I’m going to let you all in on a bit of a secret, for a long time I’ve been kind of a closet casual gaming fan. Way back when hidden object games were the rage a few decades ago, I was at least mildly hooked on them. In particular I found them quite relaxing to veg out with when we were traveling, or I was simply looking for a break from intensity. Sure, at the time they were more on the repetitive side and lacking in variety, but I found them to be quite satisfying.

Games like Wings of Revenge are more from the newer-school of casual games that have emerged more in the last decade, diversifying and trying to add in more story elements to gussy things up. The thing is, when it works and the game is able to throw together a little drama, decent voice acting, and a fair variety of puzzles that aren’t just diverse but also well-crafted, it can be a treat. What I’ve seen with these games is that there have tended to be winners that somehow make it look easy, and losers that go for big swings but aren’t designed with as much care.

Sadly, I’m inclined to put this particular casual adventure in the “not so hot” category, despite some valiant efforts. One of the issues I’ve noted with this developer before, that I accidentally stumbled into again, is the fact that it has no safeguards against leaving a current puzzle. It will gladly let you move away simply by clicking in the wrong spot, never checking to be sure this is intended, but then also promptly losing any and all progress you’d made. I’d thought it was a bug but apparently it’s a feature, and it’s hard not to consider this a seriously sloppy design problem. Another issue I’ve also encountered before is tied to the hint system, which is prone to failing you precisely at the moment you need it most. Highlighting an area I’ve already been to, but then being unable to provide any further contextual cues, really nullifies the value of bothering with the hint feature, so again it’s a frustrating failing that I’ve seen handled better elsewhere. There is an included guide with the game, but since you can’t access it in context when you’re having a problem I’d honestly still be inclined to look for help online regardless for the sake of greater convenience.

It may seem a bit harsh to harp so much on these issues, but given the relative simplicity of the game’s design and interfaces it feels like something that shouldn’t be happening, and it’s just bad design. In particular, when you’re looking to appeal to more casual players, a lack of the proper assistance when it is needed is unacceptable. Again, this point is underlined by the fact that not all games of this nature have these problems, either making puzzles harder to back out of with a prompt simply warning that you’ll lose progress, or implementing multi-tiered and more granular hint systems to help people get over the obstacles in their way. The presentation and story are interesting, but for me the core experience has to have its act together before they can be more fully appreciated.