Probably in the top 10 of Artifex Mundi Games, enjoyed it.

Enigmatis: The Ghosts of Maple Creek is one of Artifex Mundi's first hidden object games, and despite its age, is one of my absolute favorites. The popular HOG developer re-mastered and re-released the original version of the title to fit widescreens, and despite a bit of dated gameplay, at least by HOG standards, holds up really well.

Our story begins with a detective waking after a terrible storm has devastated Maple Creek. With a bout of limited amnesia that prevents her from remembering anything about the case she'd been working on, and only bits and pieces of clues that have been scattered to the wind, she must now piece together why she is there, what happened to the town, and how to save the residents from a diabolical manipulation that has spanned generations.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=423967244
Although the plot isn't completely original and is filled with plenty of clichés, it's not your standard "mother looking for missing daughter" or "bride searching for kidnapped fiancée" tale that we get way too often in these games. I love the fact that the main character is removed from the story outside of the events that happen as a result of her investigation. I also enjoyed the darker aspects - the ritual sacrifices, obsession and revenge, all given that HOG gloss, of course, but it's more engrossing storytelling than most other hidden object adventures.

Originally released in 2011, Ghosts was ahead of its time. As part of the adventure-lite gameplay, you gather evidence and clues that must be linked together in order to make deductions on the case and further the storyline. This game mechanic does a excellent job of placing you in the shoes of a detective, and in some ways is far more effective at conveying the role than many other less casual mystery games. Utilizing your skills in deduction like an old fashioned private eye adds a bit of character in a genre that is altogether too static.

That said, there are a LOT of hidden object scenes in the game. I would often go through spans where I was literally playing one scene after another. This may prove unenjoyable for those who prefer a little more adventure in their HOGs. The scenes themselves can be pretty difficult too; a few of the items were rather deceptively, and frustratingly, hidden. Oftentimes I would need to take a break from staring at the screen to refresh my eyes and take another look with a new perspective later on. As for the puzzles, most of them I had seen before, none of which were too difficult or time-consuming. A few even had slight changes that were quite refreshing (a slide puzzle that didn't make me want to break my keyboard, who'd have thought?). If I had to choose, a few more puzzles instead of hidden object scenes would have been nice, but the uneven ratio of HOSs to puzzles did not diminish my enjoyment of the game at all.

Another aspect some may find bothersome is the lack of a map with quick travel. There is a lot of backtracking involved in the game and it may prove tiring for players who are used to using the map to move around more quickly; even I found the amount of backtracking to be a tad much, and I'm generally fine with it in most games.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=431873222
Artwork and presentation is where the game really shines. Everything from the heavily damaged hotel to the countryside cottages and forest trails are beautifully painted and detailed. My favorite areas are definitely the forest trails with the warm fall colors of the autumn trees contrasting against the hazy blue night sky, giving off a lonely and secluded feel to the atmosphere that is a bit eerie yet peaceful at the same time. This is all accompanied by a beautifully haunting piano-based soundtrack that's been one of my very favorites ever since I first played the game four years ago. I simply cannot get enough of it. And while the cut-scenes have animations that are somewhat rudimentary, they lend a bit of cinematic flare to the storytelling. Even the voice acting is rather good, and I've found AM's voice actors to be quite grating in the past. There's only one voice that I felt was really out of place, but I think that might have been a stylistic choice.

A side note, I strongly recommend playing the bonus chapter. Even though you won't miss out on anything important to the main plot if you don't, there's some interesting history behind Maple Creek and the game's villain that helps flesh out the overall story.

Despite some dated elements (an overabundance of hidden object scenes, no map travel), Enigmatis: The Ghosts of Maple Creek is a classic of the genre that deserves a spot in every HOG enthusiast's library. Unless you absolutely cannot stand playing through more than a handful of hidden object scenes, make sure you grab this one. On sale or not, it's worth every penny.

Bottom Line: A classic of the hidden object genre that needs to be in every HOGGamer's library.

To most gamers, Hidden Object Adventure Games are usually associated with words like “cheap” and “casual”. Not something a “real” gamer would waste their time on. Unfortunately, those people would be missing out on some of the most beautiful, thought provoking, and narratively engaging games the industry has to offer. Developer Artifex Mundi have established themselves as the most recognized creators in this genre, with each successive title adding some new game mechanic or cleverly designed puzzle never seen before. The template from which they have continually built their success arguably began with the critically acclaimed Enigmatis: The Ghosts of Maple Creek.

