Blackthorn Castle 2

Just like the other Syntaxity games, this one provides a few hours of hunting, searching, and puzzle solving. Nothing annoyingly tricky here puzzle-wise, but enough to scratch that puzzle solving itch. I like that the Syntaxity games make an effort to have the game tell a story, even if they are a tad silly. I also really appreciate that the games don’t revolve around darkness, psychological scariness, blood, and gloom as seems to be the trend with some in this genre. This is just me, but I prefer to solve puzzles without the lurking threat of zombies, mutants, monsters, and evil cabals (which is why I’m such a fan of the House of DaVinci games). Longer and more complex than the original Blackthorn Castle (which I also liked), if you enjoyed others in this series, you’ll get your money’s worth on this one. The Enchanted Worlds and Rescue the Enchanter are my other faves from Syntaxity. As with all of their games, this one does offer hints, but you shouldn’t need them, if you’re patient. This game, like all the others, also offers an ability to zip around the expansive map (over 100 different locations in this one), if you want to spend an extra $.99 for that feature (I don’t particularly mind tromping back and forth, since a second, third, or fourth look at a location often reveals something I missed the first time). Good addition to the lineup.