locations that make playing from beginning to end an experience worth absorbing.