Engaging and sometimes exciting Egyptian archaeological adventure where the end of the world as we know it is in danger.

In this story we play the part of young archaeologist Margaret, daughter of the uncompromising, single-minded Richard Dawson; taken along with him on an Egyptian expedition having been hired by the sycophantic Director of the Cairo Museum, Hasan al-Farrukh to locate and unearth a mysterious ancient artifact. We learn that Margaret is betrothed to a high society man she does not love in order to have said gentleman pay off the debts incurred by her idle, yet paternal favourite, brother.

As the game progresses we discover a sinister undercurrent to the expedition, but no amount of warnings will sway Richard from completing his assignment regardless of the danger involved, until it is too late. Can Margaret make the right decisions to save the day – and indeed, the world – and perhaps even find romance along the way?

I’d like to address some observations made in other reviews:

• “This game is clearly inspired by the film The Mummy.” Undoubtedly the case, however it is not a copy but an original and very entertaining story in its own right.
• “It’s on the short side.” My first run through to a good ending used 4.2 hours of gameplay. Admittedly I like to take my time and absorb what I am reading, but even allowing for this, I think that puts this well beyond the many truly short visual novels out there.
• “The translation is bad.” Perhaps there was a problem when the game was first released, but whatever it was has certainly been fully resolved. If you have read many of my reviews, you’ll know that I can be quite particular about such issues – and I am stating categorically that it is absolutely fine. There is a light smattering of minor typos and very occasional word misplacement; but nothing ever serious enough to impact enjoyment.

Graphically, the game is a treat. Backgrounds are in plentiful supply and considering the desert setting, are varied and colourful with sufficient detail to maintain interest. Character portraits are lovely, and boast smoothly transitioning expression animations. Most CGs are also very pleasing, though just occasionally characters portrayed in them don’t quite look right in comparison to their portraits.

Audio also performs well. Supporting tunes feel authentic to both time and location, and appropriate to any mounting tension. Whilst there are not a huge proliferation of sound effects, those that are present are also suitably convincing and add to the overall atmosphere.

The UI is possibly the only let down in the game. Presentation is excellent – we get a nice, clear choice of font and text size, options are clearly accessible and respond immediately. The skip function is very fast and efficient, but the flaw in the system? There is neither a back button nor a text log. I play on a laptop with my finger hovering over the trackpad ready to tap it to move the text on. It just takes the tiniest involuntary touch of the surface and the text moves on, sometimes before I’ve read it… and there’s no going back, except to the last save position. Such a shame. This is the only omission I found that I have to mark the game down for.

There are an abundance of choices to make – especially earlier in the story – which will ultimately lead to a whole range of possible endings; some of them instant (the “dead end” achievements). Different “good endings” have extensive unique branches which makes it well worth seeking them out; there is certainly pleasure to be gained in getting the ending you want, and I also found excitement building during my first play through as I wondered how it was all going to pan out.

I can think of several good reasons why you should play this game; and putting aside the one missing function issue, I really cannot offer any good reason why you should not. I got the game on sale, but in all honesty, I would have been just as happy if I had purchased it at full price. My final verdict: unreserved recommendation.

Review also posted on Steam ➞