When I was a child, my mother picked up a little mystery game called Nancy Drew: Treasure in a Royal Tower. That single purchase would launch a lifelong love for the wonderful mystery series and would open the door for a wider interest in mystery games, horror, travel, and history.

From halcyon nights spent beside friends, clustered around a small screen screaming gleefully at the occasional jump scare, to seeing the beautiful rendering of Nancy's story in the newest game, each time I boot up the title screen feels a lot like coming home. It's why I was ecstatic to have the chance and honor of being able to interview the creative team continuing Nancy Drew's celebrated legacy.

HeR Interactive was founded in 1995 and has produced Nancy Drew mystery games since the first release of Secrets Can Kill in 1997. The teenage detective has a storied history outside of the games, but it's in the games where many fans found a foothold. Her influence remains significant in pop culture, and Nancy's stalwart curiosity and actualization in these games continue to enchant fans. The most recent entry, Nancy Drew and the Mystery of the Seven Keys was released earlier this year.

The HeR Interactive Team members interviewed are as follows:

• Suzy O’Hara, Chief Creative and Creative Producer - Games
• Cacie Desautel, Production and Project Manager
• Penny Milliken, CEO
• Jared Nieuwenhuis, Communications & Marketing Consultant

SUPERJUMP

Nancy Drew: Mystery of the Seven Keys is your first release since 2019's Midnight in Salem. How did you approach this game's creation with the longer hiatus between? 

Suzy O’Hara

When it comes to development, there is no “hiatus” for us. Our team is continuously developing, refining, and creating for the next game. The transition from inception to development and then production is seamless and ongoing. Our approach to the game’s creation early on includes the game narrative design and technical engineers working closely with the creative team running on parallel development tracks. 

For instance, after completing production on our first game on the new Unity engine, Nancy Drew: Midnight in Salem (MID), we immediately began looking at what we wanted to implement in the next game. We especially considered the important fan feedback, brand elements, and the technology updates needed to improve systems. We are keeping in mind not only game 34 but also future games so we can make each new game even better while keeping those essential pillars of a Nancy Drew game at the forefront. We took time to create the new dual navigation system, develop new features, update the character production and animations, and explore ways to enhance the game's visual fidelity, making technical adjustments to the game engine along the way, all to be ready for game 34 production. 

The creative team I work on has multiple stories in development as an ongoing focus. We like to have many mysteries in varying stages of development, from concept to pre-production, ready. This gives us the flexibility to select a mystery that is relevant to the timing of the release and also a location that fans have often indicated they would like to see Nancy go to for her next adventure. We consider many elements that take time to develop properly, so we select the mystery that fits perfectly with our 34 other games for the next case. Identifying story opportunities and development is an exciting part of my everyday life and what I love most about storytelling entertainment. 

"As we work to adapt the Nancy Drew games for all audiences, we’re constantly looking for ways to reimagine old mechanics and design aspects in the 3D world of our new games."

Cacie Desautel
PRODUCTION & PROJECT MANAGER

SUPERJUMP

Mystery of the Seven Keys is a beautiful game! I love the loading screen facts, the painterly style, and the cleaner UI. I also love that you have a first-person and a Classic setting – it's how I'll always remember playing! How did you decide what to keep or/and remix in this game? 

Cacie Desautel

As we work to adapt the Nancy Drew games for all audiences, we’re constantly looking for ways to reimagine old mechanics and design aspects in the 3D world of our new games. In the future, we will continue looking for these opportunities and improving on what we have already adapted, such as the classic mode. The dual navigation system is a great example of what we are doing to appeal to both our longtime fans and new fans alike!

SUPERJUMP

Obviously, times have changed since the original game came out back in 1998, but it seems the heart is ever-present. How do you stay "true" to the Drew identity?

Penny Milliken 

We start from a place where we understand the significance the Nancy Drew universe has played in the lives of many of our players. Nancy Drew is an icon for a reason – because much of our fan base has found themselves in her, found strength in her, and escaped with her. Countless fans and celebrities traveling different paths in life cite Nancy as a central figure in their childhood. So, it's essential for us to maintain those core characteristics that have made Nancy Drew popular for over 90 years, such as her intelligence, courage, independence, and curiosity.  These key characteristics have made Nancy Drew an enduring and beloved figure, and we work tirelessly to ensure that those characteristics are seen in our games. 

SUPERJUMP

This is the franchise's first venture to Prague. How did you research the location and the stories surrounding the mystery? I've always enjoyed the cultural snapshots of the games, from ranches to ryokans, that give a little background on where we are. What is that process for story conceptualization – do you choose locale or mystery first, or do the two sort of naturally intersect?

Suzy O’Hara

It is a pleasure to know that you are a longtime fan of the Nancy Drew game series. As you know, we are one of the longest-running series games,ever-evolving and our players, as Nancy Drew, have solved over 34 cases! 

As noted earlier, development for Nancy Drew’s next case is a continuous process. With the rich legacy of the Nancy Drew franchise, we have a wealth of ideas and concepts to draw from. Nancy Drew, our iconic teen detective, is true to her roots but is also ever-evolving as the famed female detective. The settings, stories, characters, and crimes in our games are adaptations from the Nancy Drew book series or are original ideas and game worlds like Nancy Drew: Mystery of the Seven Keys (KEY). 

For the mystery, we like to consider current interests and unique crimes Nancy hasn’t solved yet. It could be a news story, a moment in history, or travel that sparks the idea. For KEY, the locale and mystery naturally intersected. The story is rooted in history with a modern cyber spin. It is a mystery plot that could only happen in Prague, and it was inspired by a family trip there.

While in Vienna working on MID, I visited Prague and was captivated by the Bohemian Crown Jewels and their protection by the seven keys and the key bearers. The haunted corridors and tales of royals and alchemists added intrigue. I was so excited that I called Penny, our CEO, and shared several ideas for a mystery set in Prague. Having visited Prague before, and then returning to consider it as a game story, she was equally inspired. The development of the game story, researching the crime, establishing the characters, so each is a suspect, puzzles, and experiences and how they fit into the game world were all part of the first phase of establishing the game story.

