Frankenstein Master of Death

Frankenstein: Master of Death will not give you the story from Mary Shelley's book, nor show you its own strikingly unique interpretation. It won't offer much in art, puzzles, or sound. It's more or less a game like dozens of others from its niche. But there are a few interesting details why you may want to try it - just for kicks.

Plot - 6/10

The plot has nothing to write home about. Your friend, Victor Frankenstein, sends you a letter and asks you to come help him with some urgent matter. But when you do, he's not there to meet you, most paths are blocked, and a big hulking monster is roaming the neighborhood. Seems not so bad, but the story becomes pretty strained further on. Only flashbacks of the past retain some amount of good writing and sense. In addition, the final speech at the end of the game was too toplofty to be well-received.

Gameplay & Puzzles - 7/10

Frankenstein: Master of Death has standard gameplay for hidden object type of games. You search for different things in the world and sometimes in specially constructed scenes, you use the found objects and solve puzzles. That's pretty much it. So, how does it work here? Hidden object scenes and the puzzles are okay; from time to time, they even have some unique ideas, but they're all too easy. Most of the 'open-world' puzzles are plain ridiculous. You find a key right next to the chest it opens or a code to the safe is written on a wall in large letters right above it. If the devs wanted to make a joke - a series of jokes - they succeeded.

In addition, I have to mention a unique decision with gameplay mechanics. We all know that hidden object games have many conventions that generate memes and jokes or even exasperate some people from time to time. For example, the simple fact that you throw away every thing after a single use. In this game, you don't. You carry it with you and use it over and over. A knife, a screwdriver, a wrench, a pickaxe, an iron gauntlet, a saw, a feather duster, a crowbar, shears... That's not even the whole list. I'm already lost in my inventory and understand the reason why we throw everything out in other similar games. My character can't possibly walk right now. He must have a big hiking backpack and crawl from one location to another. Still, I'm grateful to the creators for the opportunity to see something like this.

Graphics & Visual Design - 5/10

I must be honest with you. When I just started the playthrough, my first thought was 'Wow, realistic style. And quite nicely made too. I like it.' Well... that was a mistake. Most of the game really looks quite decent despite the obviously small budget. But then suddenly we have cartoon-like objects amongst all the realistic ones. Feels weird, right? There's more. How about bad 3D textures of animals that obviously belong in another place? I mean, I'm no game developer, but I doubt it could've cost that much more to draw a normal tiger.

Soundtrack - 6/10

Not much to say here. I didn't notice any sounds or music out of place, but I didn't remember anything either. Will do.

Atmosphere - 8/10

The game itself is too torn and incongruous to offer too much in terms of atmosphere, but the backgrounds suit each other well and create a genuine feeling of being in some fog-cloaked distant town with a roaming monster about. And they not only are consistent with each other but also with the story and the intriguing ideas of Mary Shelley herself.

Verdict - 6/10

If you want to play a more or less decent hidden object game or you're feeling melancholic and wanna relax with some fog, mist, and mystery - Frankenstein: Master of Death may be just for you. Besides, I still recommend checking it out to feel this overloaded inventory. The understanding of all the convolutions of the matter blew my mind. Otherwise, there's really no specific reason to try this game out. You won't lose much if you pass.