Drawings & Dragons

In a world shrouded in darkness, a town bleak and trampled a small girl stands atop a dark tower, a beacon of hope imprisoned by shadows…

This is the world you enter in Drawn: The Painted Tower, a point-and-click adventure riddled with magic and danger. This beacon of hope is a young girl named Iris who has been trapped in a tower by powerful magic and you must battle you way through the puzzles and spells to save her.

An evil king would seek to capture Iris and use her powers for his own designs. Her parents sent her into exile to protect her. Her caretaker, Franklin, pleads for your help as you enter the tower. You must face the dark magic that is keeping Iris captive. And this is where your adventure begins.

The halls of the tower are lined with intricate paintings that Iris has created. This is Iris’s special talent. Her vivid imagination drives her to sketch and create fantastical worlds. Each of the paintings that hang throughout the tower is a gateway to interactive worlds, filled with witch doctors, medieval realms, talking trees and dragons. In Iris’s absence the painting have all fallen into disrepair. As you explore the tower, you enter each painting and help to restore them and in return for your assistance you receive items that aid you in your quest to save Iris. As you climb the spire danger is fast approaching the tower and time is running out.

The gameplay in Drawn is mostly basic point-and-click adventure that incorporates puzzles and hidden object elements. The game also has a variety of puzzles some simple and some complex. But there is no need to worry; each of the logic puzzles has the option to skip it so if you become frazzled you can just move along. These brain teasers, while a fun addition to the game, are not necessary to complete the game. In all seriousness though, do not skip them, they are the most challenging part of the game.

Drawn game also incorporates environmental puzzles that are designed to interact with each of Iris’s worlds. Theses puzzles are mostly hidden object adventures and have a hint system set up to help guide the player and are essential to move forward in the story. Also many magical artifacts must be collected and used to interact with the environment to move forward in the game. The thing that makes Drawn special is how they weave these three styles of gameplay to deliver a magical and beautiful experience. The hand drawn artwork throughout this game is breathtaking and reminiscent of French animation. If nothing else I would encourage you to watch the trailer and see the intricate art design, it is really something special.

While I enjoyed this game and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys puzzle and adventure games I did feel that it was a little on the easy side. But then again, it is designed for all ages; and for $9.99 you can’t go wrong. All in all it was a delightful and relaxing experience.

Seattle based Big Fish Games developed Drawn: The Painted Tower and it was released on Steam in January. This company develops a variety of puzzle games designed for the computer.

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Jen Sisco enjoys the twisted torture she derives from puzzle game. Keep up with whats she playing at @jennacyde99.