Due to fan interest, this 2011 title recently saw its release on the Steam service, in the wake of its sequel, The Mists of Ravenwood. As the first in the Enigmatis series, the game does not share many of the new convenient mechanics or additional features as its sequel and other current titles. For instance, The Ghosts of Maple Creek only offers 2 difficulty modes, there are no special in-game achievements to uncover, and hidden object puzzles don’t provide a substitute mini-game you can play in case you just can’t seem to find that one elusive object (usually tucked away behind some obscure “thing” you don’t recognize). One particular cypher puzzle requires you to activate a number sequence found on a clue you pieced together. If you don’t have a particularly good memory, you have to keep going back to your evidence screen. Later games rectified this by automatically placing the code next to you on the puzzle board.


As a Murder Mystery, you travel to different locations uncovering clues to help you solve the case. However, in this game you quite literally have to travel through Maple Creek from one location to another, because the ability to instantly relocate via your map was not added until later games. This might seem frustrating at first, until you notice how various locations you revisit activate additional hidden puzzles. This kind of design tries to emulate the chaotic process a real crime-solver goes through, even if the narrative seems linear.

The story of Maple Creek itself could be viewed like an episode of "Murder She Wrote", with you playing the part of a very young Angela Lansbury, with some supernatural elements thrown in (because that’s always cool). Even today, Enigmatis still displays some of the most striking environmental artwork of any HOPA game. The visages of a storm ridden town are punctuated by incredibly subtle foliage, lightning and wind animations. Given its age, character animations are (forgivingly) amateurish with their marionette-like facial emotes and terrible lip-flaps. Additionally, the cinematic cut-scenes were not re-rendered at higher resolution for full-screen monitors, and subsequently show heavy pixelation, most likely due to upscaling. Despite this, you remain engrossed with the story and intent on revealing the town’s secrets.


By its own merits, Enigmatis: The Ghosts of Maple Creek is a great game for someone looking to try their hand at Hidden Object Adventures and for those who enjoyed The Mists of Ravenwood. Even long time players of Artifex Mundi games should take a stroll through Maple Creek, and see where it all began.

This game has a good amount of contenet for play that lasts 2+ hours. I didn't skip the storyline except the flashback sequences. Puzzles were interesting enough and hidden object sequences were challenging. Recommended.

Another lovely, head liner in Artifex Mundi's collection of Mystery games! The action kicks off right from the beginning and doesn't let up until the end credits start to roll.

A savage storm reeks havoc on the town of Maple Creek. Skies are dark, and Autumn leaves fall on untread streets. You are seemingly alone, hurt, and have no memory of what you are doing there. But you feel as though it was something important before... before...

This title is fully immersive and one of the darkest themed entries in the creator's considerable arsenal. It's also one of their best works, as it's so smarty done. The hidden objects are beautifully placed and cleverly concealed. The puzzles are well done and take a bit of a back seat in comparsion to the aforementioned. The method of detection and/or investigative model that runs throughout the game is believable and not overdone. The quality in terms of story telling is truly spot on. There are quite a bit of layers, twists and turns, psychological and horrifying moments which made it a very deep tale. The sound and visuals, are what I've come to expect by these fine developers, as setting the standard in this genre. There are no hicups and the game runs beautifully.

A very satisfying game to be sure! It leaves you wanting more because it's that damn good. And thankfully, you get more when the story is continued in Enigmatis 2: The Mists of Ravenwood. But that's a tale and review for another time... ;)

Gameplay: 8 / 10 - entertaining, simple, not frustrating in any way. It was really good!

Story: 10 / 10 - very interesting

Music: 8 / 10 - fitting the atmosphere

HOG: 9 / 10 - on few I had some troubles :D

Puzzles: 4 / 10 - too easy...

Using items puzzles: 7 / 10 - there were 2 things I think that was soooo hidden in the area, I wouldn't EVER be able to find them without a help

Locations: 9 / 10 - would be 10, but many locations were accesible... via the.... balcony... I would just go around the building :) Without this it would be 10 / 10 or even 11 / 10 :))

Ending: 7 / 10 - but:
* Ending after the small DLC: 10 / 10 - IT WAS PURE AMAZING!! WOW! :D

Protagoist: 3 / 10 - I would like to see / hear more about her... Or from her...

Logic: 8 / 10 - by logic I mean a slight kind of it. It was ok here.