Turning the story into an immersive game experience makes it all come alive by working closely with the game design team. We had to ensure the narrative offered rich opportunities for player engagement through interactions, control, and Nancy’s signature snooping. Each story element needed to be translated into puzzles and challenges that felt organic to the history of Prague and the plot. Also designing an experience where players don’t just do things on Nancy's to-do list, but they have to think and reason like Nancy and become her. For me, working hand in hand with the design team, and our brand team to bring the iconic legacy game elements into the project is the heart of what transforms a story idea into an unforgettable game. We are so glad you enjoyed playing it! 

"Nancy’s character, with her unique blend of intelligence, courage, and independence, resonates across generations."

Penny Milliken
CEO

SUPERJUMP

The Nancy Drew games have a thriving fanbase, and I know many of us rediscovered a love of the games during the pandemic. From bake-offs to Q&As, how do you keep up with the social aspect of the studio? And do ideas or clamor from fans ever influence the next book-based mystery or location?

Jared Nieuwenhuis

I am so proud of the creativity the social media team shows daily. They understand the brand and our audience so well, which translates into great social media content and engagement. They collaborate seamlessly, and our team is constantly sharing ideas, being inspired by our passionate fans and their survey responses, and contributing to our social media goals. Additionally, they are disciplined and organized across different departments, which leads to a holistic communications approach. This enhances our overall success, aligns with the expectations of our fans, and grows the overall awareness of our award-winning games across multiple platforms. They also take a lot of inspiration from current trends and events. From International Video Game Day to the Olympics, we’re here to celebrate and cheer on our amazing fans while tying it back to Nancy Drew games and HeR Interactive. 

SUPERJUMP

One of the things I always loved most about HeR Interactive is its centering on women's stories. Nancy was one of the heroines I resonated most with as a kid, even though I had no shortage of superheroes to look up to. Why do you think she's remained such a role model to people of all ages?

Penny Milliken

Nancy Drew’s enduring relevance as a role model can probably be attributed to several factors:

1. Timeless Appeal: Nancy’s character, with her unique blend of intelligence, courage, and independence, resonates across generations. Her relatability makes her a timeless figure in detective fiction or video games.
2. Adaptability: Nancy has evolved over the years, from her original depiction in the 1930s to modern adaptations. This evolution is a testament to her ability to adapt to changing cultural norms and interests, ensuring her continued relevance.
3. Diverse Media: Nancy Drew has made her mark in books, movies, TV shows, and video games. This multi-platform presence not only keeps her relevant but also makes her accessible to a wide audience.
4. Fan Community: We are constantly amazed by our passionate fan base who continue to celebrate Nancy Drew. Be it fan conventions, online forums, or social media, the fans are directly responsible for Nancy’s ongoing popularity.

SUPERJUMP

I know development takes a lot of different hands to move the boat, and one thing I've often overlooked is the music. The soundtrack in Mystery of the Seven Keys is as enchanting and atmospheric as the past titles. How do you craft such a smooth soundtrack for the games?

Suzy O’Hara

The music in KEY was inspired by the contrast between old-world ancient Prague with the beautiful settings, and the modern world of high-tech crimes in the story. 

Our composer, Ryan Ricks, is phenomenal, starting with the narrative and setting to craft a cohesive musical experience. We provide him with detailed scenarios and examples, for feeling and tone, and he transforms them magically into layered, dynamic pieces. These tracks often allow for a variety of combinations with different instruments, enhancing the atmosphere of each scene. Cutscenes, which are critical for story progression and emotional impact, benefit greatly from his unique compositions.

We're thrilled you enjoyed how we blended the sounds of old-world Prague, local street performers, marionettes, our cozy coffee cafe, and the whimsical elements of Old Town. The cello at the museum and the cathedral’s music pay homage to Czechia’s classic music, while medieval legends and mysterious happenings bring a haunting vibe and suspense. The Aparat computer store and certain puzzles transport players to the more high-tech elements. The music is one of the game's highlights, and we hope players will enjoy each piece.

"Nancy operates in a world of reality and crimes, but to me, the stories woven in the case that tie in history, fiction, and some fantasy into the adventure add to the mystery that Nancy has to solve."

Suzy O'Hara
CHIEF CREATIVE & CREATIVE PRODUCER - GAMES

SUPERJUMP

Video game designs have changed a lot from the early aughts, but people still seem to like click-and-point-style adventures. Cozy games are fairly popular too. Do you have any games or game genres that you've drawn inspiration from? What about books or movies or music? 

Suzy O’Hara

Inspiration from games I search out is usually very strong in story and character development. I simply love narrative mystery adventure games.  

I play many fun casual games that are always inspiring for our activities and mini-games. 

Those fun Nancy experiences give us the chance to develop new mechanics often played in more casual games and puzzle sim types. I like games like Monopoly, Portal 1 and 2, The Room, Countryle, and Papers Please. 

Also, games rich in investigative clue-gathering and deduction. These games to me are among the best for their unique storytelling, investigative gameplay, and often innovative mechanics. Some examples that are top on my list are Return of the Obra Dinn, the Uncharted series, and Sherlock Holmes.

As far as books for inspiration, all Nancy Drew mystery books, of course!! 

Also, fantasy books offer rich worlds and compelling stories, drawing on a variety of myths, legends, and folklore to create engaging fantasy elements in Nancy’s adventures. 

Nancy operates in a world of reality and crimes, but to me, the stories woven in the case that tie in history, fiction, and some fantasy into the adventure add to the mystery that Nancy has to solve. 

For movie inspiration for storytelling and mysteries, here is my list:

• History! Drama and the classics all offer real situations told in universally appealing ways.
• Spy and espionage
• Classic mysteries well told: Agatha Christie's Orient Express, Glass Onion: Knives Out, and Sherlock Holmes films and series. 

