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Graphics:
+ beautiful backgrounds
+ many details
+ nice cutscenes
- animations not always liquid

Atmosphere:
+ great TDE atmosphere
+ descent humor

Sound:
+ beautiful background music
- uninspired voice acting

Balance:
+ tricky, but never unfair
+ optional combination help

Story:
+ exciting story
+ tangible threat
+ atmospherically gloomy
- ending is not the best

Puzzles:
+ usually logically
+ sometimes very demanding
+ refreshingly complex
- few hints

Game Size:
+ around 12 hours playtime
+ many scenes
+ many puzzles
+ extras
- little replay value

The history of The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav is a clever narrative trick, because i find deplorable Geron already alone therefore sympathetic, because no one else can like him. The plot starts out humbly enough, with Geron scrambling to win a local challenge that will grant him the favor of the king and, hopefully, help him escape the shadow of a dark prophecy that has haunted him since childhood.
The game has a difficult beginning chapter, a number of areas with more characters and puzzles. During later areas restrict to a single place, the beginning of the Chains of Satinav felt initially overwhelming, especially as you will end up with an inventory full of items that will be taken away from you if Geron goes on his quest at the end. There are still some large areas, such as the harbor, where Geron and Nuri meet the dealer Harm; just getting on board the ship is a chore.
Even with all the required items, Geron must then speak, then the required conclusion yet another object. Decipher smugglers.

There is an interesting addition to inventory management in the game; when you select an item from Geron inventory, you can use the mouse wheel to scroll through all the items in your inventory. It is a nice break from, to constantly go back and forth from your inventory if you try the correct answer can be found on a problem. The final gameplay hook is Geron and Nuri magical abilities: Geron has without touching the power, fragile items and Nuri can repair broken objects to break. These skills add some interesting variety, some of the puzzles, but Chains of Satinav still falls into some of the same annoyances that have plagued adventure games for a while now.

Atmosphere is impressive, and scenes are well drawn for setting a mood, with one eye. The art is reminiscent of a graphic novel, somewhere between a comic book superhero and a little more realistic. Every place is unforgettable, so can not help you, a gypsy caravan and rural landscapes to be impressed directly from a children's book of fables from such places as a moonlight mill, a clearing housing.
But even if sites are highly detailed, important items are easy to pick out from the background. You do not need to delve into any irritating pixel hunting.

Sound quality, too, is inconsistent. While the story is easy to track and the dialogue well-written and acted for the most part, there are frequent hitches that remind you that the game has been translated from another language (in this case, German). You sometimes notice odd phrasing and word choices, like calling gypsies "carnies." Other times, conversations are hard to follow, leading to a few "Huh?" moments where you need to take a few extra seconds to figure out what's going on. (as my english skills :D)

The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav offers a much bigger challenge than most recent adventure games, even with its streamlined features. The puzzles are challenging!!!
It isn't any sort of breakthrough in the adventure-gaming arts, but it is a worthy play for anyone fond of the genre. Cute characters, an inviting story, and sensible puzzles make the dozen or so hours you spend with it time well spent.
Aimed at gamers who enjoy a polished, absorbing story and fantastical environments.

Score: 79 / 100
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This is a game that I started probably a year ago, then got distracted by other games, and finally came back to a few days ago and finished. What does that say about this game? Not too much....I started this on the heels of playing a couple other point and clicks such as Primordia and realized that I wasnt ready to commit the time to it at that point. Recently, I started really craving a good point and click tough, so I came back to the game, and I am glad I did.

Set in the Dark Eye universe (which many other games such as the Drakensangs, Blackguards also hail), gives it a sort of muted, middle ages with mysticism feel to it, which held true in this game. It's a really interesting setting in my opinion. You play as Geron, a bird catchers apprentice whose master is slain for his participation in the burning of an evil prophet 13 years prior to the events of the game, and his knowledge of the presumed dead prophets plans to destroy the world as we (they) know it. This is actually not dissimilar to the Blackguards story line actually. Anyway, you end up meeting and falling in love with a beautiful faerie and embark on an adventure to save the world, even though you really dont know how. The story finishes with room for a sequel, but with enough resolution to not require it, which was a nice way to handle it.

So, this is a point and click adventure. How does it stack up? I felt it was pretty good overall. There were a couple frustratingly difficult puzzles (most notably in the faerie realm, for me at least) and a few super simple puzzles, but most were just right: they required some thought and trial and error, but not to the point of frustration or leaving you feeling bored. I thought it did what it intended overall, and was pretty well par for the Daedalic course. It didnt really stray from their adventure formula, but managed to stay interesting the whole way through.

