Nostradamus: The Last Prophecy review (PC)

Nostradamus: The Last Prophecy is a flick-screen adventure game, rekindling memories of classic titles such as Myst.

Well, I say classic even though I didn't get on with it, but Nostradamus is defiantly aimed at the more mature gamer, one who isn't looking for eyeball-frazzlingly good visuals or hi-octane thrills.

What you have instead of those two things is a sedate medieval point-and-clicker, where you take the role of the titular seer's daughter.

Perhaps the subtitle to the game should have been Advanced Apothecary Simulator or Herbal Remedy Manager 1566, as you spend a lot of your time concocting potions, balms and unguents.

At times, you feel like Derek Jacobi in Cadfael with the amount of herb action you have to deal with. It isn't just herbs though - one task you are assigned is to bake some bread!

Strangely, though, these things are actually quite fun. Maybe my mind has just been numbed by all the adventure games I've had to play recently, but I didn't want to tear off my own head with boredom while spooning crushed mandrake root into a pot.

Anyway, as Nostradamus's daughter you are ostensibly asked to investigate a series of mysterious deaths surrounding the court of Catherine de Medicis.

People are dying and 'evidence' is unearthed linking the accidents/murders to a quatrain (basically a prophecy comprised of four lines) allegedly written by Nostradamus himself.

He, though, can't remember writing it and is too old and frail to conduct the investigation himself.

Therefore, Catherine de Medicis asks that his son be the one to investigate, to which Nostradamus agrees.

Turns out the son isn't available either, so you, as the daughter, have to disguise yourself as Cesar (the brother) and covertly investigate the crimes.

This investigation is conducted by moving through a series of relatively static screens, examining the background for clues and so on. It is all very sedate, as I say, and one for a lazy afternoon.

This is both a good and a bad thing, depending on your perspective. The slow pace will infuriate some, whilst pleasing others.

Some of the pronunciation is a bit off, too, even though the actual voice acting is reasonably decent. Usually I complain about the vocal atrocities in these adventure games, so to not have to this time around is pleasing.

Puzzles are a mixed bag, either involving the aforementioned herb hunting or the bane of my adventuring life: the logic puzzle.

A lot of these involve astrology, at least nominally. They aren't too difficult, thankfully, so after a little mental athletics and patient trial and error, you should muddle through them easily enough.

Occasionally, you do get the old problem of a pixel hunt, searching for a small or missing object that you need before you can continue, or the logic of progression is a bit 'off'.

So, what we have here is a solid if unspectacular point-and-clicked, sprinkled with astrological nonsense and overwhelmed by Cadfael-esque herbs and spices.

It isn't going to break any sales records or get the heart pumping with exciting action sequences, but for a lazy, relaxed game experience, it could be worse.

6/10

David Brown