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Danger on Deception Island is Deliciously Delightful
I absolutely love this game. It's one that I kind of forget about, but when I return to it, I'm drawn in immediately with its cheery Scottish music and its beautiful scenery. The mystery itself is also intriguing, and I learned a lot about whales and nautical terminology while playing it. I also didn't know that a stack of rocks was called a cairn from this game too 😂.
In this farewell to the first Nancy Drew gaming format, Nancy is on vacation visiting Bess and George’s friend Katie, who owns a whale-watching business on Deception Island in Washington. Recently, a stray orca whale has found its way into the harbor and there’s been debate about what to do with it. Katie has been the target of discontent because of her views on getting medical attention for it, and being the only person allowed to go near it. As a result, her boat has been ransacked, and it’s up to Nancy to determine who did it and why.
The storyline is a little uneventful and half of Nancy’s sleuthing is guided by a recluse who lives across the channel. I wasn’t a huge fan of this part of the game as the recluse woman is kind of irritating; it’s the other characters who really tie this story together and bring it to life.
In addition to Katie, there are three suspects who Nancy can talk to. Andy Jason is the owner of a rival whale-watching company and is ticked that Katie can take customers to see the orca up close while he can’t. Jenna is the owner of a café who wants orca reunited with its pod instead of being further isolated. Holt is a local fisherman who’s annoyed at the extra time and fuel fisherman have to take to get to sea in order to avoid coming too close to the orca. I love all the different view points these characters bring to the situation and the extra details that make them more interesting.
The gameplay is varied between completing puzzles and doing other activities, and there’s a lot of fun things that Nancy does. She kayaks around the harbor, explores the exhibits at a whale museum, hunts for clams, and navigates underground tunnels all while listening to music that really brings this mystery to life. I seriously cannot stress this music enough. Usually, I’m indifferent about the Nancy Drew music, but the I absolutely love the music in this game. Also, when Nancy unlocks something, the music changes to a classy lowkey fanfare to acknowledge that you achieved something.
The locations in this game are also really cool. Nancy can traverse by bike to a lighthouse, Katie’s boat, Jenna’s café, and Andy’s whale museum. There aren’t as many locations that she can visit by kayak, but there is an awesome beach where Nancy can build sandcastles and startle guppies. The music combined with these locations creates an islandy nautical atmosphere that really makes me want to visit the west coast.
This is one of my favorite Nancy Drew games because of its stellar setting and intriguing story. Despite being older, it is still a “goodie”, and I would highly recommend playing it.
In this farewell to the first Nancy Drew gaming format, Nancy is on vacation visiting Bess and George’s friend Katie, who owns a whale-watching business on Deception Island in Washington. Recently, a stray orca whale has found its way into the harbor and there’s been debate about what to do with it. Katie has been the target of discontent because of her views on getting medical attention for it, and being the only person allowed to go near it. As a result, her boat has been ransacked, and it’s up to Nancy to determine who did it and why.
The storyline is a little uneventful and half of Nancy’s sleuthing is guided by a recluse who lives across the channel. I wasn’t a huge fan of this part of the game as the recluse woman is kind of irritating; it’s the other characters who really tie this story together and bring it to life.
In addition to Katie, there are three suspects who Nancy can talk to. Andy Jason is the owner of a rival whale-watching company and is ticked that Katie can take customers to see the orca up close while he can’t. Jenna is the owner of a café who wants orca reunited with its pod instead of being further isolated. Holt is a local fisherman who’s annoyed at the extra time and fuel fisherman have to take to get to sea in order to avoid coming too close to the orca. I love all the different view points these characters bring to the situation and the extra details that make them more interesting.
The gameplay is varied between completing puzzles and doing other activities, and there’s a lot of fun things that Nancy does. She kayaks around the harbor, explores the exhibits at a whale museum, hunts for clams, and navigates underground tunnels all while listening to music that really brings this mystery to life. I seriously cannot stress this music enough. Usually, I’m indifferent about the Nancy Drew music, but the I absolutely love the music in this game. Also, when Nancy unlocks something, the music changes to a classy lowkey fanfare to acknowledge that you achieved something.
The locations in this game are also really cool. Nancy can traverse by bike to a lighthouse, Katie’s boat, Jenna’s café, and Andy’s whale museum. There aren’t as many locations that she can visit by kayak, but there is an awesome beach where Nancy can build sandcastles and startle guppies. The music combined with these locations creates an islandy nautical atmosphere that really makes me want to visit the west coast.
This is one of my favorite Nancy Drew games because of its stellar setting and intriguing story. Despite being older, it is still a “goodie”, and I would highly recommend playing it.