All told, I would give it 7 out of 10. Nothing too extraordinary, but a pretty good game overall.

At first, I wasn't really convinced, but I kept playing and quickly fell in love with this incredible point and click adventure. The story is captivating, the characters are endearing and the background drawings are beautiful. This is probably one of my favourite Daedalic's game. Recommended, without hesitation.

After playing some of the other games available these days and seeing the prices they are charging I have to change my initial recommendation for this game. There is a lot of content hear for you to explore and the story is a little weak at times, but overall it has a solid amount of challenging puzzles and interesting environments for you to interact with.

The reason I rated it down at first and my continuing problems with it are that the puzzles often have an element to them that requires you to pixel hunt the screens for quite some time to find them or use the hint feature (essentially cheating for a player who plays these kinds of games a lot). One or two is fine, but the consistency of the issue left a bad taste in my mouth. The other issue I had was that the main characters were very unlikable to me. Especially the protagonist. While a bit of negativity and "anti-hero" character can lend some authenticity to an otherwise cardboard cutout, he was downright miserable and his choices that I could not control left me with little sympathy for him or connection to him.

The reason I have redone this review is that, fundamentally, this was a good game marred with exactly the kind of things that can ruin a game for me. However, they are MY buttons and after stepping back a bit it is clear that they were really not enough for a bad recommendation.

I definitely recommend this game. To whom? To anyone who appreciates art. This is several paintings in interactive form. Not for those who just want to shoot stuff.

Why should you buy it?
-As an introduction to Memoria, the sequel. You'll get to know the characters, and get the references in Memoria.
-Clever puzzles. Some are perfectly logical and relatively easy, while others defy logic (faerie realm) or are just too convoluted. Walkthrough will be needed. Sometimes its just a tiny little detail that eludes you (a thing that had to be broken). They are, however, still worthwhile and enjoyable.
-Good story! Its a nice adventure to have, meeting colorful characters, discovering many things, traveling to strange places and ultimately saving your hometown. Reminds me of the Chronicles of Narnia.
-Unique. Like its sequel, there is no other game quite like this out there.
-The visuals. The artists did an amazing job. While the puzzles in the faerie world are impossible to understand, the surreal art is wonderful.

Is anything bad?
-The lipsynching is broken. They fixed this in the sequel.
-The music is lacking or non-existant in many locations. They also fixed this in the sequel I believe.
-Some puzzles defy logic and may require a walkthrough for most to solve. They are not kidding when they give you ''impossible'' challenges. A hint system, such as in Machinarium, would of been appreciated.
-Animations are crude, often making the game stall for a moment, disrupting the immersion.
-Severak voice actors can be pretty annoying, especially the talking crow. Also, get used to almost every character hating your guts (its linked to the story though). The main town, Andergast, is pretty depressing (its pretty small too).
-Pretty short, especially if you use a walkthrough. It might take you a while to figure out the puzzles though. I personnaly gave up on that to breeze through and see the artwork!

Can't really give this a rating. Its a matter of taste.

Hope this review helped you out!

I finished the game in a little over 12 hours, but it was so worth it. Good job, guys. You made me cry. :) I look forward to future game releases from you.

I'm going to recommend this game, but just barely.

FIrst off, I beat it, and I'm a very casual point and click gamer. Loved "Kings quest" and "space quest" as a kid, loved "to the moon" more recently. This is a review for people looking at the sale, but are only moderate point and click fans.

FIrst off, the game's visual 2D backgrounds look stunning. thats the first and main thing you'll notice. It looks like they used 2D backgounds with 3D avatars on top for the characters. The artwork team was very good, and original in its design. The only qualm I have visually is sometimes the avatars are choppy and the speaking narratives sometimes aren't synced very well, ie: their mouth simply justs moves as the voice actor voices the lines. Very distracting at best, and story breaking at its worst.

The story is very good, which is why point and click games shine. Geron (Protagonist) comes off as a bit whiney, but he's fairly lovable by the end of the story. He kinda reminds me of an emo peasant a little bit, but he's alright. Nuri (supporting character, and love intrest??) is very naive, but is kind of adorable, and is an excellent contrast to Geron. Without Nuri, Geron would have been unbearable, but her cheeriness brings the development along well, and can also be a source of comedy relief at times.

