Sea of Lies: Beneath the Surface Collector's Edition

The oceans of the world are still largely unexplored, and we have found enough weird things so far to be hesitant about what sort of creatures might be hiding even deeper. Granted, it probably won’t be a herd of Loch Ness monsters, but there are plenty of strange tentacled creatures that could very well be Cthulhu’s relatives.

Sea of Lies: Beneath the Surface Collector's Edition is a hidden object adventure game in which you play the role of a doctor who must deal with a mysterious plague, as well as some sort of huge sea monster. Pirates are part of the equation too, so there’s certainly enough conflict to get anyone interested. On the other hand, the puzzles and the gameplay mechanics are nothing to be amazed by.

The puzzles usually involve finding some sort of prerequisite item in order to unlock a door or a container, which grants you even more objects that can be used later on. Most of the fun is in the hunt itself, although there are a couple of actual puzzles you’ll be tackling along the way. You can skip them if you choose the lower difficulty levels, but you definitely shouldn’t, because you’ll miss a good portion of the game.

Actual hidden object sequences have to be solved every now and again as well, but the mechanics vary every time. There’s usually more to it than just clicking on the right items, since some of them have to be combined, or they are inaccessible at first for some reason. This keeps you from getting bored, although such gimmicks get old rather quickly.

Hints come in handy if you are unable to find what you are supposed to, although there’s a cooldown period between them. The graphics are about as nice as you would expect in the genre, which means that the backgrounds and the scenes are very detailed, but the animations and the cutscenes are quite stiff and awkward most of the time.

When it’s all said and done, Sea of Lies: Beneath the Surface Collector's Edition is not the most original or exciting adventure game out there, but it can be enough in the right circumstances. Hence, if you do not have high expectations and are prepared to deal with repetitive mechanics, this could certainly keep you busy for a few hours.