Dark Arcana: The Carnival

5/10 would grab on DEEP sale
- only about 3 hours of gameplay
+ story
- no fast travel
- reskined some of the exact same puzzles from the other games

This is a decent point-and-click hidden object game (HOG) with occasional puzzles.
The dark-themed story was enjoyable. The music and sound design are pleasant. However, some puzzles and the animation felt awkward, and the voice acting is merely passable.
You can play through the HOG scenes or choose an alternate game mode called Monaco. A short bonus chapter is also included. To achieve all the achievements, you'll need to complete the main game twice and the bonus chapter once. Consulting the Steam guides is recommended for this.
The main game takes roughly 4 to 5 hours to complete once. Earning the remaining achievements will likely add another 1 to 2 hours.
If you're considering trying it, look for a discounted price or a bundle. Just don't set your expectations too high.
My verdict: 5.5/10.

One of the good ones. Fluid play, engrossing story with a believable twist, good and original art, easy but adequate puzzles. As inevitable with Artifex mundi games, the American female lead voice is awful, but well... Not the creators' fault.

Great hidden object/puzzle game. Reminds me of the ones I used to play. Fun story line and the puzzles were not too difficult but did have a little challenge. I really liked the fact that there is a bonus game after you finish which wraps up all loose ends.

I first played this game when I was very young with my sister and I later on searched everywhere for this game and finally found it here. I personally love this game, partially because of nostalgia. If you have ever played games by Artifex Mundi or any point and click hidden object game you won't find much new here. It does suffer from the same issues that many of these games do like very unintuitive puzzles and object placement, but that shouldn't take away from the experience. The puzzles are fun, if not frustrating at times, the story is good and the visuals are standard for a hidden object game. It was an overall enjoyable experience. I would definitely recommend getting this game on sale though, considering there is only 3 hours of gameplay. This is worth it for anyone who enjoys these types of games and it is also a good introduction to hidden object games for beginners. I feel that these game often don't get the love they deserve so despite its flaws this is a good game to add to your collection.

Nice game with a good story. Only drawback is that some of the search puzzles are recycled. Usually those screens in other games are also recycled, but with other objects to search for. Here they have some searches with basically the same items in the same spot, which you already know by then.
Can still recommend though.

Another classic hidden objects games for me. Love the places around the map, especially in the mirror world. The Monaco can be a bit annoying but overall not too bad. The puzzles are not too hard. 8.8/10 would recommend.