Occultus: Mediterranean Cabal

Strange rituals have always fascinated mankind in one way or another, although most of the modern world has almost forgotten about them over the centuries. You can still find them in certain parts of the globe, and there are many fantasy books, movies and video games designed on the subject, on the other hand, so you can still let your imagination run wild if you find the idea interesting.

Occultus: Mediterranean Cabal is a hidden object adventure game in which you get to visit last century’s Sicily and explore its beautiful streets as you are trying to unravel a mystery at the same time. The game doesn’t feature many original elements, but at least you get to visit a new location and tackle a pretty exciting mystery, which is just as good if you are not a hardcore adventure enthusiast.

As such, the story puts you in the role of a man whose grandfather disappears one day, right after he sends his grandson a letter urging him to visit. The action takes place in Sicily, at the beginning of the 1900s, so the landscape and the characters are certainly unique. On the other hand, the plot itself is pretty straightforward and predictive, so you are probably not going to be surprised by it.

The one thing that’s a bit annoying about the gameplay is the inventory system, especially when you have to interact with objects or combine them in order to solve puzzles. It’s just very slow and cumbersome, not to mention the fact that it takes too much to show a description for items when you hover over them. Other than that, the actual puzzles are not very difficult, but the hidden object sequences can take a fair amount of effort.

Lastly, it would have been a sacrilege to depict Southern Italy as anything but gorgeous, especially in that period. Hence, there are all sorts of dreamy landscapes that include the Mediterranean, but even the architecture and the atmosphere are immersive enough to change your mood for the better. On top of that, the voice acting is pretty decent as well, albeit a tad exaggerated in some cases.

Even if it has a few issues with the inventory system, Occultus: Mediterranean Cabal is still a pretty intriguing game with quite a nice atmosphere. However, it requires a bit of patience in order to get over its problems, which is more than some people might be able to do.

NOTE: This is a downloader for the game. Once run, the application will automatically download and install the game on your computer.

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