Grimm's Hatchery Review

Grimm's Hatchery Review (by Gamezebo) 

If there's one thing you can say about Grimm's Hatchery - it's by no means another "me too" clone, such as a 3-in-a-row puzzle knock-off or waitressing micromanagement game.

Instead, Amaranth Games' Grimm's Hatchery is a magical pet simulation set in the same role-playing game (RPG) universe as its popular Aveyond.

But while it's certainly a unique concept, it isn't the most exciting casual game to click through.

At the start of this tale, you learn that your stepfather, who was a king, has passed away, but has left the kingdom to your evil stepbrother, Lord Boras. Not without a sense of humor, however, your dad has stipulated you can win back the kingdom and throw out your no-good sibling if you can earn 300,000 gold coins within 80 days. To do so, you must talk with the townsfolk and perform missions, nurture magical pets - ranging from geese and Griffonettes to Icebirds and purple dragons -- and sell and hatch their eggs to raise money for more animals and other items.

The game starts in the poor area of town, with a static screen showing various characters and buildings, and you can click items, such as a key found on the ground or an urn to see if there's anything inside of any value. Click on a character to read what they can offer you, such as a reward for retrieving an object, or they might buy and sell items to aid in your goal. You'll start with a measly dragonfly who then roams about a farm, laying eggs once in a while; click on the hatched egg to pocket it. Monsters will begin to appear, such as swarming critters, an evil bird or slippery serpent, so you must click on the approaching threat so that it's defeated or else it may poison your pet(s), which requires medicine to heal.

Eventually you'll make money by selling eggs and buying better pets (or hatching them from eggs), and picking up more powerful weapons to defeat the monsters, meaning it requires less mouse clicks for them to disappear. In time, you'll access new areas of the map, where you can get more interesting missions and make decisions that can affect your path to success (should you return the bag of 200 gold pieces you found to its rightful owner or keep it to put towards a cabin?).

The farm scenes -- where you must feed your pets, pick up their hatched eggs and ward off deadly threats - takes place over one day. At the end of sun/moon cycle you can continue on the farm the following day or click on the map to buy/sell items or chat with characters to perform missions that help you advance throughout the tale and inch towards your lofty goal of 300,000 coins in just under three months.

Interestingly, you can also breed new species of pets by fusing ("zapping") two kinds of pets together - in many cases it won't take and you've wasted this sellable asset, while in other instances you will successfully create a new breed you can take care of or sell for profit.

While distinctive in the causal game space, Grimm's Hatchery's game-play can get monotonous over time, though it is somewhat fun to take care over a handful of animals and negotiate with the townsfolk to buy and sell eggs and pets and other items.

Perhaps fans of Aveyond will enjoy clicking through Grimm's Hatchery, but unless you're up for a magical "pet simulation" that can get a bit redundant and tedious after a short while, you might just want to wait until Aveyond II: Ean's Quest is ready later on in the year.

Grimm's Hatchery Review (by Gamemile) 

Grimm's Hatchery - Sim That Makes You Think

Grimm's Hatchery developed by Amaranth Games is one more proof that casual games are getting serious but still remain peaceful and entertaining. This is another fairy-tale that you're to write (or play through) yourself.

Just like a fairy-tale, the game starts with a title character(and you're the one) being in a great trouble.

"Your step-father has died and left the kingdom to your evil step-brother, Lord Boras. However, if you earn 300,000 gold coins in 80 days, you can kick out Lord Boras and take the castle for yourself.

To get your kingdom back, you buy a cottage called Grimm's Farm, where you raise and breed new species of magical pets. As your herd of magical pets grows, you can buy new, more luxurious places to raise your pets as well as unlock new areas of the kingdom to explore." This is what Amanda Fitch, the owner of Amaranth Games and creator of such simulation hit as Aveyond, tells about the story of Grimm's Hatchery.

So, as far as the game task is concerned (breeding new species of animals, selling them and making money) this game is similar to LDW Software's Fish Tycoon. But, given its fairy story and plot, colorful graphics(that you might have seen long ago as a young child in books of fairy-tales), it is a sim fairy-tale, that reminds me of Fairy Godmother Tycoon.

Now let's talk about the game itself. Playing Grimm's Hatchery for the first time is impossible without tutorial and hints.

So, here's the basics you need to know about the Grimm's Hatchery game before you start:

1. Your journey begins in Backlands, a poor sector of the game. That's where you can sell your animals and buy them, talk to people to get some valuable information, and find some useful stuff like medicines for your pets. To talk to the inhabitans of Backlands, click on them.

2. After exploring and meeting people in Backlands, click on the scroll(at the bottom right) to enter a map. You'll see some locked areas. Grimm's Farm is located lower than the Backlands. That's where you are to look after and feed your magic pets(dragonflies, gryphons, and geese).

3. Note also you'll have to keep them safe from monster attacks. Beware that monster can come at any time of the day and kill your pets. You can kill the monster just by clicking on it. During a day at a farm, your pets may lay eggs. Mouse click on an eggs to collect eggs.

4. While playing, you can always access comprehensive game stats, find out the current number of pets you have, check out your current stock of animal food, breed new animals by putting two different eggs in the hatchery pot etc. It all can be done as you click on a corresponding icon on a menu on the left.

5. As you breed and sell new pets and your business goes well, you can earn more money and unlock new areas to proceed in your game.

On the whole, Grimm's Hatchery is for the sim game fans.

In Grimm's Hatchery, you're to become the part of the game plot and create it yourself. So, this is the kind of game that requires thinking aside from clicking from a player.