The Trader of Stories consists of 2 games, with a 3rd one coming. They are made by Pastelgames. The story is from Marek Rudowski who also has BLOG about the series.
Reviews:
-Bell’s Heart:
This game is a short, but fun little game. It starts with Myosotis who is a Trader of Stories. The game is beautifully drawn and has calm music. Although the game is short, the story is beautiful and the game is full of small little details that make it so enjoyable and fun to play. It has its hard points and places that got you easily stuck, and it might result in having to restart the game. It is a good ‘’start’’ to the series and makes you fall in love with the art and story. I totally suggest everyone plays this and the Grain of Truth as they still are one of the best games i have played from this genre. I totally love it! Oh and don't forget to look in Myosotis notebook, like i did!
I agree that art, music and story of the game can be called beautiful. In addition, the lore of the game as well as the backstory leading up to the starting point of the game are also very well-made and interesting and yet is still presented brief enough to avoid being tedious. The way you explore the town to advance the story is also neatly constructed in a way that’s enticing and not monotone, despite a bit of the usual “running back and forth”. There are though, as Avantra points out, some places where you might scratch your head, but progressing the story is worth overcoming the challenges.
-A Grain of Truth:
The beautiful continuation of the Bell’s Heart story, the entire game is vastly “upgraded” from the last one with different mechanics, artstyle and overall gameplay. As with the last one, the music was very fitting and nice, the additions to the lore are well-made and interesting and the story is brief without lacking. Yet, the “scratching your head” also recurs, but again, the story is enticing enough to keep you going till the end.
I do agree with everything Welden said. As the music is truly beautiful and the game is kind of like better and longer than Bell’s Heart. The game was fun to play and not too short, but not way too long either. It was fairly good, i liked it alot.The game had its hard points (had to resort to walktrough), but it was great story so you want to finish it! A lot of the things I think about Bell’s Heart can be said about Grain of Truth as well, so if you want a further review I suggest reading that, and if you have already done that, read it again! :D
Thoughts:
-Bell’s Heart:
Although, I liked the sound effects at the various points, for example when you go to the forge or the stable, they can get a bit annoying after awhile, especially if you are going back and forth a lot, because you’re stuck. The sound of the waterfall was also extremely annoying, yet the time you spend there is thankfully rather short.
As I stated in the review, I very much liked the interesting lore. The Breath cycle makes sense considering the Great Oak being the land’s centerpiece. The butterfly tribe coexisting with humans, yet occasionally on shaky grounds. The beauty of the butterflies’ symbolism of bells as symbols of love. This is one of the lores I really adore. A world that is completely different from ours in so many ways, yet still very logical and understandable to us.
I was slightly sad that it was somewhat short. We had just been presented this entire new world, and yet we only explore such a small piece of it i.e. a dramatic love story in a small village. But alas, an expansion on world exploring might have come at the expense of the game’s and its story’s quality. Plus one should not turn down a good story just because it’s short. For instance, quite many well-made point-and-click games contain this trait.
I fell in love with the game the moment i saw it. I'm glad my dear friend Welden recommended me the game. The art is so beautiful and i love the music. Its so calm but at the same time interesting. The game also has some interesting ’’easter eggs’’. For example you can sell the drunkard to the trader :D You can't progress without the drunkard so i don't recommend on doing it. Or that in Myosotis notebook it says her sister's name is Neesan, which means sister in Japanese :D
I don't know if anyone else finds these amusing and fun, but i think they were big fun factor to the game. There is more than these of course, i won't tell you everything ;) Overall thoughts of the game are that its awesome but little short game, that i totally loved and hope everyone makes time to play! :D
-A Grain of Truth:
As i did with the Bell’s Heart i fell in love with this game the moment i started to play it. It's art and music is so beautiful i couldn't stop playing it, even when it had its frustrating parts. Like the damn words.. *examine, examine, examine…* But even with that, the game was fun and interesting to the end. I'm just so impatient when it comes to waiting! I want to know mooore! The story ends in a so big cliffhanger that it generated ARRGH! sound from me as i learned that the 3rd game hasn't come out yet. This game had its own easter eggs too, found by examining and asking the right questions from the old birdhead. Remember to use CREW-TRADITION-BREW on the 1st question to the captain!
Indeed, as Avantra says, the music and art helped pass some of the more frustrating parts and made the “going and back and forth” a little less tedious. Yet it was a very interesting game. The new game mechanics, artstyle and music added since Bell’s Heart made the whole experience a lot more fresh, leaving not only the story to drive the player in the sequel, but also new things to see and explore and new puzzles to solve. Interestingly, even though I agree with Avantra that some of the goose-chasing for a missing word with the “examine examine examine”, the looking for words collided with the player’s curiosity; so while one explores the world one collects vital pieces to advance the game at the same time. I was also hoping that the “ask for a story” puzzle with the Cloudcatcher captain was one of several similar puzzles, but at least I can’t complain that the puzzles throughout the game was repetitive and boring.
One thing I especially like about Grain of Truth is the way the representation of the story stirs the player’s mind akin to Myosotis. Firstly, when I finally arrived at the Wiseman, I thought “I finally found the guy!”, but just like Myosotis, I was annoyingly ignored by him and had to look for answers elsewhere. Secondly, the somewhat sudden: “You should stop looking for your past, even though that has been your primary goal for two games now”. Again, one felt like Myosotis did: Rather annoyed at this, but ultimately one reluctantly agrees to it. And thirdly, the cliffhanger: Just like Avantra, and just like Myosotis, I thought: “But I want to know more! What on Earth was that vision I saw! I especially want to know if it hints of some form of cataclysm”, yet again, we (as in the player and Myosotis) are left disappointed and annoyed, yet eagerly awaiting for what comes next.