For Music inspiration: Music that inspired ideas for KEY drew from the classical to the mysterious and lo-fi moods, as we used in the Nancy Drew Café holiday mix that has a cozy café vibe with music from past games and as well as new tracks from KEY.  

SUPERJUMP

Of course, I have to ask, what is one of the games in the franchise you consider a favorite?

Our favorite Nancy Drew games, not including Nancy Drew: Mystery of the Seven Keys:

Penny Milliken - Nancy Drew: The Silent Spy

Suzy O’Hara – Nancy Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor 

Cacie Desautel – Nancy Drew: The Silent Spy

Jared Nieuwenhuis – Nancy Drew: Ghost of Thornton Hall

I want to sincerely thank the HeR Interactive team for taking the time to interview with us! And, of course, thanks to Nancy – who taught me to be brave, kind, and always curious.

Mystery fans old and new alike should give Mystery of the Seven Keys a spin, or any of her 34(!) other mysteries, including those mentioned as favorites by the team above. As a longtime Drew fan, my opinion may be biased, but the longevity of the brand speaks for itself – these games have always been wonderfully realized point-and-click adventures. They're charming, creative, and most of all fun; so, there's bound to be a mystery (or many) right for you.

You can keep up with all things Nancy Drew via blog, YouTube, and Facebook, and other social media channels.

Itch.io – Steam

Back in 2017, a developer from France contacted me about their new point-and-click sci-fi game in the works called Ama’s Lullaby. But, it’s more than a point-and-click game, it’s also a hacking game. Now, this developer works on this game in his free time after his day job and with a small budget. Sometimes these passion projects die due to lack of time, money, motivation and/or just interest. But it looks like Ama’s Lullaby isn’t going to be one of those projects. Earlier this year, a demo of the game got released. Now, I asked the developer if he was interested in streaming this demo with us, and he did. Here is a link to part 1 & part 2. Sadly, due to overheating of Klamath’s computer, it had to be cut into two parts and the ending was quite abrupt. Now, this stream is almost a month ago, and I still wanted to write an article about this game. So, what do I think of the demo? Am I still as impressed when I saw it during the livestream, or is my opinion going to change when I’m not back seating and playing it myself? Let’s find out in this article.

Hacking The Point-And-Click Genre

The story of this demo is quite simple. Ama enters the police station and gets new tasks to aid the space colony she is in. Overall, the story is told more naturally compared to other games. Mostly, we get an opening where the main story of the game is teased, but not in this game. During interactions with the others, we get little glimpses into the world and story. Now, this is a tricky thing to pull off, since either you have to force the player to interact with everybody or risk that some players miss potentially important information. On the other hand, info dumping on the player isn’t always the best solution.

Now, in this space colony, there is an AI that makes a lot of decisions. It turns out that Ama and her dad have created that AI and the software to interact with it. She is one of the ambassadors of the human race. But it doesn’t take too long before strange things start to happen, and you notice that not everything is what you think it is.

The dialogues in this game appear above the character’s their head. When it’s cursive, you know it’s a thought. Not only that, you have simple sound effects that appear to put some additional power to the dialogues and to quickly differentiate between thoughts and spoken dialogues. Currently, there are plans to fully voice act this game, but if those plans fall through, I’d recommend to the developer to have different sound effects for the dialogues for different emotions.

Now, the game cold opens with an old school terminal as a main menu. This might be a bit jarring for new players who aren’t used to working with the command line. Personally, as somebody who knows how a command line works, I really love this touch. Since, this interface is also present in a lot of puzzles in the game. It fits the atmosphere and style of the game as a glove. To be honest, I think that with some minor polishing, it would be perfect.

There are a few things I would change. First, I’d get rid of the case-sensitive commands. The main reason is that a lot of people have the default keybinding for the Steam overlay with is… Shift+Tab. Since I love using autocomplete, it got pretty frustrating when I was holding my shift button and tabbed to autocomplete and my Steam overlay popped up.

A second thing I’d change is to allow the user to enlarge the font of terminal. The reason for that is because it doesn’t really scale pretty well with people who are using larger monitors.

Now, since this game is still in development and this is just the demo… I can totally excuse that there are features not present. Like pushing the up arrow to get the last command, or the help feature not always working correctly in all menus. For example, if you are in the options menu and use “QUALITY HELP”, you get information but if you first write “QUALITY” to see the options you can input and then “QUALITY HELP”… It bugs out and doesn’t give you help at all. Another small bug I noticed is that for some reason, the enter button on my numpad didn’t enter but always selected the whole text. But hey, during the stream the developer said that some of these things are on the list to get fixed for the full game.

Cyberpunk Sci-fi

I was impressed with the visuals of the game when we were playing this game on stream. While I haven’t played the Blade Runner games yet, I have seen a lot of people talk about it and know the visual style of the game. This game really mimics that style extremely well. You really feel like you are in a sci-fi world with some older technology than we have compared to our own technology.

Also, something I really love in this demo is that everything is one big space. You don’t really have “screens” in this game, like in a Broken Sword game for example. No, the camera swings and follows Ama as if she was in a movie. This sells the illusion of the area even more. While I’d have loved to see the details the developer put in every scene more up close sometimes, the more zoomed out look gives you a better overview on the scene. It almost feels like you are watching Ama through security camera’s or a drone camera in a way.

The biggest thing that I want to point out in terms of the visuals is Ama herself. The game goes for a more dark and dimly light environment and with a main character that’s wearing black clothes, it’s extremely easy to lose Ama in the scenery. It wouldn’t surprise me if they gave our main character in Blade Runner a brown coat for that reason, so you can more quickly see the main character without breaking the visual style of the game. But, overall, this is almost a nitpick. Since, it didn’t happen a lot that I lost Ama in the scene. It mostly happened when I was replaying parts of the demo while writing this article.

Now, I want to talk about the command line. The tutorial in this game on how a command line works is actually well done. I love how it doesn’t hold the players hands and tries to force them to input the right thing. It really lets you experiment with it and learn how it works. All the while, a small guide on how things work is displayed on the top of your screen.

