February 22, 2010 by Ryan Lodata
The Tarot’s Misfortune, being developed by Triple Hippo Studios, promises to enthuse and challenge puzzle and casual game enthusiasts. The game follows Rosalee, a tarot card reader, who is visited by a stranger in the middle of the night who requests that she give him a Tarot card reading. But can this stranger be trusted? How and why was she sent to a jail? The answer to these questions is what the gamer must find out.

When the game begins, players find themselves in a cell and nothing in their inventory. However, there are Tarot cards and tools that are hidden within the static background that you must find to make your way out. For example, you must find a broomstick, fish hook and a few other items to create a gadget that will help get the key to your cell from the adjacent room. While this may sound like an easy task, it can be quite difficult to find them.

To “find” these objects, players must click on the item that is located somewhere in the background. After clicking, the item will appear in your inventory or, if you find a tarot card, will give you more information on what lies ahead on your adventure. The items that are added to your inventory are then used to solve one of the many puzzles that will enable you to move to the next area. This may sound easy, but you would be surprised how unforgiving the backgrounds can be.

Among the best features of The Tarot’s Misfortune are its highly detailed and well drawn environments. Even the preview copy we were provided had detailed environments that will take many of you back to the days of elementary school and having to find the hidden seashell or some random other object. While this may hint that this game is quite easy, it is better described as the same puzzle books but on steroids. The degree of difficulty as you progress only gets higher and more complex, but is still able to maintain a high degree of fun.

Those of you with patience will be duly rewarded with a potentially fun title that just might suck up hours of your time as you begin to unlock the mystery before you. Set for a Q1 2010 release, The Tarot’s Misfortune is expected to be released for Mac OS and Windows based computers.