The Sacred Rings Preview

For those of you who played Aura last year, Sacred Rings is more of the same. It takes up where Aura left off, with Umang trying to keep the Sacred Rings safe from the evil clan that is chasing him, and ultimately trying to deliver the Rings to the Keepers. This preview build lets players sneak a peek at the upcoming game, but only shows just a bit of what is in store.

Just as in Aura, this is a first-person adventure in the style of Myst and Jewels of the Oracle, with lots and lots of puzzles, many of them mechanical in nature.  Also as in Aura, the surrounding areas are somewhat like the ones in The Lighthouse, metallic and sterile, but beautiful. The action of the game is all exploring the areas for clues to solve the myriad puzzles; there is no interaction with other characters, except in cut-scenes when the puzzles have been solved. A journal is available that keeps up with the hints and clues found, but even so, many of the these puzzles require some heavy thinking and some pure luck, at times. It is useful to take your own notes, as well. I have a feeling that the puzzles are going to be difficult to solve for the most part, based on the these.

These puzzles are connected, and most are of a mechanical nature and will run after being solved. I hate to keep saying this, but it all does heavily remind me of The Lighthouse, where many of the puzzles were big machines that were all connected in some way.

The camera can be moved 360 degrees, and also up and down. This is a bit dizzying at times, but it’s pretty cool to look all around these gorgeous surroundings.

According to the press release, the final game promises a huge game environment with many challenging puzzles and interaction with characters (but I’m guessing this is really just the cut-scenes that display when the puzzles are solved; these are movie scenes with no real interaction). A non-linear path with different possible paths is also promised, but whether or not those story elements are available later in the game remains to be seen.

So far, Sacred Rings promises to be just as much fun for puzzle fans of the Myst and Lighthouse crowd as Aura was. It’s once again pure puzzle solving pleasure, with no pesky distractions like dialogue or intensive inventory gathering. This game is even more attractive in appearance than Aura, and just wandering around clicking on things is pleasurable. However, it’s a very lonely type of game.