Review: Tales from Candleforth (Nintendo Switch)

Tales from Candleforth tells the point-and-click story of a Grandmother whose secrets and growing illness lead her to run away from home. She leaves a letter behind for her granddaughter, Sarah, who must solve escape room-like puzzles to find her grandmother and unveil her secrets along the way.

The game starts with you playing as Dorothy, Sarah’s grandmother. You’re writing the aforementioned letter to Sarah when the space around you suddenly tears open, revealing creepy demon like creatures and imagery inside. Along with those are puzzles you have to solve in order to escape the house. Some of these puzzles include listening to music and remembering the order of the notes, bringing flowers to life by shading them and switching from night to day, and moving framed pictures around to create one big image. After completing the puzzles, you can find little moths within the torn open spaces, collect them, and return them to where they belong in order to leave the house. This prologue is an easy way to get you used to the game. The puzzles aren’t too difficult, and you’re shown the controls.

After this chapter ends, you start to play as Sarah, and the puzzles only grow creepier and weirder as the story progresses.

Playing as Sarah, you find your grandmother’s letter which asks you to receive three magical items and bring them to her. You start with solving puzzles in the house again. Once you’re out, you start your journey, heading to the town of Candleforth. Along the way, you start to learn more about your family’s secrets (which involve witchcraft), and you’ll create medicine for those around you.

Since Tales from Candleforth uses only point-and-click mechanics, the controls are very easy to utilize; you simply move your cursor and click items with it. You have an inventory, as well, which you can open either by clicking the icon, or pressing X. The game requires your thinking skills, rather than your gaming skills.

The graphics for Tales from Candleforth are amazing. Each setting, character, and object is hand drawn, and beautifully so. While the art style isn’t super unique, its creepy vibe really helps bring out the story, as well as the uneasiness of the settings and characters.

The music adds to this feeling as well. The slow and suspenseful audio elevates the game’s aesthetic, allowing you to appreciate it without finding it all overbearing.

While Tales from Candleforth fails to bring any new ideas to the world of gaming, its charming story and characters still create an enjoyable experience for point-and-click adventure gamers. The puzzles are challenging, the story is interesting, and the graphics are captivating, all while creating an eerie yet fun environment.