Dark Angels: Masquerade of Shadows

Cutieee

Average HOG. Nothing special, but nothing wrong with it either.

Dark Angels: Masquerade of Shadows, developed by Skywind Games and published by Alawar Casual, is a supernatural hidden-object adventure that blends gothic atmosphere, personal tragedy, and occult intrigue into a story-driven experience. Originally released during the height of the casual adventure boom, the game remains a representative example of narrative-focused hidden-object titles that aim to balance puzzle-solving with cinematic storytelling. It follows Kate, a young woman haunted by recurring nightmares tied to her mother’s violent death, only to discover that those visions are more than fragments of trauma—they are warnings of a larger, demonic conspiracy threatening humanity. The narrative begins on an intimate scale, grounded in grief and psychological tension. Kate’s search for answers quickly spirals into encounters with ancient forces and a clandestine order of female warriors sworn to combat darkness. As the story unfolds, the tone shifts from mystery to epic supernatural conflict. The plot embraces familiar genre tropes—secret societies, prophetic destinies, shadowy monsters—but frames them within a personal journey of empowerment. Kate evolves from a victim of cir…

I've never played an Alawar HOG before and "Dark Angels" not only had achievements, but 30 of 'em so this is the one I went with. Granted, I am well aware that achievements are absolutely meaningless, but I do so enjoy easy toast and there's really nothing you need to do to see all that delicious toast pop up other than just playing the game normally. The first thing to notice when compared to its [i]Artifex Mundi[/i] competitors is that this game (and I assume all other Alawar HOGs) has no frills. No extra solitaire puzzle game on the side, no bonus chapter that usually stinks, no real notable extras menu, so on and so forth, and while the game [i]does[/i] have "minigames" so to speak, they're pretty much just standard adventure game puzzles where you throw your inventory at everything. If you're just looking to blast through the game and put it behind you, this is great; otherwise if you prefer the Mundi-style goofing around with the extra-mileage bits, then maybe you won't be so happy. For the most part, the game is standard fare, though they do have some interesting ideas like a reverse-HOG scene where you have to put things [i]into[/i] it, which I thought was a particularly n…

nonsense story but fun time

I really wanted to like this game, but there were just too many things that were hostile to the experience to be able to recommend it. Like a cut scene every 20 seconds to remind us that the main character is hallucinating these evil beings at every turn. Or the cat that meows deafeningly every 2 seconds until you solve a series of puzzles and feed it. Once an element is introduced, you can just let the player remember it. You don't have to beat them over the head with it constantly. That said, the soundtrack is awesome, and the visuals are great. I just wish the game would relax and let you play it.