Sometimes it happens that a game, excellent in everything, contains several minor “problems”. But we easily forgive her for the interesting, exciting and exciting things that exist besides.

It happens differently. A project that is remarkable in essence turns out to be hopelessly spoiled by minor shortcomings. And it is very difficult to draw a line between the first and second ratios. It’s usually a “little bit” that decides, a grain of rice that tips the scales.

Hungarian company Private Moon Studios decided to devote my creative path to creating a series of adventure games under the general name AGON. It is expected that the epic will have 14 games. For now, we can familiarize ourselves with the fourth, released relatively recently. The series is united by a common main character, a clear chronology of storylines and, of course, the basic principles of gameplay.

The latest game released – AGON: The Lost Sword of Toledo – makes a contradictory impression. It is clear that thoughtful, educated, intelligent people worked on its creation. Yes, and it turned out, in general, not bad. If not for a grain of rice.

Carmen and Francisco

With a very colorful main character – the elderly Professor Hunt – we are, nevertheless, dealing with a first-person quest. The gamer will be able to see the face of his character only in videos made either in a “realistic” manner or in a comic book style. Mr. Hunt will only take part in the gameplay in absentia (in the sense of off-screen).

Toledo awaits us – an ancient Spanish https://sistersitescasino.co.uk/casinos/wink-slots-casino/ city with a rich and not always harmless history. The professor comes there in search of clues to the family secrets of the Candelas family, and ends up in a real detective story. The daughter of the artist who died in the wagon train, Carmen Diaz-Palencia, begs our hero for help. She is threatened by marriage with the son of a blackmailer who had some shady dealings with her father during the latter’s lifetime. Dad, dying, left the girl a house with all the goods, a strange music box and an agreement with Signor Garcia de la Rica, stating that if, before she comes of age, Carmen does not marry someone whose fortune is equal to the value of the inheritance left to her, then marriage with a scion of the de la Rica family is inevitable for her. Meanwhile, Signorita Diaz-Palencia’s lover – a gunsmith named Francisco – is in prison for stealing a jewel, the Toledo Sword, once forged by his grandfather and given to the same Alonso de la Rica by the young man’s father. Mr. Hunt will have to unravel this complex tangle of intricacies, save Carmen along with Francisco and, along the way, unravel many exciting mysteries of the past.

Spanish songs and Hungarian dances

The plot of the game is constructed competently: it consists of several lines, independent at first glance, but in reality connected with each other. The rhythm of the narrative captures and keeps the player in suspense until the very end – in the best traditions of classic adventure games. However, a lot can be said here “in tradition”. The gameplay also suggests a painstaking selection of the most successful finds of many predecessors – the creators of detective adventure games. Almost everything.

Puzzles await us in quantities. Some of them are interesting and witty. These are, for example, an epic with the selection of the melody of the favorite Spanish song of the late Señor Diaz-Palencia (knowing the title and opus of this outstanding work makes it possible to open the box) or the development of photographic film manually, surprisingly realistic, like for an adventure game. Other tasks, unfortunately, are much more banal: dragging barrels to build a pyramid or selecting numerical ciphers will no longer surprise us.

Fortunately, there will be no long transitions: all movements are as automated as possible. The professor usually does not overcome more than three screens with his legs: he teleports across the map. The only exceptions are labyrinth-like riddles. In an adventure game, economy of movement is certainly a big plus. Few developers think of making a gamer’s life so much easier.

But the dialogues are striking in their profusion and stiltedness. From the very first minutes of our stay in Toledo, we have to listen to the long, tearful and very pathetic story of the young maiden Carmen about the bitter lot of her family, which in no way adds to the desire to continue the game. Subsequently, the professor will have equally detailed conversations with almost every character he meets. As usual, you can’t skip conversations. This is understandable: they sometimes (not always) contain important information, and besides, fifty percent of the gameplay (if not more) comes from dialogues. Perhaps this is the fly in the ointment that spoils the big barrel of honey presented to us by the developers?

Toledo live

Controls can be considered one of the advantages of the game. Easy, understandable, does not provoke harmful doses of pixel hunting, the interface does not put a spoke in the player’s wheels, which is very valuable. The camera rotates in all directions, without limiting the view to anything other than the gamer’s intentions.

The graphics in The lost sword of Toledo are beyond praise. Realistic and, at the same time, atmospheric landscapes of Toledo, cozy interiors, beautiful figures of characters delight the eye and allow you to completely immerse yourself in the atmosphere of a half-asleep at first glance, but actually so lively Spanish town. Unlike most creators of travel-themed adventure games, the authors AGON, apparently they taught materiel. The quest is not overloaded with stories about Spain, but is only lightly seasoned with a characteristic flavor. Thanks to a developed sense of proportion, developers from Private Moon Studios managed to maintain exactly the proportion of “Spanishness” that is needed to create a feeling of realism. At least for us northern barbarians.

Oddly enough, even the animation – the nightmare of all authors of low-budget games – is kept quite at the level. And at the very end, a surprise awaits the player: a game of an interesting board game with Francisco.

AGON: The Lost Sword of Toledo is an almost perfect game. Much in it is much better, more convenient, more reasonable than in most of its comrades in the genre. If it were not for a few insignificant at first glance, but serious mistakes in reality, one could consider the adventure game wonderful without “almost”. Although maybe you shouldn’t be too demanding?

Pros: excellent graphics, immersion in the atmosphere of Toledo, convenient controls.
Cons: long, uninteresting dialogues, a significant percentage of banal puzzles, lack of innovation.