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This was given away just over 2 months ago on the 11th November 2018. you can see the communities comments HERE. The game received an 85% positive rating from 34 votes and there were 35 comments. I've just re-posted the original review with a few updates.

Dark Strokes: The Legend of the Snow Kingdom

In Brief

A decent Hidden Object game with excellent mini games. We were given another in this series just over a year ago (15th Oct 17) called Dark Strokes - Sins of the Fathers

Installation:

Dark Strokes: The Legend of the Snow Kingdom downloads to a 717 MB zip file that unzips to three files, (a setup.gcd security wrapper, the set-up file and a read me). Those with multiple hard drives can save games on any drive they wish. The newly installed game is 751 MB in size. The game installs to the following path by default, but can be changed by the user if you prefer:

C:\Program Files (x86)\MyPlayCity.com\Dark Strokes - The Legend of the Snow Kingdom

Four shortcuts are installed to the desktop; three of which can be safely deleted (Play Online Games, MyPlayCity Games and shortcuts to a free online game which vary each week). Also, if you don't like icons installed to the quick launch task bar, make sure you uncheck the box when the additional tasks window appears (after the Select Start Menu Folder window)

Introduction:

Inspired by the timeless tales of the Brothers Grimm, "Dark Strokes: The Legend of the Snow Kingdom" offers an experience rich with magic and wonder. From its breathtaking opening scene, in which a hunter saves a princess from an uncertain fate at the hands of a Snow Knight, to its stunning conclusion, "Dark Strokes 2" will captivate you with a world abounding in beauty and detail, puzzles and mini-games unlike any you have solved, and a story of unprecedented depth.

Guide the hunter as he seeks to save his beloved from a warlock who's kidnapped her and cast an icy spell over a once glorious kingdom, search for and find cleverly hidden clues and objects, and uncover the truth about a tree with leaves of gold that holds a startling secret!

Once you complete the main scenario, your adventure will be far from over, as you'll unlock a bonus episode that delves even deeper into the mystery of the Snow Kingdom, desktop wallpapers, production sketches, character art, a downloadable soundtrack, and more! Enter the enchanted realm of the Snow Kingdom and begin your journey today!

Key features:

• Hand-drawn fairytale locations
• Challenging puzzles and mini-games
• Captivating story about love and magic
• Strategy guide, tutorial, and unlimited hints
• Bonus chapter that expands the adventure

Reference accessed HERE 10th Nov 2018

The Game:

A mysterious knight shrouded by snow and ice. A castle lost in the skies. A young woman trapped in a crystal ball. And a hunter with nothing more than a bow and arrow who must save her. Sounds like the perfect setup for a dark fantasy fairy tale! Dark Strokes: The Legend of the Snow Kingdom sends you on a journey of mystery, throwing plot twists and mini-games at you faster than you can say “Oh, neat!”.

Dark Strokes is a sprawling adventure filled with action, creative puzzles, interesting inventory items, and plenty of surprises. Most of the obstacles in your path can be solved by locating a few objects in the general vicinity. To pick up those items, you might have to solve a small mini-puzzle. Then you realize the items need to be combined with something else, sending you on a journey further away. Once you get everything you need, piece it together, solve another short mini-game, and the object is yours. It’s sometimes a roundabout process, but it’s absolutely satisfying and always logical. No guessing required, just good old-fashioned detective work.

Dark Strokes uses hidden object scenes sparingly. You’ll encounter several standard list-type sections, each with a handful of interactive items to puzzle over. To make or discover these objects, you’ll usually need to complete a brief mini-game, most of which require minimal interaction and are just fun to watch. There are also a handful of short twists on the HOG layout that pop up from time to time. For example, an early mini-puzzle tasks you with finding items for a locked chest based on their silhouette. These aren’t quite hidden object scenes in full, but they operate in a similar fashion and are great fun to work through.

Have you ever wanted to play a first-person horse riding mini-game? The Legend of the Snow Kingdom has that, believe it or not! This game is filled with creative diversions that go well beyond the usual battery of puzzles in a hidden object adventure. In addition to the riding game, you’ll collect cannons for a model, feed a fat statue, and loads more. When you see these puzzles, they’ll bring a grin to your face, and when you complete them that grin will return.

Dark Strokes is packed with extra things to do and find. Morphing objects are hidden all over the place, and collectible snowflakes pop up in the most unexpected areas. There are even things you can interact with just for fun, such as a basket of fruit you can nibble off of or icicles that fall when you click them. Extras like this don’t impact the game, they just reward you for being thorough, and they’re tons of fun to discover.

The core of Dark Strokes: The Legend of the Snow Kingdom is a straightforward dark fantasy hidden object adventure. What sets it apart from other games is its focus on frequent and unique mini-games along with just-for-fun interactive elements. Dark Strokes is full of surprises, making it one of the more amusing adventure games on the market.

Edited reference accessed HERE. Originally posted by John Bardinelli on Oct 28, 2016, reposted by Whiterabbit-uk 10th Nov 2018

Other Reviews and Videos of Dark Strokes: The Legend of the Snow Kingdom:

You can see other comments about Dark Strokes: The Legend of the Snow Kingdom HERE

You can see several in-game videos of game play HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE & HERE; plus a couple of walkthroughs, one written HERE and one in images HERE.

Conclusion:

I’ve only played the game for a short while; however, I did find what little of the game I managed to plow through well made with excellent graphics, decent puzzles, standard Hidden Object Scenes and well-made mini games. Nothing bad to say about the game. I’m sure all HOG lovers will enjoy this one. It’s only a couple of years old, so has most of the more recent HOG innovations. I won’t give this a score unless I manage to find time to play more later. Enjoy! :)

If you miss today's game giveaway you can always get the game via MyPlayCity 24/7 HERE; or If you prefer to purchase the game you can get it HERE via Gamersgate or via Steam HERE

Problems getting the game to work:

If you're having problems installing or activating or getting Dark Strokes: The Legend of the Snow Kingdom to work please visit the FAQ's Thread HERE and read through the communities comments because sometimes fixes have already been posted, for example, a common issue seen since the Themida wrapper was introduced three years ago is that some community members installation of the game are blocked by their security because Themida code has been known to hide malware, (usually an error message is flagged for example 'The executable is corrupted' even though in reality it is not); so as a precaution some anti malware programs will block and even delete the suspect installation files even though the files (i.e. the setup, read me and setup.gcd files are actually totally free from malware. This issue can be solved either by rebooting your computer in safe mode with networking or a quicker method is to temporarily turn off your security software to allow the installation. You could also try white-listing the setup.gcd file. In the almost 11 years this game giveaway site has been operating there has 'never' been a game given away that was infected with malware.

If for any reason you want to contact the giveaway team, for example, you have a game to offer the community, or are unable to download the latest game or other issues that the FAQ's thread or these comments don't cover or solve you can do so HERE

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank MyPlayCity for giving away Dark Strokes: The Legend of the Snow Kingdom and also to the game giveaway team, as always, for securing free games.

Useful Information not related to today's game giveaway:

If Dark Strokes: The Legend of the Snow Kingdom doesn't interest you, but you still hanker for something new to play, you'll find details of some game deals whether they be sale items, indie bundles or games being given away for free HERE (I've not updated the thread in a while, but most of the links still take you to the latest deals).

The rest of the information that used to be posted in the game review can be found in the forums HERE. Finally, check out Delenns threads for details of other free games and offers HERE and elsewhere in the game discussion forums Journey via the Humble store for free for a limited time. See the game discussion forums for details. Once you get the key, it must be redeemed by the 30th January 6pm UTC.