Angels of Deception: Part One Review

A local museum has been ransacked and with no evidence to figure out the culprit, it is up to a local journalist to delve deep and uncover the mystery that lies within Angels of Deception.

Angels of Deception is a point-and-click puzzle/adventure game developed by indie developers HW Productions. The game follows the main protagonist Blake Turner, a journalist who has been tasked with deciphering the mystery behind a stolen painting after a break in at a nearby museum.

The first chapter plunges you immediately into the game; when Blake is on his way to interview the Curator, Miss Matthews, he is confronted by the security of the museum. It is here where you begin to pick up on slight nuances as you meet new characters, fishing for clues as you go. This all helps with adding depth to the story from the off. Once you get beyond this point, you speak to the Curator who confirms that a valuable painting has been severely damaged but says she didn’t realise a painting had gone missing. It is from here the game becomes a little thornier than first meets the eye.

The revelation is compounded by the fact the security system failed to record footage of the break in so the police have no leads. The security guard confirms to Blake that people could only have tampered with the paintings during the day, rather than after hours. You begin to ask yourself; ‘how did someone get past the security’ and ‘why did the CCTV fail’?

The game had elements to it that reminded me of Hotel Dusk; a game with a plot that thickens with each moment, but one that excelled in its own right. For me, Angels of Deception follows within that very same bracket because of the point-and-click style, as well as the blend between the puzzle and adventure genre. It is completely understandable that this iOS title will have less depth than Hotel Dusk, but for what it is, Angels of Deception certainly delivers.

However, there were a few drawbacks, namely that not all the puzzles were straightforward, and in fact some were very difficult. One specific gripe was that one puzzle in particular did not require any untangling, but in fact it was a case of trial and error. What this did was add a level of frustration the game, and left me confused when I was searching for answers. Having said that, some puzzles were intriguing and the memory puzzles were a particular highlight. Furthermore, I have been informed that Angels of Deception: Part Two will feature puzzles that are logic based, as well as a new navigation interface, so this has alleviated any concerns of mine.

The sound in the game is good in its simplicity. The whisper of the gentle breeze one minute, followed by the chirping of the birds the next, gives Angels of Deception a relaxing feeling which doesn’t overpower the gameplay and allows you to focus on the task at hand. Playing this game with headphones adds to the overall experience. The same can be said for playing this game on a larger screen, as it would undoubtedly make it easier when pressing some of the smaller icons on the puzzle screen.

I was genuinely impressed with Angels of Deception Part One. I really liked the plot and how it thickened, and I liked the variations in puzzles – although they weren’t always straightforward. I also believe that it ended on somewhat of a cliffhanger, and it’s because of those reasons that I would highly recommend purchasing this iOS title. Personally, I will be looking forward to see how part two unfolds.