All Game Guide did not like the difficult and cumbersome interface. Paul Glancey gave the Saturn version a 60% in "Sega Saturn Magazine", stating that the puzzles are too difficult for most gamers, particularly in that with many of them the objective is not apparent. "Next Generation" reviewed the PC version of the game, rating it one star out of five, and stated that "If you are just crazy about abstract puzzles, "Jewels of the Oracle" is right up your alley, otherwise, just keep shopping." "MacUser" named "Jewels of the Oracle" one of the top 50 CD-ROMs of 1995. It was the third-place finalist for "Computer Game Review"s 1995 "Puzzle Game of the Year" award, which went to "You Don't Know Jack". The editors called it "an entertaining romp through the historical annals of puzzledom." Jewels II: The Ultimate Challenge is the sequel to ‘’Jewels of the Oracle". Enlarged to 3 discs with expanded interface and navigation, the followup was not created by the original production company (ELOI) or distributed by the original publisher (Discis). The original creator of Jewels, ‘’Courtland Shakespeare", formed a new production company in Toronto called ‘’Bardworks Ltd." and signed a distribution deal with software developer ‘’Corel". At the time of its release, however, H + A acquired Corel's CD Home Collection (over 60 titles) that included Jewels II. The game was subsequently acquired by ‘’Dreamcatcher Interactive", an international distributor that had previously acquired rights for the original Jewels game from Discis (following bankruptcy). Jewels II was also known as Gems of Darkness, but the title was changed to Jewels II to take advantage of the previous game's popularity. The games are now owned by ‘’THQ Nordic". Shakespeare later created another game for Dreamcatcher called ‘’". Andrew Plotkin described the puzzles as " generally entertaining". AdventureClassicGaming said Jewels II: The Ultimate Challenge was more of a "remake" than a sequel. "Jewels II" was the runner-up for "Computer Gaming World"s award for the best classic game of 1998, although it lost to "You Don't Know Jack: The Ride". The editors called "Jewels II" "a great design", and found it to be "well worth the time for anyone who enjoys challenging puzzles wrapped up in a simple, enjoyable package."