Storyteller Reviews
Despite its generic name, Storyteller should hopefully grab the attention of puzzle fans with its charming presentation and engaging design.
Storyteller is filled with charm and offers interesting mechanics, which really do make it feel like you’re telling a story. Unfortunately, it just takes too long to get going for a game that ends so soon. I completed every level in the game, including the alternate challenges, in about two hours. For the right price, this is definitely a story worth telling, though, and those in need of a new take on the puzzle genre should have a good time.
Storyteller makes the player a would-be narrator, with a focus on finding the correct story under the guise of narrative independence. It's a polished experience that's very interactive and easy to pick up. The levels pad the game's length out nicely to create an experience that can be played in a single sitting if you don't get stuck. It's just a shame the replayability suffers when the player realises there isn't room for agency in a prewritten story.
Storyteller's main merit is the playful way in which the puzzles must be solved, in addition to a cute art direction full of charisma. However, its shallow and little-used execution makes the game uninteresting very quickly, making it nothing more than an uncommitted pastime with a challenge that does not generate much engagement for the player.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
But for as pleasant and intermittently clever as it is, Storyteller’s breezy style comes at the cost of any real complexity. Because the game’s variables and statuses are meant to remain hidden in order to avoid overcrowding the screen with information, none of the puzzles can ask very much of the player. It avoids providing too many illustrations to experiment with and too much information to keep straight in your head. A few of the later puzzles demonstrate how easily this spareness can devolve into tedium, with several that require you to establish the family ties between dwarves. Though Storyteller has its share of clever moments, the game never quite finds the depth beyond the cozy archetypes that make up its exterior.
Storyteller is a mediocre game that can GENEROUSLY be called a puzzle-solver, but isn’t nearly as creative as it thinks it is.
One of the best feelings in puzzle games is that ‘Ah-ha!’ or ‘Ohhhh!’ moment when a solution that seems obvious but continually remains elusive, suddenly becomes evident. Storyteller has these moments, but altogether entirely too few of them. It tries so gallantly to keep that feeling, but it ultimately stumbles due to its short length, disappointing ending, and low difficulty. Still, there is enough charm to the game that some will seek to complete the stories that Storyteller wants to tell.
Like a good book that you simply can’t put down, Storyteller will charm you with its whimsical and inventive gameplay, so much so you’ll finish it in one sitting. But therein also lies its biggest flaw. While Storyteller has a superb foundation and core idea, the puzzle mechanics aren’t challenging, and the gameplay is too short and lacks variety, so you’ll breeze through it in no time at all.
Though Storyteller's premise might be creative, its repetitive puzzles and lack of challenge quickly make the game feel stale.
Criticism that a game is too short is also praise in its own way. It means that it is so good that it leaves you wanting more. I don’t think being short is necessarily bad. I prefer short and sweet over long and tedious. As I have gotten older and found free time becoming increasingly scarce, I’ve looked less for long epics and more for bite size experiences I know I’ll complete. Therefore, for those looking for something quick and easy to pick up, lovers of fairy tales, avid puzzle game players, and people of all ranges in experience with video games, I highly recommend Storyteller.
Storyteller offers some beautifully animated puzzles as it pushes you to piece together some familiar stories.
In this fascinating puzzle game, we become an unexpected narrator, weaving together a captivating story.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Storyteller is a lovely, literally story-driven puzzle game with surprising complexity that'll charm you, but it's quite short - whether you like that or not.