The Everlasting Regret

While this does take a unique approach to visual puzzles, it makes things rather tough by not explaining itself well. Based on an ancient Chinese poem by Bai Juyi called "Song of Everlasting Regret," The Everlasting Regret tells the story of a monarch who's looking for a beautiful lady. But it's not as sordid as that may sound, it's all rather chaste (the poems was, after all, written around 809). To assist in the telling of this tale, players have to tap on one of three ink wells and then either swipe or tap on the image in just the right way or the right spot. For instance, in one part, the poem says that it was time for the lady to rest, so you have to use the right kind of ink to extinguish the flame of a candle.

But while this is a rather interesting way of telling this story, it's not much of a game. For starters, it doesn't explain its mechanics well, and even after the initial scenes, playing this is a lot of trial and error with no sense of thought behind it. While some of the pages are really simple to solve, some are annoyingly tough. Granted, there are hints if you need them, but they're never very helpful. Which is really too bad. Had this been a simple interactive piece, it would've been an engaging way to read this poem. And had it been more, well, puzzling, this would've been more fun. As is, though, you'll have a feeling you'll lament playing The Everlasting Regret for a very long time.