In Helda, the new point-and-click adventure from Sefoil, poachers have stolen a group of rare blue seals, and it's up to you to rescue them. Move your cursor over the screen; if the icon changes to a hand, you can interact with something. Click your way through the beautifully detailed environments to find out what you need to trigger to proceed. It's a feast for your eyes and ears as you search for a way to bring the seals back home, where they can get back to important seal things. Like waiting for someone to put captions over their adorable little heads.
There's a lot about Helda's soft, mixed-media visuals that put one in mind of Samorost, which looks to have lent some inspiration, but that's hardly a bad thing. The game is lovely to look at, with a melancholy soundtrack that perfectly suits the mood. Clearly a lot of love has gone into this game and it shows. It's a very relaxing experience, and the storybook visuals and lack of text means it's perfect for the young and old, provided your young don't have an unhealthy fear of unnaturally hued sea mammals. Personally, I've learned to be suspicious of cute things that emit little hearts from their heads whenever I get too near.
The main problem here lies in abstract logic, even for a point-and-click title. Much of your time will be spent scouring the screen with your cursor, watching for it to change and show where you can interact. Once you've found all those magic spots, it becomes a matter of trial-and-error, as you figure out the order you're supposed to click on things. Some of them make sense, but some of them don't, and you may find yourself having to resort to the walkthrough link below the game itself.
Helda is only eight stages long, and probably won't pose much of a challenge beyond its trial-and-error approach to puzzle solving. It might be just what you need to unwind. The moral of the story is, of course, that poaching is bad, and if you do it, people in robes are going to come after you. If that isn't enough to make you lie awake at night and keep you on the straight and narrow, I don't know what is.
I love the games by this person! They are stunning!
Ehhh. Not particularly fond of this one. The scenes are pleasant, and the music is nice and appropriate. However, irritatingly long and frequent load times; a dull, uncharismatic and generally inanimate main character; multiple long, unskippable elevator rides; convoluted point-and-click logic; and a contrived ending all make for a less-than-appealing experience. (I'll also throw in my dislike for musical puzzles, but that's a personal negative only; after all, not everyone is tone deaf.)
Yes, I can see the similarities to Samorost. However, while Helda does provide similar lush scenery and design, it doesn't manage to pull off the same depth of character and environment. Unfortunately, this renders the game uninteresting and, ultimately, forgettable.
Yes, visually this game does resemble Samorost but that's where the similarities end. Also, the puzzles are either completely illogical or transparently obvious. Unfortunately this game was 10 minutes of my life i'll never get back.
I'm stuck already at the bottom of the elevator, I must be tone deaf or something because I can't figure out the musical code to open the cave. Any help would be appreciated, thanks. So far pretty good, the puzzles seem harder yet there, so far, are less of them.
There's really no in between for this game. The first two "levels" I didn't actually realize that they were, since I was playing around and got through them so quickly, the third level I needed the walkthrough to make any sense of it, the level in the bottom of the elevator I got the music by complete accident (never even went up or saw the birds), and it pretty much kept up like that.
It's probably just my crummy monitor, but the elevator level was too dark to see. I didn't understand the level with all the birdhouses, so I ended up just clicking a couple times and "solved" it.
The ending was also a bit bizarre. I didn't feel I got anything out of the experience. It was kind of a letdown, since I liked Samorost so much.
When I came to the birdhouses I was gearing up for some kind of sound match puzzle. Turned out it took exactly two clicks to get out of there...
I didn't hate it, but it's all a bit random.
Yeah, this is a little disappointing I'm sorry to say. The levels don't really feel like levels because they go by so quickly, but also, strangely, some solutions are so random I also needed the walkthrough. Beautiful to look at, but not as immersive or expressive as I'd hoped.
I am getting ticked off at this game. It doesn't really have too much logic, and you have to hunt for places to click.
