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I resisted the urge to watch any trailer, or read any reviews until I got to actually play the game. This time, I had to wait until just last night to actually start playing it, because I was so busy with college. Yay fun times.
I've had to do that before, but then the game ended up being fairly disappointing. This game, though... Did NOT disappoint!
My overall opinion is that HeR definitely got the Nancy Drew vibe back with this one. TONS of puzzles, lots of talking to people, plenty of back and forth exploring the world you're trapped in. The game was also nice and long, too. I will admit that I just let the hint thing they give you tell me how to do a few of the more annoying puzzles, but even with that, it took all night to solve it (I played by myself and refused to take breaks). I also love that at a certain point you feel like you've finished the game, but you still have a few puzzles to go. That was a nice surprise, compared to a few games that feel the reverse-you feel like you still have a few puzzles to go, but you end up stumbling on the end instead.
The characters were good in some parts but bad in others- and that goes for all of them. Harper was just annoying, and I ended up doing everything I could to get under her skin... at least they let you do that. Clara was fairly boring, to be honest, but she wasn't annoying, and she gave good information, but there wasn't much to her throughout most of the game. Wade was probably my favorite. He was open and honest, nice to talk to, always gave you answers, and wasn't hard to listen to (unlike Prudence Rutherford... I can't stand it when we're forced to listen to her!). Colton was super creepy looking, and if he were a real person, I would steer clear of him because he's kind of a jerk. But all in all, the characters were pretty good.
I'll also add that for once, Nancy does get to be kind of sassy again, if you want her to be. They give you dialogue options that you just know will tick off the other characters, and yes, yes I did click them.
The animation on the characters was fairly standard for the Nancy Drew games.
The modeling on them was also fairly standard, except for Jessalyn. She was by far the prettiest, well made model HeR has produced. Whoever made her needs to stay working for HeR and keep making great models!
The environment was beautiful, but navigating was REALLY annoying. There were some points where you had to go back and forth between the graveyard and secret places that were literally the farthest away you could possibly get. There were no shortcuts, and it was about 30 clicks (not kidding) to get from one place to another. One way. That got old fast.
I loved seeing this place in the dark, I really did... the lighting was a nice orange/blue balance which helped the mood, but I think it would also have been nice to see the place in the daytime. Just like in SAW, they gave a really weak reason as to why it had to be night all the time.
From a making-the-game standpoint, I totally understand why they don't make the day option, though! That would involve re-lighting the entire set, which takes a LOT of time.
The music was appropriate...but not my favorite. They had really annoying opera singing which was neat for the first 10 minutes, but quickly got repetitive and very annoying. It was spooky, and fit the scene, it just wasn't my cup of tea. They also kept it constantly scary, which is half good and half bad. The good is that you never get a sense of calm, but the bad is that the scary parts didn't stand out anymore.
The scary things were actually nicely abundant in this game! Compared to SAW which only had a couple scares, this game was LOADED with them. I do NOT recommend this game to younger children, unless they love scary movies and things already. I remember playing CUR when I was little and I was terrified of sleeping because of Nancy's nightmares, and I was also afraid of my alarm clock because it glowed red and reminded me of the glowing eyes. I don't even know what I'd do if I played this game when I was little.
I will say, though, that after a certain point, you do just get used to seeing the ghost and it loses its fright factor. Or maybe that's just me.
The puzzles were fantastic. Plenty of different puzzles, and plenty of NEW puzzles, not stale ones we're all used to. That was nice and refreshing. I will say, though, that quite a lot of them involved math, and I just wasn't up for that. Glad they included the hints thing in game now.
There was also a point where I somehow stumbled onto a puzzle before I was given the instructions for it, and really HAD to use the hints because I could not figure out how it worked for the life of me.
But I cannot stress enough how very many puzzles and searches and things this game has. Absolutely NO chores, either. It really is all just puzzles.
Speaking of life, I was very disappointed that they didn't have the good news/bad news end screen when you die in this game. All it says is "you have made a fatal error" which is just no fun at all.
Also there's this weird seal thing that lives in the cotton room, which gets no explanation whatsoever. I really want to know what that is.
The end bit (no spoilers, but if you're like me and want to know NOTHING about the end, even just if it's good or bad, skip this section)
I found this to be the part that disappointed me. The rest has some issues (I have issues with all the games, no matter how much I love them!) but not nearly as much as the end does. The end left you with a very vague explanation of how the ghost sightings were occurring (not a solid explanation like in SAW) and quite frankly if I were a little kid and I had played this, I wouldn't have gotten a nice sense of calm about it not being haunted. I'd still be terrified, and never want to play the game again. As a sort of adult, I like the scary feeling, but the end was just really unsatisfying. I was really looking forward to finding out how all these hauntings were being faked, but sadly, we're left hanging.
They also have a choice of 3 different endings. I liked that, but it was also kind of a little too dark for Nancy...even for this game. But I did really love having the naughty options for once!
Overall, this is a fantastic game, and it's going on the short list of games for friends to pick from when they want to be introduced to Nancy Drew games. I would definitely recommend this game for anyone who is either old enough to handle it, or just really strong about scary things.