There are many difficult puzzles!!! This is where the amatuer point and click fan should be aware! I had my phone open almost constantly with a guide while playing because I hate being stuck for more than five minutes (hey thats just the world we live in) there were a few times I used the guide and scratched my head saying "Who the hell would get that without help!?" So if you do decide to buy and play, its okay to use a guide and still be a hardcore gamer! I've beat portal, dark sould 1, and 2 and demon souls, etc. If you listen and talk to people while exploring everything you'll mostly be okay, its when you have 25 items in your inventory that things get tricky as some tasks require 6-10 items in a proper sequence to do properly :( not difficult guys, just punishing. Difficult games are fun, not punishing...

But I digress, the biggest dissapointment comes at the end, I won't spoil it but its kinda frustrating to get no closure from a ten hour game, like literally no dialogue is spoken by the main characters after the antagonist is defeated.

Worth it for the casual gamer, but not perfect!

(+) The artwork is superb, leading to a memorable atmosphere...
(-) But IMO the protagonist, in a more-or-less typical Daedalic-way, was slightly too easygoing to really get into the game.
(+) The story is captivating, some of the characters are interesting, the voice acting is OK...
(-) But neither is really that special. Given the great setting, there is a lot of room for improvement.
Puzzles are more challenging than those in e.g. Harvey's New Eyes, but easier than they were in e.g. Grim Fandango.

In short, this game could have been great, but it's decent instead. If you liked The Whispered World, or found that one a bit too quirky but loved the artwork, I'd certainly recommend this one. Otherwise... I don't know. Maybe if it's for sale.

Great story, puzzles are a little strange and sometimes counter-intuitive, but the story makes this one of the best P&C adventure games that I've played.

4/5

7/10 - Plenty of good here

This point-and-click takes a reluctant and not very capable hero on an adventure through creatures, fairies, witches, and beyond. While the same "does this fit with this" business exists as does in nearly every game in this genre, Chains of Satinav manages to make them not seem as obvious. There are some puzzles that seem arbitrary in their solutions, but one puzzle (peacock, for those who have done it) was pretty magnificent. Lastly, I really liked Nuri the fairy.

The achievements are not impressive. Anything not story-related involves doing some redundant action xx redundant times. It also has two different complete playthrough achievements based on difficulty, which is something I don't understand for this type of game. Once the puzzles and mysteries are solved this makes the second playthrough purely tedious.

Very pretty art style which reminds me of games I played as a wee lad. Such as Curse of teh Enchantress and Innocent Until Caught but much more modern with a very absorbing story. Yup I very much recommend this one, however some of the puzzels can be a bit "wha?" at times and have you reaching for the solution online. Dont let it get you down if you do just enjoy the story.

A charming point-and-click fantasy adventure and a wonderful reminder of the golden age of 90s adventure titles. The story is a tad confusing at first, as you are introduced to the world and its workings as if you had lived there all your life. A little discovery, exploration and acceptance are required in order to figure out your place in the tale. However, the story unfolds before your eyes in clever, amusing, and sometimes moving ways.

You play Geron, a bird-catcher and outcast in his hometown. He is shunned by pretty much all the inhabitants, as he is accused of consorting with creatures that symbolise death and doom, as well as having lucid dreams about an evil Seer who was killed many years ago. It will take a fair bit of effort and perseverance for him to prove he is not as bad as common superstitions would claim. It is only by chance, and the help of a sweet-natured fairy, that Geron becomes entangled in a plot filled with mystery, danger, magic and betrayal.

The game has a beautiful score, which sounds authentically orchestral. The main title theme on the opening menu screen is simply beautiful. The whole score has a romantic, whimsical, often melancholy feel.

The gameplay is very simple, with the primary focus being keyboard and mouse - much in the style of the old point-and-clicks we know and love.

The puzzles range from easy and/or obvious to downright bizarre. However, bizarre in this sense is not technically a bad thing (one particular area could be something straight out of Lewis Carroll's Wonderland in design). However, all puzzles have a logical connection and all it takes is a bit of observation and careful note-taking of conversations and environments in order to figure out what to do. No puzzle is outright ridiculous. You just sometimes need to think outside the box.

On average, gameplay is approximately 10-13 hours. If you get stuck, a clear, concise walkthrough can be found on GameBoomers.

It has been a long time since I have played a game that has been so compelling. Once I started Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav, that is all I was playing until I had finished it. Highly recommended to all adventurers.

Game on!

The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav is one of the most interesting point n click games I've had the opportunity to play. Instead of adopting the humorous irreverence of many games in this genre, it opts for a far more fairy-tale/ storybook style that sits well in line with the Dark Eye setting.