This whole command line mechanic in this game is a breath of fresh air. It’s impressive how true to reality the whole command line is. While it uses some creative liberties here and there to make it fit into the game world, overall, it might be a real command line interface that’s open in the game.

In this demo, you have a few tasks to complete. Most of these tasks involve fixing various things. One task is highly dependent on the command line. This was quite easy for me since, like I said, I know how to use a command line. Visually, it’s a bit tricky during the tutorials in the network view since it’s not really clear/easy on how you can scroll up or down while in the network view. Using the mouse mostly scrolls around the network map. I think an easier way to scroll up and down in the terminal could be useful there. Also, when you have to input a command that’s longer than the terminal screen, I’d start a second line. Since, that’s how real life works. Or move the whole thing, and not let the username stay.

Final thoughts and future wishes

Overall, the demo is quite short. If you don’t know what you are doing and exploring everything, it will take you mostly two hours to complete. But if you know what to do, you can finish this in 10 minutes. Yet, the impression I got from the stream hasn’t changed. This game has quite a lot of potential but it needs some polish here and there.

There are some minor things like some objects not being solid and Ama being able to run through them, but there are also more major issues. The elevator bug the developer Marc mentioned during the stream, happened to me. Ama didn’t go up with the elevator and she was stuck. I think it was related to another bug I encountered where the head of IT got stuck in an animation loop. Somehow it was like Ama was near him while Ama was walking in other parts of the station. I don’t know what exactly triggered that, and I have replayed the demo trice to try and get it back into that bugged state, but I was unable to find the cause and I was unable to replicate it.

Currently, there is one way to save the game. There are several terminals in this demo where you can save your game. You only have one save slot. There is also no manual saving of the game. So, remember that. You can also only load from the main menu.

Reviewing a demo is always tricky to do. Especially if the game is still in development, since you never know for sure how the final game is going to look like. Yet, this demo is extremely promising. The puzzles where a lot of fun and after playing the demo, I had the same feeling that Klamath had at the end of the stream. I want to play more or similar games like this.

I could start talking about how the sound effects are amazing but there isn’t enough music yet. But, at one hand, the lack of music really sells the atmosphere of the game a lot more but on the other hand, the music during the terminal sections is really enjoyable. But, I’m sure that in the full game we shall see more music.

Just like I’m convinced that when the full game releases and the players find bugs, they will get fixed. While I was talking with Marc during the stream, I really felt the passion for creating this game and how he wants to make it the best experience it can be for his players. So, if you are interested in this game after reading this article in any way shape or form, I highly recommend that you give this game a chance, play the demo for yourself and give the developer feedback via his Discord or any other of his official channels.

I can’t wait to see and play the final game. Various things got revealed and talked about during the stream and I have to say, it was an amazing experience and conversation. I was already interested in seeing this game when it was on KickStarter but now that I have played the demo, I think we are on a winner here. This game will put an interesting twist on the point-and-click genre and will be interesting to anyone who enjoys adventure games with a sci-fi influence or just enjoy more unique puzzle games.

I want to thank Marc for reaching out to me and talking about his unique project. You can be sure that when the full version releases… me and Klamath will play through it and most likely stream it. And I’ll write a more in-depth article on the final product. Since, I might have not talked quite in-depth in this article but I want to hold off my final opinions when the game is fully released.

If you have read my article, played the demo and/or watched our stream, I’m curious, what did you think about this game? Feel free to talk about it in the comments. Am I overhyping the game or overlooking flaws? Or is there something you’d love to see in the full game?

And with that said, I have said everything about the game I want to say for now. I want to thank you for reading this article and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care.

I think I like the idea of the text parser-based adventure game more than I like the actual games themselves. You know, the kind where you need to type in all your actions. I’m not just talking about the old text adventures from the '70s and '80s, I’m also talking about new text adventures that you might find at IF Comp that push one of the oldest game genres to its limit.

I like games that are carried mostly by their writing and–well, if there aren’t any images the writing needs to be solid. But text parser-based games never seem to click with me. I think it’s similar to the point-and-click adventure game, in terms of my frustrations with the puzzle elements. Occasionally, I think to myself, “Lucas, why aren’t you really into point-and-click adventure games? It’s a genre full of funny games, and those are your favourite kinds.” Then I play some of them, butt up against that classic adventure game puzzle logic, and remember why I have not become an authority on all things point-and-click adventure.

This goes double for the text-only variety, where there aren’t visual clues, just a text parser with set boundaries that always get in my way. It’s more of a personal thing than anything else. With all this said, I’ve recently played Cryptmaster, a dungeon crawler that plays with the idea of the text parser in some funny and delightful ways. 

Cryptmaster, from developers Paul Hart and Lee Williams and published by Akupara Games, is a monochrome, first-person dungeon crawler that sees four legendary heroes pulled out of the afterlife (sans memories) by a necromancer known as the Cryptmaster. The foursome is tasked with ascending through layers of underground cities to reach the surface while they recover their memories of past exploits along the way. All the standard features of a dungeon crawler are here — exploration, combat, puzzles, and loot – and basically everything other than moving around the world is done by typing single words. 

The best example of how this works is what happens when you open a chest. The Cryptmaster will appear in all his camp glory (and with great VO work by Williams) with some blank spaces for letters. You will then have to guess what item is in the chest, which could be anything from a sword to a jockstrap to a loose eyeball. How you guess is by asking for a memory the Cryptmaster has of the object and using the five senses: look, touch, hear, smell, and the less useful and often amusing taste. If you’re successful, you get some loot. That loot, like everything else, is letters. 

Combat is done by typing in your characters’ moves to whittle away their health bar (which for party members and foes is their name). Your four characters basically conform to standard fantasy classes: leader Joro is a hard-hitting warrior type, then there’s Syn the rogue, Maz the healer/support, and Nix the mage (who has many marine-life-based spells). There’s a nice synergy between the characters, especially as one of the big challenges is managing the cooldowns after each party member uses a move. In a nice accessibility touch, since you can choose between having the combat play out in real-time or be turn-based if your fingers can’t accurately type fast enough or you require the use of a controller.