Duration: 8 / 10

DLC: 6 / 10 - it was ok. Just ok. Very short, maaaaany HOGs, better ending :)

Achievements: 7 / 10 - pretty standard GOOD ones. I appreciate the "hard difficulty" of not using any help or be quick in some situations.

If there is something that I hate, it's to see that I didn't review all of Artifex Mundi's games, whether they're the publishers or the developers. I was convinced to have reviewed Enigmatis: The Ghosts of Maple Creek, that I was making big eyes when I saw that, no, I didn't.

I reinstalled the game and replayed it. I wasn't going to use my memory for this one.

Enigmatis: The Ghosts of Maple Creek is the first Enigmatis and is developped by Artifex themselves. In it, you wake up in a town, without any recent memories. You just know that you were there to solve a disappearance. But the more you're learning about Maple Creek, the more you'll understand that the reverend is behind something monstruous.

The story is well-written as usual and is using a feature used rarely in the genre: amnesia about the case, meaning that you'll investigate everything again, though there are now more obstacles: Maple Creek got some damage due to a storm, the residents are going to the church, with a bell that doesn't end to ring, your own car has an accident and now, Hamilton, a missing detective, is showing himself.

The gameplay is pretty quite the standard one: find items, use them to reveal new paths or puzzles, clear hidden objects scenes, etc.. However, I can tell that the game is an old one: indeed, you have a lot of hidden objects scenes, which you're often visiting (though previous items found aren't put back, which is nice) and with a lot of items in them. Some objects are hard to find, as they can be mistaken for an element in the background. Puzzles, however, are easy to do.

There is a specific feature: you have a case board, where you'll pin clues, which will lead to new questions. It's a nice way to focus on the case, instead of reading a diary and trying to find solutions in the pages of it.

However, there is a large problem for the navigation: indeed, some arrows are close to each other (like the balcony on your hotel room) meaning that some misclickings will happen: I wanted to go back to my room from the balcony but because I was going too fast, I wasn't pointing on the right area and I ended up to the garden. Also, the map isn't interactive at all: you can't use it for fast travel.

The graphics are very correct, like with any Artifex Mundi's game, and are sticking to the story in itself: don't expect any sun, as you're doing everything in one night, in a deserted town, with some exploring in the forest and with some damage due to a storm.

As usual, the soundtrack is very good.

As it's a special edition, you'll end up with a bonus chapter, with Hamilton's first contact with Maple Creek 30 years before the plot of the main story.

Enigmatis: The Ghosts of Maple Creek is as usual a very good title for playing casual adventures, with an important presence of hidden objects scenes as it was released first during a period where the genre was aiming towards its actual version. While you don't need it to understand the sequel, I recommend to begin by Maple Creek, to really have a better connection with people you'll meet in Ravenwood.

Well, I started playing those hidden object adventures recently and got hooked.
That's my third one.

The timer is off, as I left it on a couple of nights. I'd estimate the gameplay at about 10 hours,
including the extra content (Which is a mini-adventure, and not a bad one).

All in all, i'd give it 9/10. The story is solid and interesting (Even if a bit expected), the hidden
object scenes are nice (I liked that you return to a scene later and continue removing some of
the things that were there previously), and the puzzles exist but somewhat basic (Which is one
of my main complaints).

I also thought there are more hidden object games and too few puzzles.
I played Abyss from same company before and it had a much better mix/ratio IMHO.

If you like hidden objects - Give it a try. Also for casual adventure gamers.

7.7/10 - Solid Detective Hidden Object Game!

I dig most games produced by Artifex Mundi; so it was an easy decision to check this one out. I was not disappointed! This game has a well-crafted detective story, hidden objects, puzzles! It took me about 5 hours to complete which I feel pretty good about! Most hidden object games don't put all of these elements together as well as in this one.

I personally did enjoy this game but would never spend the full $10 unless you are really really into the genre. As in all hidden object games the navigation does get to me for 2 reasons: First, it’s not always apparent where you need to go, I found myself using hints to point me in the right direction more than once. Also, these games make you back track quite often. You may have to travel the length of the map to grab a key, then to the other end to use it. I don't personally enjoy the runaround!

Worth at least $5; one of the better hidden-object games!

This game is fun and has lots of puzzle goodness. It is a very pretty game with a great atmosphere and the story is interesting enough to keep you playing. I had no technical issues with the game. The town has a big map which while fun to explore the first time leads to lots of backtracking in the late game that can get annoying if you play the entire thing in one sitting. The game is a good length and it doesn’t drag. The puzzles are fun but they aren’t challenging.