Endless Fables: Shadow Within Review

Introduction

Endless Fables: Shadow Within is the fourth point and click adventure game from Artifex Mundi.

Famous anthropologist Pamela Cavendish goes back to her hometown to face a tragedy from her childhood. When her friend, Hans, was kidnapped by a nightmarish figure, no one believed her. Years later, brave and steadfast, Pamela has a chance to make things right.

Review

Join Pamela Cavandish as she ventures back to her hometown of Mittenwald, to bravely face the nightmarish figure that kidnapped her friend, Hans when they were children.

Pamela receives a letter from her friend, Agatha, stating that Hans had contacted her recently. So without hesitation, Pamela packs her things and returns to Mittenwald to save her friend that has been missing for years, and to face the figure from the Nightmare Realm once and for all, to save her friend.

Collect objects, items, solve puzzles, and combine items to, hopefully, save Hans.

This was my first time playing an Artifex Mundi game, and I was a little skeptical as point and click games aren’t usually my type of a fun game. However, I thought this was a good introduction to these genre of games, and even though there were times that I found myself a little bored, there were lots of tasks and areas to explore (though limited), so I wasn’t bored for long.

The back and forth of the areas were a little repetitive, but I understood why it was needed; as there were boxes, doors, or areas I couldn’t open straight away. This meant I had to go to a different area to combine items together, or collect something, to then go back and explore further.

I started playing this game without a guide, and quickly found that it’s not always obvious where to go next, or what to do. I’m not sure if that was because I’m not familiar with these games, or if they’re all like it, but found it a lot easier to move forward when using a guide.

You beat the bosses by winning rune battles, which were pretty easy, and as there were only three rounds, this made for a fairly quick battle.

The music had orchestral tones for the most part, which I felt fit in well with the gameplay and theme of the story. I quite liked it.

Really intricate detailing on the objects and items, even the characters’ faces were like a human face had been stuck onto a digital body. The art design was also quite realistic and wonderfully done. Lots of detail. The sound effects of items, characters and creatures were also well executed.

Story was fairly short; I finished the game in about 1.5 hours, which is strange, as there was a lot to do in each area, so you’d think it would take longer. The Platinum time ranges from about 2-3 hours.

Rating

Pros:

Short but interesting story
Simple controls
Interesting game design and characters

Cons:

Can miss certain collectibles if not following a guide
Difficult to always know what to do or where to go if not following a guide
Lots of back and forth

Summary

A fun, and interesting game, with a short platinum time. Puzzles, rune battles and exploration (even though exploration was very limited). It won’t be the last point and click game that I play. I enjoyed it.

If you’re interested in playing this game, why not check out our trophy guide? https://nodegamers.com/2021/09/05/endless-fables-shadow-within-trophy-walkthrough/

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Game & Developer Information

Developer Website: Artifex Mundi
Developer Socials: Twitter
PSN Store Links: £11.99/€14.99 Europe / $14.99 North America
Trophy Information: 31. 1 / 7 / 3 / 20