Against all odds, I did finish Brassheart. After solving the meta-puzzle of obtaining the camera by manipulating my save file (turns out it’s simple json with numerical IDs for the inventory content), the rest was mostly smooth sailing. There was one puzzle where multiple items should have done the trick, but of course only the not-so-obvious (to me) solution worked.
I think I stand by my original sentiment and say that it feels a bit bland. The plot is not very original. The setting and locations are exotic, but not utilized to their full potential. I liked the puzzles from a purely mechanical angle, but they rarely sparked excitement or glee even though the situation may have allowed for it. I guess it would have needed extra animations or cut-scenes to achieve that. 3 out of 5 stars.
Over the holiday I also played Foolish Mortals.
Very good voice acting and pretty good (if few) music tracks. The setting and story are very compelling too, though the atmosphere is a bit ruined by alternating between slapstick and the macabre. Also, that reveal in the last chapter should have come a lot earlier for additional drama and higher stakes.
Unfortunately, the puzzles all feel a bit shallow and simplified. Like, one of the first tasks is collecting items for a recipe. My expectation was that this would occupy me for quite some time, but half the objects were lying around ripe for the picking, while others needed only a single puzzle to obtain, making the whole episode feel a bit underwhelming.
Over the course of the game there are whole rooms, meticulously drawn, that only exist to provide a single item, with little the player has to do to open the room in the first place, or to obtain the item once inside. Some locations are re-used by changing who and what is there each chapter (which makes the world a bit more lively, too), but that also adds to the simplification as there are practically no red herrings.
So it’s not a terribly hard game (if you’re observant) and the puzzle to story ratio seems rather low. I’d say Brassheart has the better puzzles, but Foolish Mortals is the better package overall. Still, it would have benefited from better writing and more elaborate puzzle chains. 3.5 out of 5.