➤ Tenebris Pictura, the review of a flawed but interesting action and puzzle adventure 🕹

Here's our review of Tenebris Pictura, an action-puzzle adventure that has a lot of problems but still manages to say something.

August 2023 was a very full month of releases for the world of video games, with a number of high-level games that challenged enthusiasts, who normally take advantage of the summer to catch their breath, before the big guns of the fall . It was not a month dedicated solely to AAA, since slightly smaller productions also had the opportunity to be noticed. Now, Five Dimensional Games SL Try to fit into this long list.

The team, already creators of Megaton Rainfall, has made available today its new game for PC, PlayStation and Xbox: Tenebris Pictura, an adventure based on puzzles and action that intrigues but is difficult to convince. However, to know all the details, continue reading ours. review of The Dark Picture.

An island, a mystery, few questions.

Tenebris Pictura, the review of a flawed but interesting action and puzzle adventure — The atmosphere of the dark painting

We are Magnus, a paranormal investigator returned to life after a near-death experience that changed him forever. Thanks to his abilities he is able to see and confront creatures from other dimensions, understanding the dark mysteries that lurk behind the scenes. His story begins on a trip to an island where an old friend of his lives, whose daughter has disappeared.

The police investigation is not moving forward and Magnus immediately understands that there is one. Force external to our dimension that influences events.. At the center of the story is a sect and a series of strange paintings that act as portals for evil creatures that we will have to destroy one at a time. The narrative is inspired by Lovecraft, as you may have guessed, and is primarily administered through a series of "echoes" of conversations left by the evildoers we pursue. However, to unlock this content we will have to spend a currency found by exploring the environment, which is however quite generous in this sense.

The real point is that the entire plot is at its core. much simpler than it seems, is simply presented non-linearly and in small fragments and is more mysterious than it would be if it were presented in a more classical way. Don't expect interesting characters either, since you can barely remember a couple of names, or even just turning points. Most of the time you play and explore without discovering almost anything and many times you feel like you have no real reason why you are going to a new place: the narrative justification is "magical powers tell us to go there" and that's it. The ending also comes a little suddenly, as it can only be accessed after obtaining a certain amount of rewards (aside from those mentioned above).

There are many more rewards than necessary to get the basic ending (there is a second one for those who unlock 100%), but most are so well hidden that reaching even the minimum number is not a given and requires several reexplorations of places already visited . This causes especially towards the end a notable drop in pace, which isn't particularly intense even for the rest of the game.

Let's be clear, thevictorian setting from Tenebris Pictura is intriguing and we completed the approximately six hours of gameplay without getting bored by the narrative component or the atmosphere, but it is clear that a little more substance and depth was needed in the plot.

Fights and puzzles

Tenebris Pictura is therefore a little lazy in its narrative presentation, but fortunately it does not skimp on details. playful content. Despite not being very long, it is very quick in managing the game phases and you continually move from one area to another solving puzzles and fighting.

Let's start with battles, or the least compelling component. Throughout his adventure, Magnus will unlock new powers, some of which are only useful in exploration while others are only useful in combat. However, it is not man who fights, but his spirit, which we can separate from the flesh at any time. However, when this happens, the protagonist's body will freeze and therefore we will have to be good at hiding it in a safe spot while we face the different creatures. It is a shame in this sense that everything always ends the same: Magnus is left far from the battle, perhaps hidden behind an object and we fight with the spirit. The body is never really necessary to defend and it is never worth using as bait to distract creatures, because it also takes damage.

Our spirit is capable of using various "blocking" moves, such as creating a wall of light that prevents passage and ranged attacks, as well as a simple melee combo. Additionally, Magnus can preemptively place an object, among a few of his choosing, that creates an area of damage or protection. The end result, however, is that some battles are resolved in an instant while others drag on too long with enemies capable of destroying us in a few attacks and forcing us to play cat and mouse, or keep running in circles until the skills. They recharge and allow us to deal damage from a safe point. There are a few moments where you can use abilities in combination in an interesting way, but in the end that's it. very repetitive, often a bit boring and sometimes even annoying.

Where did you get the picture of the darkness? puzzle component. Each location in the game is unique, with different puzzles based on the different powers we will unlock and the combined use of Magnus' spirit and body. The variety is truly remarkable and new ideas are added every few minutes. Each area also has secondary zones and it is necessary to return to places already visited after understanding new methods of solving puzzles and after obtaining new skills. From time to time there are slightly more platform sections, which are not very comfortable due to the view from above, but negative moments are rare among so many well-thought-out solutions. If you like solving puzzles, you're probably the best audience for Tenebris Pictura.

Finally, let's point out what the game is like. on a purely technical level quite mediocre. The variety of areas (between forests, buildings, villas and more) is a good excuse for a game that is not at all visually impressive, but from time to time some technical problems arise with drops in frame rate and, above all, a faulty lighting management. That makes it difficult to see well in some places. The music is pleasant and helps create a good atmosphere. The texts are also translated into Spanish.

Conclusions

Tested version PlayStation 5 digital delivery PlayStation Store Holygamerz.com 6.5 audience ND your vote

Tenebris Pictura is a mediocre game, but it has its own charm. The setting and story have an aura of Victorian mystery that carries you through to the end, even if the pacing isn't great and, all things considered, there's a lot less substance than you might initially think. The combat system is a bit boring, but it is the least relevant part of the entire package that is based above all on puzzles, always interesting and above all very varied: an idea is never recycled and, honestly, it surprises us. . We know that in a time like this it will be difficult for Tenebris Pictura to attract the attention of players, but if you like the setting and want a game with many interesting puzzles, keep it in mind in lean times and at a price that you consider appropriate.