"Spy" Another Step Forward - A Review by ConnectTheDots

[ConnectTheDots]

ConnectTheDots' Review
of
--The Silent Spy--

**Bottom line:** Though this game doesn't feel like a typical Nancy Drew game, it certainly is an important one.

Plot

Nancy has been told her entire life that her mother died in a car accident. She receives a letter in the mail from an organization called Cathedral that tells her that her mother was a spy that died on a mission and that they are trying to determine what happened in the moments leading to her death. Nancy travels to Glasgow to help with the investigation, aaaaaaaaand that’s all I can say without spoiling anything else.

The backstory for this game is fascinating and quite detailed, and you find out new information throughout the entire game.

I also found the objective to be quite clear, which is always a good thing.

Characters

There are four suspects in this game. My personal favorite is Moira. She worked with Kate and is therefore able to provide Nancy with some great memories about her mother. I feel like I cannot go into detail about the suspects without spoiling something, but I will say that they were all interesting to talk to and that it felt like they all were hiding something.

The star of this game, of course, is Kate Drew. You find out so much about her in a variety of formats, and I adored every bit of it. I loved that learning more about Kate helped us learn more about Nancy, too. All of this insight into the Drew family is what makes this game so special. I am not a book canon enthusiast, so you may need to read other reviews if you are concerned about this.

The dialogue in this game is a little repetitive at times. It feels like the writers repeat stuff over and over again, just slightly reworded, to make sure that players completely understand what is going on. This is not necessary in SPY, given the abundance of reading material available throughout the game that also describes a lot of the stuff that is discussed in the conversations.

Another problem I have with the dialogue is how open Nancy is with the suspects. She is instructed by multiple people to not trust anyone, but she ends up divulging way too much information to pretty much everyone.

Graphics and Setting

The graphics are good as usual, and the setting is fine. There really isn’t much to explore, but the plot is so interesting that I didn’t realize how little there was to see until after I was done playing. Most of the game is indoors.

Music

I think the songs are very beautiful and set the tone well. Piano is my favorite, and there is plenty of that.

Puzzles, Tasks and Mini-Games

This game took me three days to beat, which is unusual for me. Part of the reason is that the puzzles are challenging and I’m used to using a walkthrough a couple of times during the game, but I got the game early enough that I was pretty much on my own. Though they are challenging and I found myself getting frustrated at times, the goal of each of the puzzles is clear. I didn’t click around aimlessly with any of the puzzles and hope to somehow solve them that way, which is something I have done in the past. Another great thing about the puzzles is that they all feel like they tie into the main mystery. It doesn't feel like you ever solve a puzzle just for the sake of solving a puzzle.

Nancy is instructed to do a variety of things throughout the game, but none of them feel like tasks because they all have to do with the main objective. The only task that Nancy must do is decorate cookies in order to earn money. It takes a couple of times to get used to, but I think it is pretty fun.

There is also an archery mini-game which is somewhat enjoyable.

"The Scare Factor"

This game is a little intense at times and Nancy receives some creepy messages on her phone, but other than that, it is not scary.

Other Odds and Ends

- The ending is not the best, but it is far from the worst in the series. I thought the culprit’s motive was generic for a game that seems so complex.

- My main issue with this game has to do with one of the characters, but I cannot talk about it at all without spoiling you. As disappointed as I am by this, I still loved the game overall.

- I LOVED talking to the phone characters. I made sure to exhaust every phone conversation. This is rare for me.

- Nancy gets to act like a spy again! Woohoo. I thought VEN was a little more enjoyable in that regard, but the tech stuff is cool.

- I definitely teared up a few times while playing.


THANK YOU so much for reading my review! Feel free to comment with your own thoughts. Feedback is appreciated.