Right now I'm hopelessly stuck at
planting the seed underneath the fern
I'm putting it underneath the left frond, but nothing is happening!
i actually like this game quite alot.
it is not as good as Samorost but i still like it. i got stuck on some levels but they were very easy, i think maybe a tad more challenging?? still, this is very good, and pretty good graphics. really nice scenes aswell.
what is the bell sequence
Simply featuring Terry Gilliam/Monty Python collage-type art does not necessarily constitute a good game.
The Samorost series especially and even Haluz did something with the concept. This one is just uninspired. Both in artwork and gameplay.
This is a type of game I enjoy. No timer and soothing music. Even the puzzles don't require much more than simple routine exploration of your environment. Relaxing. No two games are alike and this one isn't trying to be Samorost.
I liked it. This game was very relaxing. No timer. Soothing music. Nice scenery. Just explore your environment. No two games are alike. It's not trying to be Samorost. Enjoy it for what it is, not what you imagine it wants to be.
That's a cute one. It's style is a bit like Samorost, but it doesn't matter. I like it.
Hmmm. Does anyone else here think Buddha and 39 are the same person? At least TRY to make each post different. LOL!
A sweet game, I like the focal theme of preserving nature and protecting animals from laboratories and testing. I like that the main character is a serene Eremite, and the accompanying music was just lovely. Granted some of the puzzles were somewhat obscure, but it didn't take too much to work out what to do. Load times a little longer than I generally like during game play, but they weren't long enough to put me off the game.
I think it was really quite sweet, even if it lacked some of the quirky humour of Samorost and Haluz.
It was OK, in my opinion the puzzles were as mentioned, too vague and I thought level 3 was especially difficult. Especially:
The part where you had to plant the seed in a certain place. I kept thinking that it had something to do with that squirrel who keeps running up and picking the dropped fruit.
I find the scenery very charming and nice to look at =) However the loading in between each chapter can be a bit tedious, especially for my slow computer.
Anyway else thought the ending was a bit strange and lacked a challenge?
aaah, so cute!
In the beginning if you put your mouse over the seals they eat it :D
Very nice graphics...will have to see about the game itself :P
So we have:
-a visual style stolen from Samarost and integrated poorly
-puzzles that without exception involve random clicking till something happens (i.e. no logical path for the player to follow)
-an ending that is short, nonsensical and weak.
walkthrough please.
I don't know where to plant the seed, help please!
plant the seed on the other bush on the right.
continue clickin the middle tree, theres supposed to be a box attached on the branched of the tree on the right, which serves as a switch to a secret door on the tree on the left.
I agree with Birdy -- visually this game somewhat resembles Samorost, but that's where the similarities end. There is not much interaction with the ‘player' - I felt almost like I wasn't included in the ‘game' at all. Mostly, the characters acted on their own with out much help from me except a bunch of clicking and no thinking. However, I like the music and love the concept.
Awful... just awful. No logic or any kind of direction to the puzzles, and the continuous loading for each scene is incredibly frustrating, especially when some scenes are not even interactive!
Wow. That was awe-inspringly bad. No logic to the puzzles. Insufficient options. Pixel hunting. Uninteresting story. Way too many load times. Way to many cut scenes. The only positive thing I can say is that the backgrounds are gorgeous.
Fun but too short. I love the art but it had too many extra scenes that were there to show off its art and music. I would love to see another game like this, except longer. =D
I am stone cold tone deaf and cannot complete any music puzzle without a walkthrough.
I do think folks here are being a little too harsh, but perhaps the gorgous scenery is to blame? :) Someone obviously spent a huge amount of time on the textures, and so the expectation is that an equal amount of time was spent on all the other elements of a good game.
The puzzles were too simple, and yet too hard. lol It wasn't obvious at all what the player is supposed to accomplish in each scene and so I ended up just randomly clicking. Didn't mind that at first, because even Samorsost had scenes like that as well, but when all of them are like that it gets annoying and frustrating. Had to stop playing at the music puzzle because even their walkthrough wouldn't give a specific order.
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