In terms of narrative the game offers its own unique perspective on the traditional story line of rescuing the princess/fairy. It's by no means original, but the game developers and writers have done a good job integrating a fairly staid and trope filled story whilst still retaining their own artistic integrity. The immersion within the Dark Eye Universe is deftly handled, a great deal of information is revealed throughout the story, at first leaving the viewer slightly overwhelmed with lists of names of background characters but by the end of the story, it seems most of the lore has been left out so that the richness of the setting is hardly scratched.

The art direction is highly unique and is in fact Chains of Satinav greatest selling point. The backgrounds are simply exquisite, and the impressionistic rendering of the characters to suit their setting is simply unbelievable. The only issue is the animation, both the speaking and walking animations seem rather jerky and unnatural, probably as a result of the overdetailed character models. At first it is quite disconcerting to see the facial animations however as the game progresses the mind adapts to the irregularity and it becomes slightly less noticeable but still annoying.

As for the gameplay itself, the puzzle elements are particularly well done. Whilst there are still puzzles that seem to obey their own logic rather than true logic, they were fairly far and few between, and on the whole the solutions made a great deal more sense than some of the random item combinations that point n click games are known for. Although this seems to make the game a lot less difficult it also removes a great deal of the annoying item combinations and time wasting staring at inventories and clicking items on items is thankfully removed. The inclusion of the break and mend mechanics added a layer of complexity to the mix but didn't overcomplicate issues. As for the environmental puzzles they range from being fairly generic to two puzzles that were highly appealing due to their unique nature as well as incredible integration into the mythos. It was refreshing to find puzzles that adapted themselves to not only the world itself but served simultaneously as expanding upon the mythology.


As with most point n click games, once completed there isn't really much challenge which would entice a replay, however the charming fairy-tale like story could lead to a replayability factor in much the same way that we return to and revisit beloved children's stories.

In short it's highly recommended on the basis of it's art, story and puzzles but due to the fact that it is simpler than other point n click games will make it seem a lot shorter on time value.

Absolutely gorgeous point&click adventure. The story is a mixture between fairy tale and fantasy adventure set in the universe of the German Pen&Paper RPG 'The Dark Eye' and stunningly well told. Puzzels are logical and I only briefly got suck once or twice, more due to my own stupidity though rather than dodgy mechanics. If there would be one critique there is that the game doesn't really innovate the genre, so if you can't stand classic point&clicks or narratively driven games you might be at the wrong address. But seriously you should get this game for the writing alone!

The first of the games set in The Dark Eye universe, Chains of Satinav is a story about a young bird catcher, Geron, who is much maligned by his home kingdom of Andergast for supposedly being a bearer of bad luck. He seems to get his chance for some respect when he wins a local contest, only to run into a fairy by the name of Nuri, who eventually goes on the run with him as the Seer, an enemy thought dead 13 years ago, appears to be returning and out to capture her.

As someone who played the sequel, Memoria, first, the story probably lost some of its impact for me, especially since even disregarding spoilers, I think Memoria tells a more interesting story about time, not to mention the fact that Sadja is a better developed character than Geron. Regardless, if you find The Dark Eye universe at all interesting, I think the game is worth playing. The artwork is top-notch and the gameplay is, for the most part, reasonably intuitive.

Simple (if somewhat clichéd) classic point & click adventure. Beautiful art style, non-demanding puzzles, jovial banter and so on. The sequel (Memoria) also provides some closure for the main characters and story, instead of being completely separate 'in-universe' game, which is a great plus!

Best Point and Click game I've ever played!
Would play this game over and over 10/10 (:

7/10

+Very nice fantasy world
+storyline
+good backgrounds
+dialogs.

-quests
-animation

Fantastic fantasy story that really takes some dark turns as it unfolds. Character development is certianly second fiddle to the story but they do a decent job of showing Geron's evolution throughout and with response choice you get to make along the way. The art style is great too, perfect for the tone of this game. Highly recommended for any p/c adventure fans.

Bought the game when it's on 66% sale. Worth the money.
Recommended for adventure game lovers.

PROS
● Stunning graphics. Pretty sure this is the best value of the game.
● Nice, classic story.
● Nice background music.
● Fitting puzzle difficulty.
● Easy gameplay control, especially the scrollable actions / items selection.

CONS
● Little animation to show off and out-of-sync lipsync. It's not that big of an issue tough.
● Bland characters. They're not quite memorable.
● The ending is quite.. anticlimatic.

FINAL SCORE
Gameplay: 8/10
Story: 7/10
Graphic: 9.5/10
Music: 7.5/10
Overall: 7.8/10

I had quite a fun time playing this game.
Would probably play the game again later someday.
The game itself is quite short, tough.