Like the chests, the reward for downing a foe is letters, which are used for the leveling system. Each character has one blank word to fill out at a time, which can be filled out with the letters you collect. These words, which either unlock a move or a memory from the hero’s past, can be found early if you can correctly guess the missing letters. 

All of this would be novel, if not particularly thrilling, if not for a couple of things, which truly elevate this game to something great. Firstly, it seems the developers have thought through many of the things that players might put into the parser. And by that, I don’t just mean they have put in synonyms for common actions, though I do appreciate that. I mean that they have provided amusing, fully voiced interactions for many of the ways a player might want to dick around.

A great example of this involves the save system, which you have to do manually at Agda’s healing Altar of Life. Being undead, Agda has no time for you, so the Cryptmaster asks you to desecrate every altar you find so that you can use it. You can smash the altar, you can kick it, and you can do something that sounds a lot like desecrate. Juvenile, yes, but the encouragement to experiment with each altar, combined with Agda’s increased exasperation at your constant vandalism, never ceased to be funny.

Cryptmaster’s myriad of interactions, both with the parser and with the eclectic cast of characters, wouldn’t be as constantly delightful without the strong writing and voice acting on display throughout. This is a genuinely funny game, carried by the ever-present Cryptmaster and his constant droll commentary. But there are jokes all around, from the memories you unlock to the bigger quest beats, such as when you need to help a bard write a diss track.

There are so many fun ways to mess about with the game that you are unlikely to find all the gags in a playthrough. After I completed the game, I saw patch notes from the (in character) Cryptmaster Twitter/X account that mentioned “more flirt responses” and “I now respond to animal noises.” I did not think to do either of those things, but keep those in mind when you play. And you should play it, because it’s an inventive and welcome evolution of a niche genre. 

Title: Thimbleweed Park
Type of Game: Adventure, Point-and-Click
Developer: Terrible Toybox
Publisher: Terrible Toybox
Released: March 30, 2017
Platforms Available: PC, Mac, Linux, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android
Platform Reviewed: PC
Level of Maturity: Teen 13+
Reading Time: 6 minutes

Pixel Nostalgia Meets Modern Mobile

Firing up Thimbleweed Park on my phone, I couldn’t help but grin. As a guy who’s been point-and-clicking since floppy disks were a thing, I was curious to see how this deliberately retro game would hold up not just on mobile but on PC, Playstation Xbox, Nintendo and Mac same time!

The Bold Retro Aesthetic

Let’s get this out of the way: Thimbleweed Park looks old. Really old. We’re talking “EGA graphics from 1987” old. It’s a bold choice, especially considering some of the gorgeous adventure games that have come out in recent years. Games like Grim Fandango, Broken Sword, or even the later Monkey Island entries showed how the genre could evolve visually while keeping its puzzle-solving soul.

But you know what? The ultra-retro look works. It’s not just nostalgia – though there’s plenty of that. The pixel art is sharp, detailed, and surprisingly expressive. Plus, it runs smooth as butter on mobile, which is a big plus in my book.

Quirky Characters and Clever Writing

The game follows five quirky characters as they stumble through a murder mystery in the oddball town of Thimbleweed Park. The writing is clever, with plenty of fourth-wall-breaking jokes and pop culture references that had me chuckling.

Brain-Teasing Puzzles in Your Pocket

Puzzle-wise, Thimbleweed Park doesn’t pull its punches. If you picked “hard” mode like I did, be prepared for some serious head-scratchers. The multi-character gameplay adds layers to the puzzles that I really dug. Switching between characters felt natural on the touchscreen, making it easy to try out different solutions.Speaking of touchscreens, this game feels right at home on mobile. The point-and-click interface that once needed a mouse now works perfectly with taps and swipes. I found myself pulling out my phone for quick puzzle-solving sessions during lunch breaks or while waiting for the bus.

Old-School Charm, Modern Sensibilities

What really struck me about Thimbleweed Park is how it captures the spirit of classic adventure games while making smart concessions to modern gaming. The hint system, disguised as an in-game phone hotline, is genius. It preserves the challenge for stubborn old-schoolers like me while preventing casual players from getting permanently stuck.For all its retro trappings, Thimbleweed Park feels fresh. It’s not just imitating the past; it’s building on it. The developers, Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick, clearly know their stuff. They’ve taken lessons learned from decades of game design and applied them here, resulting in an experience that’s both familiar and new.

The Verdict: A Pixel-Perfect Adventure for the Modern Age

Is it perfect? Nah. Some jokes fall flat, and occasionally, the puzzles cross the line from challenging to frustrating. The ultra-retro graphics might be a turn-off for some players, especially those used to more visually rich adventure games. But for me, Thimbleweed Park hits a sweet spot. It’s a game that respects its roots while embracing the convenience of modern mobile gaming. It’s the kind of game I can lose myself in for hours or play in short bursts, perfect for my not-as-much-free-time-as-I-used-to-have adult life.

If you’re an old-school adventure game fan, Thimbleweed Park is an easy recommendation. It’s like finding a lost LucasArts classic, but one that plays nice with your smartphone. And if you’re new to the genre? Well, prepare for a weird, wild, and wonderfully brain-teasing ride.In a mobile gaming landscape often dominated by quick-hit puzzlers and endless runners, Thimbleweed Park stands out. It’s a proper, meaty adventure game that just happens to fit in your pocket. Whether you’re a veteran pixel-hunter or a curious newcomer, it’s well worth your time.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a murder to solve and a cursed clown to deal with. These puzzles aren’t going to solve themselves!

Where to Buy Thimbleweed Park

Steam (PC, Mac, Linux): Available for $19.99. You can purchase it directly from Steam.
Xbox Store (Xbox One): Available for $19.99. Check it out on the Xbox Store.
PlayStation Store (PS4): Available for $19.99. You can find it on the PlayStation Store.
Nintendo Shop (Switch): Available for $19.99. Purchase it from the Nintendo Shop.
App Store (iOS): Available for $9.99. Download it from the App Store.
Google Play (Android): Available for $9.99. Purchase it from Google Play.
Epic Games Store (PC): Available for $19.99. Purchase it from the Epic Games Store.
GOG (PC): Available for roughly $21. Purchase it from GOG.

