Where Angels Cry: Tears Of The Fallen Collector’s Edition Review

Where Angels Cry: Tears Of The Fallen by Cateia Games isn’t the first Point & Click/Hidden Object hybrid to move over to the Switch platform, and it’s certainly not the best either. Held back by some sub-par voice work, unimaginative writing, and technical issues, they’re not solving the core problems that prevent the genre from shining on The Switch; a platform that in all honesty should be the perfect home for them.

It’s 13th century Europe, and I’m the Vatican’s top secret agent, which is undeniably cool. Having heard rumblings of an Inquisitor that’s hell bent on a witch hunting campaign in the Spanish town of Portonero, I’m sent in to uncover the truth, and if necessary put a stop to the inquisitor’s rampage. As I arrive in Portonero, the atmospheric mystery is captured well. Colourful, detailed environments and dynamic weather effects breathed life into the world, and it was always a pleasure to move from one scene to another, and take in some beautiful artwork.

For those not familiar with this type of game, Where Angels Cry functions primarily as a point & click adventure that’s broken up with hidden object, puzzle, and action mini-games. Though I did find each variation a welcome change, this only highlighted that it did none of these things particularly well. Tile swapping puzzles were too basic, hidden object scenarios became repetitive, screen tapping exercises, and the action mini-games were slow experiences. Each change only felt welcome because it distracted me from the painfully average experience I’d just been through, and that’s not a good cycle to play in.

I may have been able to forgive some of these lacklustre elements if the game wasn’t plagued with technical issues. Throughout my 4-hour completion run, it crashed a total of 6 times. Auto-saves are fairly frequent, but on more than one occasion it loaded up before a puzzle I’d just completed. Simply put, technical issues of this nature shouldn’t be present in a released product, and whatever enjoyment I was getting was swiftly axed by this.

Although the premise seemed initially promising, the reality is that the storyline is a stunted affair that never truly develops. This wasn’t helped by the fact that the few characters that were dotted around Portonero were poorly voice acted, and did nothing to help me become invested in their tale. At one point, for example, a woman discovers that her husband has died, and she really doesn’t sound remotely bothered – to the point where I suspected she was involved in the heinous crime, but no, it was just bad acting. The Collector’s Edition as it is on the Switch comes with a bonus prequel campaign that lets you play out the origin story of these characters, which was actually a more challenging, enjoyable affair, than the main game, but I’d already had enough by that point.

Where Angels Cry: Tears of the Fallen has made little effort to stand out against the swathe of mediocrity that came before it. It’s visually pleasing, and as a point & click on the Switch, it works well with the touch controls. However, in the end, it falls foul of too many repeated mistakes of the genre, and the technical issues encountered mean I can’t recommend it at this price tag. Pick it up only if it’s heavily discounted.