And if you're under the age of 12 and you didn't end up being terrified by this? HOW? I really want to know!
I've had to do that before, but then the game ended up being fairly disappointing. This game, though... Did NOT disappoint!
My overall opinion is that HeR definitely got the Nancy Drew vibe back with this one. TONS of puzzles, lots of talking to people, plenty of back and forth exploring the world you're trapped in. The game was also nice and long, too. I will admit that I just let the hint thing they give you tell me how to do a few of the more annoying puzzles, but even with that, it took all night to solve it (I played by myself and refused to take breaks). I also love that at a certain point you feel like you've finished the game, but you still have a few puzzles to go. That was a nice surprise, compared to a few games that feel the reverse-you feel like you still have a few puzzles to go, but you end up stumbling on the end instead.
The characters were good in some parts but bad in others- and that goes for all of them. Harper was just annoying, and I ended up doing everything I could to get under her skin... at least they let you do that. Clara was fairly boring, to be honest, but she wasn't annoying, and she gave good information, but there wasn't much to her throughout most of the game. Wade was probably my favorite. He was open and honest, nice to talk to, always gave you answers, and wasn't hard to listen to (unlike Prudence Rutherford... I can't stand it when we're forced to listen to her!). Colton was super creepy looking, and if he were a real person, I would steer clear of him because he's kind of a jerk. But all in all, the characters were pretty good.
I'll also add that for once, Nancy does get to be kind of sassy again, if you want her to be. They give you dialogue options that you just know will tick off the other characters, and yes, yes I did click them.
The animation on the characters was fairly standard for the Nancy Drew games.
The modeling on them was also fairly standard, except for Jessalyn. She was by far the prettiest, well made model HeR has produced. Whoever made her needs to stay working for HeR and keep making great models!
The environment was beautiful, but navigating was REALLY annoying. There were some points where you had to go back and forth between the graveyard and secret places that were literally the farthest away you could possibly get. There were no shortcuts, and it was about 30 clicks (not kidding) to get from one place to another. One way. That got old fast.
I loved seeing this place in the dark, I really did... the lighting was a nice orange/blue balance which helped the mood, but I think it would also have been nice to see the place in the daytime. Just like in SAW, they gave a really weak reason as to why it had to be night all the time.
From a making-the-game standpoint, I totally understand why they don't make the day option, though! That would involve re-lighting the entire set, which takes a LOT of time.
The music was appropriate...but not my favorite. They had really annoying opera singing which was neat for the first 10 minutes, but quickly got repetitive and very annoying. It was spooky, and fit the scene, it just wasn't my cup of tea. They also kept it constantly scary, which is half good and half bad. The good is that you never get a sense of calm, but the bad is that the scary parts didn't stand out anymore.
The scary things were actually nicely abundant in this game! Compared to SAW which only had a couple scares, this game was LOADED with them. I do NOT recommend this game to younger children, unless they love scary movies and things already. I remember playing CUR when I was little and I was terrified of sleeping because of Nancy's nightmares, and I was also afraid of my alarm clock because it glowed red and reminded me of the glowing eyes. I don't even know what I'd do if I played this game when I was little.
I will say, though, that after a certain point, you do just get used to seeing the ghost and it loses its fright factor. Or maybe that's just me.
The puzzles were fantastic. Plenty of different puzzles, and plenty of NEW puzzles, not stale ones we're all used to. That was nice and refreshing. I will say, though, that quite a lot of them involved math, and I just wasn't up for that. Glad they included the hints thing in game now.
There was also a point where I somehow stumbled onto a puzzle before I was given the instructions for it, and really HAD to use the hints because I could not figure out how it worked for the life of me.
But I cannot stress enough how very many puzzles and searches and things this game has. Absolutely NO chores, either. It really is all just puzzles.
Speaking of life, I was very disappointed that they didn't have the good news/bad news end screen when you die in this game. All it says is "you have made a fatal error" which is just no fun at all.
Also there's this weird seal thing that lives in the cotton room, which gets no explanation whatsoever. I really want to know what that is.
The end bit (no spoilers, but if you're like me and want to know NOTHING about the end, even just if it's good or bad, skip this section)
I found this to be the part that disappointed me. The rest has some issues (I have issues with all the games, no matter how much I love them!) but not nearly as much as the end does. The end left you with a very vague explanation of how the ghost sightings were occurring (not a solid explanation like in SAW) and quite frankly if I were a little kid and I had played this, I wouldn't have gotten a nice sense of calm about it not being haunted. I'd still be terrified, and never want to play the game again. As a sort of adult, I like the scary feeling, but the end was just really unsatisfying. I was really looking forward to finding out how all these hauntings were being faked, but sadly, we're left hanging.
They also have a choice of 3 different endings. I liked that, but it was also kind of a little too dark for Nancy...even for this game. But I did really love having the naughty options for once!
Overall, this is a fantastic game, and it's going on the short list of games for friends to pick from when they want to be introduced to Nancy Drew games. I would definitely recommend this game for anyone who is either old enough to handle it, or just really strong about scary things.
And if you're under the age of 12 and you didn't end up being terrified by this? HOW? I really want to know!
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