Official Page: Visit the official Thimbleweed Park page for more information.
Subreddit: Join the discussion on the Thimbleweed Park Subreddit.

The post Thimbleweed Park: The Body is Starting to Pixelate appeared first on WePlayGames.net: Home for Top Gamers.

Contents:

The Intro

The Game

The Replay

The Verdict

The Intro

Title: Syberia

Release year: 2002

Developed by: Microïds

Genre: Point-and-click adventure

Platform replayed on: PC

It’s the journey, not the destination.

Perhaps an overused cliché in general, and one arguably applicable to any adventure game.

But Syberia is an adventure game quite literally about a journey.

I remember playing this around the time it was released, and still have my physical copy.

I’m not sure how I heard about Syberia, but I’m not surprised I have it in my collection, being a big fan of point-and-click adventure games. It was highly regarded at the time, in a time when point-and-clicks were not as popular as in their heyday in the late 80s/early 90s.

I recall Syberia having a larger focus on the story than on the puzzles, and I remember finishing it as I can remember the ending very clearly. This may not seem like anything worth mentioning, but when I reflect on story-driven games, I can’t always recall exactly what happens at the end. For example, I’ve replayed Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure and Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis here on Present Perfect Gaming. I know that our hero Indiana Jones wins the day in the end in both games (particularly in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, given that it’s based on the film), but ask me to describe the endings in detail and I wouldn’t have been able to do it prior to my replay. This is even more interesting, given Syberia is a title I haven’t touched since my original playthrough, where I had played both Indiana Jones games again since first playing them.

So what was it about the ending that made it so memorable?

Let’s take a look. It’s time to journey to Syberia…

The Game

The story in Syberia sees protagonist Kate Walker, an American lawyer, having just arrived in the fictional small French town of Valadilène. She’s there to sign a deal securing the takeover of a family-operated toy factory at the heart of the town’s economy.

It’s a “big fish eats small fish” premise, but it quickly disappears into the background as the real journey takes over. Kate becomes invested in finding the missing heir to the company, whose signature she will need to complete the takeover.

But it’s not just a physical journey for Kate, as she chases a signature across Europe, but also a personal one. She faces challenges from friends, family, and colleagues from home, all distracting her from her job and ultimate goal of getting the deal signed.

In terms of gameplay, Syberia is very accessible. The interface is very simple for a point-and-click adventure game. There are three basic actions when it comes to interacting with the environment. Kate can pick up objects, interact with objects, and talk to people. You don’t even need to toggle between the actions, as when you hover over anything you can interact with, the appropriate action is selected.

There’s quite a lot of reading in Syberia, as you collect a lot of documents along the journey. There’s also a lot of dialogue, in person and on the phone with Kate’s contacts back home.

Combined with the exploration, Syberia is a slower-paced point-and-click adventure. It feels more like interactive fiction than a true puzzler of a point-and-click adventure game. And that’s not a criticism, but it does require that as a player you get yourself invested in the characters and story.

And with that, let’s meet some of these characters as we join Kate upon her arrival in the French Alps, in the small town of Valadilène…

The Replay

Syberia begins with Kate arriving in Valadilène with the rain falling, and the town in mourning.

Unfortunately, Kate has arrived too late to conclude negotiations for the sale of Voralberg Manufacturing.

Current owner, the elderly Anna Voralberg, has died, and there’s no immediate succession plan.

Kate’s first task is to speak with the local notary to see how the sale can continue. This is where we learn of the terrible Voralberg family secret—there is a living heir. Anna’s younger brother Hans, long thought dead, is still alive.

Not quite the arrival Kate was hoping for, and as Hans’ whereabouts are unknown, it’s a complication that could potentially jeopardise the sale.

However, unavoidable delays don’t seem to generate any sympathy from first her partner, and then her boss.

These calls from home were the first in what turns out to be an unfolding drama for Kate in both her personal and professional life. Kate and her partner, Dan, seem to be drifting apart, with Dan seemingly unable to understand how an international lawyer could possibly get delayed. And Kate’s boss, Edward Marson, simply doesn’t care what’s happened in Valadilène, and puts pressure on Kate to complete the sale through any means necessary.

With Kate at a loss as to what to do next, she starts exploring the town. And this is how we learn more about just what kind of company Voralberg Manufacturing is.

The Voralberg name is associated with luxury mechanical toys and automatons. Valadilène is filled with these automatons, and they are central to the story in Syberia and the journey Kate is about to take.

Interacting with these automatons also provides a lot of the puzzles you need to solve.

Check out my playthrough of the first twenty minutes of Syberia on Youtube as Kate arrives in Valadilène.

It doesn’t take long before Kate meets Oscar, one of these automatons. Oscar is a fairly advanced automaton, and can speak. He’s not completely autonomous though, and is bound by a set of protocols.

Before Oscar is going to be of any use, you must work out how to complete him. You see, when you first meet him, he doesn’t have any feet (this interaction reminded me of one of my favourite films, Edward Scissorhands, where Edward was similarly left unfinished).

With Oscar completed, Kate learns that his function is to operate a train stationed in Valadilène. The destination? Hans Voralberg.

Finally, Kate has found a lead.

Before Kate can depart though, she learns of the events that lead up to Hans’ so-called death. In 1930, a ten-year-old Hans discovered a cave near Valadilène, which housed seemingly mystical murals of mammoths. Yes, mammoths.

One fateful day, Hans takes Anna to the cave. Once there, he spots an object on a high ledge. Grabbing what turns out to be a mammoth figurine, he suddenly loses his grip and falls.

What follows over the next few years is a sad tale, as Hans is never able to recover from the accident. Physically and mentally stunted, Hans barely speaks, is very attached to his older sister Anna, and is obsessed with drawing mammoths.

