Hope Springs Eternal Demo

Adventure games do not necessarily need to hold the answer to life’s greatest questions, nor feature intricate stories involving dozens of characters that interact with each other in clever ways. Sometimes, amazing things can result from simple ideas as well, as long as the people behind the project are passionate enough about it and they can put their ideas into practice.

Hope Springs Eternal is a point-and-click adventure game that’s about as simple in nature as it can get, which makes the events feel that much more real. There are no demons coming to devour the world, no psychopathic serial killers roaming the streets, and definitely no powerful wizards at war with one another. Instead, the action revolves around a simple disappearance and the efforts of a friend to unravel the mystery behind it.

As such, the plot revolves around the investigation conducted by a private detective named Carol, who moves to Sweden in search of a better life. When one of her friends goes missing one day, she uses her abilities to look into the case, by trying to find out more about her last days before the disappearance. Hence, your goal is to look for clues as to where she might have gone.

Just like in every other point-and-click adventure game, the puzzles are a big part of the gameplay. Here, you usually have to find a particular object, as well as combine items in order to be able to advance further into the game. Naturally, talking to the people who know your friend is also helpful, because they can provide you with insight on her last few days.

From a technical point of view, the game was created using real pictures stitched together, as well as a couple of crude animations to make things appear more lively. An interesting filter was added on top of the photos, to create a more surreal atmosphere and make everything feel less mundane. The dialogs are voice acted and they are not exactly great, but they get the job done in the end and they improve immersion.

When it’s all said and done, Hope Springs Eternal certainly doesn’t try to revolutionize the genre or leave anyone gasping for air, but it strives to be constant and inviting. Hence, if you are interested in a light story and a few simple puzzles to go along with it, the game at hand can certainly be a good choice.