Pearl's Peril

Pearl's Peril is a detective HOPA (Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure) game, available for free on Facebook as well as iOS and Android mobile devices. This is the sixth game by Berlin-based studio Wooga. The action takes place on a Polynesian island in the 1930s. Although the game was released in 2013, the developers are constantly improving it.

Plot

The main character Pearl receives a telegram from her father's lawyer, Silas, informing her of her parent's death and that she has just inherited the family island from him and should return home as soon as possible. Soon after, the protagonist receives a phone call from her friend Iris, sharing the sad news with her. The women decide to travel together to Polynesia, where Pearl's home island, Artemis Island, is located. According to the lawyer, the main character's father committed suicide, but Pearl does not believe in such a turn of events and tries at all costs to determine the real cause of his death.

Mechanics

The game mechanics of Pearl's Peril is very similar to the later game by Wooga studio - June's Journey. Here, too, progression of the story is greatly influenced by playing scenes with hidden objects and acquiring additional clues, located in each of the pictures. In addition, a metagame has also been developed - "Iris's Eyes" - in which you can decorate your family island.

This game allows you to play in two ways. A key element of the gameplay is to go through the scenes and find specific objects in a richly detailed picture. Each scene/location can be played through multiple times. After selecting a scene, a list of object names appears at the bottom of the screen that the player must find in the picture. Only three are displayed at a time, and as soon as the player finds one of the objects, it is replaced by another, randomly generated name. Objects are sometimes very cleverly hidden or take a different shape than the one the player has visualised, so sometimes searching for one thing can take more than just a few seconds. If the player finds it particularly difficult to locate a particular object or animal, they can use the hint option with the icon located at the bottom of the screen. The option to use the hint again occurs after a certain amount of time.

However, if the player has a good eye and easily catches even the best hidden objects, he can expect bonus points for time and accuracy. At the end of each round the points are counted and the player receives a specific number of badges for completing the scene. The number of badges increases when the player completes the scene again. Player can get a maximum of 5 badges for each scene.

A scene can only be played if the player has enough energy (lightning symbol in the upper right corner of the screen). One energy point is taken away per game. Additional energy points can be earned by sending requests to friends who are also playing the game or by paying cash.

In addition to the actual gameplay, which affects the development of the story, the game also features the "Iris's Eyes" mode, in which the player can take care of decorating Artemis Island. For building or constructing a new object on the property, the player receives prestige points, thanks to which he can unlock new scenes/locations. On the other hand, for playing scenes he/she earns coins and badges, which allow him/her to buy new decorations to adorn the island. Earning a certain number of badges also allows him to unlock another hidden area of the island. The game also features a Pearl's Notebook, which records the tasks that the player must complete in order to gain additional rewards, such as gold, which is useful for purchasing certain decorations.

Technical aspects

Pearl's Peril features colourful and richly detailed graphics. The soundtrack for the game was also composed by the Wooga studio.