It’s a challenging time for the family, with Hans’ father giving him a job in the toy factory to try and give him a chance at a normal life. Here he shows quite the aptitude for building automatons. Oscar is one of his creations.

But Han’s obsession with the mammoths and where they came from does not let up, and he decides he wants to leave Valadilène. His father however, does not support this and locks him away in his workshop. When Hans escapes, his father fakes his death.

Kate learns that at the time of her death, Anna was writing a letter to Hans, indicating that she was intending to meet with Hans. The train that Oscar can operate was designed by Hans and built by Anna for this journey.

With Anna now having passed away, Kate decides to complete this journey. After all, she still needs that signature…

The story in Syberia is front-loaded, with all the background and context provided early on in Valadilène. It definitely requires an investment up front by the player. There’s not a lot of action, and it’s a lot of reading, particularly Anna’s diary.

The remainder of the game is about the journey Kate takes on this mysterious mechanical train to find Hans.

After a long journey, the train pulls into Barrockstadt, a university town. Immediately, you can sense why Hans may have scheduled a stop here.

For a university town, it’s pretty quiet, with hardly any students around. Kate soon learns that it is an institution well past its prime.

This is a common theme in Syberia, as Valadilène’s glory days were also long since past. Two once-great towns that have been left behind by progress and the modern world.

Regardless, it’s an important stop for Kate, as she uncovers more about Hans. He spent some time at the university, and got to know a paleontology professor.

The professor shares his research with Kate, which is on the Youkol people of Siberia. Yes, this time it’s the real “Siberia”, and not Syberia. It turns out, the Youkol lived on the island of Syberia, off the coast of Siberia. Got all that? Unnecessarily complicated for a work of fiction, if you ask me…

The Youkol domesticated mammoths, which no doubt interested Hans, and further encouraged him to continue his journey east.

Of course, all this information isn’t free—this is a point-and-click after all. It turns out there are a lot of errands Kate needs to run for the university staff before she can wind her train up and follow in Hans’ footsteps, er…train tracks.

Throughout Syberia, you find music boxes, which Hans had built to communicate with Anna. Kate discovers these, and the responses Anna would send to Hans.

Syberia is a game about relationships. As we know, Kate has her own issues with those back home. But the relationship between brother and sister, Hans and Anna, is central to the story.

But how will this play out, now that Anna has died, and unable to take her journey to Hans? It seems Kate is now serving two purposes. She still has to deliver the sale of Voralberg Manufacturing. But she’s now trying to complete Anna’s journey to Hans, albeit a sad one bringing news of her death.

The next stop is Komkolzgrad, an old Communist-era mining town. It’s yet another relic from the past, and has been all but abandoned.

Hans has also had an impact on this place, though it did cause Anna to worry what he might have been involved in.

The story takes a strange turn here, and the focus moves from Kate’s journey, to the eccentric director of Komkolzgrad. Serguei Borodine is the antagonist in Syberia, in a story that I didn’t think would have one. All of a sudden, an adventure of discovery turns into a thriller involving theft, a ransom, and kidnapping.

Where did this all come from? Well, Oscar’s hands have been stolen.

Borodine is behind this, and he’s got something he wants before he gives them back.

Kate finds Oscar’s hands locked to an automaton pianist, and Borodine wants a special performance. You see, Borodine has a rather unhealthy obsession with Helena Romanski, an old opera singer who once performed in Komkolzgrad.

All Kate needs to do is locate Helena Romanski, and bring her back to perform in Komkolzgrad. What could be simpler?

After Kate finds that the elderly Romanski is staying at a seaside spa in Russia, she just needs a ride there, given that the train is out of action for the moment.

Enter Boris Charow, a drunk ex-cosmonaut (who, for those familiar, reminded me of Cid Highwind from Final Fantasy VII, as when we first meet both Boris and Cid, they’re trying to launch something).

Boris was excited to become a rocket test pilot for the Red Army, thanks to Hans. But when Hans disappeared, Boris turned to the bottle.

As Kate’s fate would have it, Boris can help Kate operate an airship so she can fly to the spa, if she can finish what Hans started.

With Kate successfully launching Boris on his way to who knows where, she turns her attention to the airship. It’s at this point I had to suspend my disbelief, as Kate manages to pilot the airship herself.

It was also during this section in Syberia that Kate’s personal life had its most significant impact. Kate’s partner and her best friend had begun an affair. At first it was emotional, but ended in a one-night stand. Kate essentially just shuts it out, as she’s by now so invested in her mission to find Hans that she can barely think of anything else. In the end, this part of Syberia just left me wondering why it was included at all.

The end of the story in Syberia comes fast once Kate arrives in Aralbad, the spa where Romanski is staying. It’s a beautiful setting, but again a place that is past its heyday.

Unsurprisingly, Hans has also made a visit to Aralbad.

Kate, ulterior motive in mind, meets with Romanski and manages to convince her to come out of retirement for one last show.

Convincing Romanski came down to mixing a cocktail she used to drink to bring out her voice. This was one of the more enjoyable puzzles in Syberia.

I have to admit, this all felt a lot like kidnapping, but the show must go on.

As it turned out, it was kidnapping, as Borodine wants to keep Romanski forever.

I didn’t really enjoy this diversion, but thankfully it was short. It was quick and easy to rescue Romanski, and escape with Oscar’s hands. In an out-of-place Hollywood blockbuster style exit, the trio depart Komkolzgrad on the train.

The train takes them back to Aralbad, where a mysterious package is awaiting Kate.

And just like that, Kate finds Hans at Aralbad. Not quite sure how or why Hans appeared here, Kate wastes little time getting the deal signed.

Hans has little interest in the deal, and is only concerned with taking his train to Syberia and sending Kate home.

And that’s it for Syberia. Job’s done right? Time to go home.

Well, not quite. And this is why I remember the ending so well. Kate decides not to go home, but to join Hans and continue the journey.

A cliffhanger! Memorable, yes. Abrupt, yes. Satisfying? Hmm.

