Rite of Passage: Heart of the Storm

Storms can be very scary, especially when they are joined by thunder and lightning. Besides being loud and frightening, lightning can actually do a lot of damage to things when it strikes. Hence, it is usually a good idea to avoid open fields or various other areas that are risky when the weather conditions are not ideal.

Rite of Passage: Heart of the Storm is a hidden object adventure game in which your goal is to investigate an epic storm and try to survive it until the mystery behind it is solved. The gameplay mechanics are quite standard for the genre, which means that you’ll mostly be busy trying to find special items that help you solve puzzles, while also examining the environment for clues.

The story is intriguing as well, even if it is not very complicated. In essence, you play the role of a girl who’s on her way to a meeting with her mentor, when her plane is struck by a vicious storm. As you parachute out to safety and get to the city you were headed to, it becomes obvious that the storm is much more than a simple nature phenomenon, given the fact that even your mentor is working very hard to contain it.

There are many puzzles you have to tackle along the way, but few of them are difficult. Instead, they usually require you to pay attention to the environment and try to figure out simple patterns. However, most of your time is spent looking for useful objects that may come in handy later on, and in fact they all do. Since you cannot pick up useless items, everything is obviously going to be of use sooner or later.

The graphics are not bad at all, especially when it comes to level design and the general artwork quality. Even if the game is not rendered in 3D, there is plenty of animated movement going around, otherwise it would look pretty silly, given the massive winds caused by the storm. The sound quality is decent as well, although neither that nor the voice acting is something to stick with you for a long time.

The hidden object fans should feel right at home with Rite of Passage: Heart of the Storm, even if it has its quirks. The puzzles may not be the brightest, and the story is a tad forced, but as long as you enjoy the challenge it should be a fun experience.