I said it was a memorable ending in the introduction. Now that we’ve got to the end of the journey (kind of), what did I make of Syberia overall? Was it memorable for the right reasons?

It’s time for the verdict.

The Verdict

Let’s start with the ending, and work back. I clearly remember Kate jumping on the train at the end of Syberia, and riding off to Syberia. It was obvious that Syberia was clearly designed as part one of an ongoing series.

You could get some satisfaction from the ending here, assuming Kate goes off to Syberia and lives happily ever after, throwing her previous life away. But in order to finish this story, you really need to play Syberia II (2004) which continues the story right where Syberia left off.

I have played Syberia II, but I can’t recall how the story ends. All I remembered from this series was the cliffhanger ending to Syberia. I did say in the beginning though, this is a game about the journey and not the destination. I guess I shouldn’t focus so much on my disappointment at not getting to Syberia…

What of the journey then?

In short, I enjoyed the premise, but not so much the execution. I look at the journey in three parts.

The first is the physical journey Kate takes across Europe. All of the stops Kate makes along the way show places that were once successful, but that have long since been left behind by the progress of the twentieth century. It’s ironic that Valadilène developed automatons, yet likely declined due to the increasing reliance on technology and automation in the second half of the century.

Syberia is about change, and what is left behind. Which brings me to the second part of the journey, Kate’s personal story. I found this a distraction while playing the game, but I can understand its place. If Kate is to give up her life back home and continue to Syberia, there has to be something to leave behind. I just felt it was too obnoxious. There’s the self-absorbed mother, the abusive boss, and a selfish partner and best friend falling into an affair. No wonder she gave them all up—they’re all very easy to dislike!

The third part of the journey is exploring the relationship between Anna and Hans. And like Kate visiting places affected by change, and Kate’s changing personal relationships impacting her decision to stay with Hans, the relationship between Anna and Hans is about change too. They were always close siblings, but after Hans had his accident, their lives were changed forever.

I enjoyed exploring these journeys and themes in Syberia. But it does require an investment. You have to spend the time reading the material you pick up, listening to the conversations you engage in, and exploring the locations.

And speaking of locations, Syberia is a beautiful looking game. I also enjoy Steampunk-themed games, so this “Clockpunk” variation on the theme appealed to me. I also enjoyed the historical backdrop of Anna and Hans’ story, post-World War II and Stalinist Russia.

The locations themselves are very picturesque, but if there’s one criticism, there are a lot of screens that serve no purpose other than to walk from one place to another.

The execution in-game of the journeys is what lets Syberia down. As mentioned, Kate’s personal relationships are not well explored. They’re superficial and one dimensional. They felt like a distraction, and unnecessary.

I also didn’t like the abrupt change of pace that came with Kate’s arrival in Komkolzgrad. It felt out of place to introduce an antagonist late in the game and change the focus from Kate onto someone else.

It’s also difficult to end my journey with Syberia, as it feels incomplete. I’m not at the end of this story. I think I’d rather have played both games and looked at them as the sum of their parts.

But that’s a journey for another day. I’ve reached my stop, and it’s time to jump off this train.

5

So, have you played Syberia?

Yes, I jumped on board the Syberia train and never got off.

Yes, but I think I got on the wrong train...

No, but I'd like a one-way ticket to Syberia please.

No, I'm heading in the opposite direction.

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Contents

The Intro

The Game

The Replay

The Verdict

The Intro

Title: Police Quest: Open Season (aka Police Quest 4)

Release year: 1993

Developed by: Sierra On-Line

Genre: Point-and-click

Platform replayed on: PC

Please note there are graphic images in this blog.

Ever wanted to live the life of an LA detective?

Okay, let me rephrase that. It’s easy to forget Police Quest: Open Season is a 30 year-old game.

So, ever wanted to live the life of an LA detective in the 90s?

While Police Quest: Open Season (from here Police Quest 4) does bring the mundane procedural police activities to the fore (flashing the badge, writing reports), the case to solve is anything but routine.

You play as Detective John Carey, as he arrives on the scene of a recent homicide. But this won’t just be another day at the office for Carey.

The victim is a police officer.

He’s also Carey’s best friend.

This one’s personal.

The Game

Police Quest 4 marked a change in direction for the Sierra series. The first three Police Quest games were produced by former police officer Jim Walls, and followed the fictional adventures of officer Sonny Bonds.

Police Quest 4 took a turn towards realism under former Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), Daryl Gates. Realism came from scanned backgrounds from actual locations around Los Angeles, with the full-motion video of actors on top. The CD-ROM version also featured voice acting.

You control Carey with a standard point-and-click set of commands: walk, talk to, look at, use.

As a police officer, you’ll also have access to the standard tools of the trade.

You’ll also pick up items and evidence along the way, which get added to your inventory.

Most of your time will be spent out and about Los Angeles, tracking down leads, investigating crime scenes, and conducting interviews. New locations are uncovered as you progress through the case.

The case plays out over a number of days, with each day having certain events that you must trigger in order to end that day and continue.

Simple to play. Will it be simple to solve?

It’s time to find out as I hit the streets of Los Angeles as Detective John Carey in Police Quest 4.

The Replay

Monday. 3:30 a.m. South Central Los Angeles.

A dead body.

You join Detective John Carey in an alley behind a convenience store as he arrives on the scene of the murder of his best friend, Bob Hickman. Police Quest 4 drops you straight into it, with real police work to do. There’s no time to mourn: there’s a scene to investigate, and locals to interview.

Observing the body of Hickman, he’s just been laid out in the middle of the alley; there was no attempt to hide him.

The killer wanted Hickman to be found.

This opening scene in Police Quest 4 teaches you the importance of crime scene investigation. In particular, three actions that you will need frequently: identify yourself when wanting to interview someone, handle evidence correctly, and take notes. You won’t be able to complete this opening investigation without these.

There’s not much for Carey to get wrong here. Just talk to the locals on the scene, inspect the body, and make sure to note down anything important.

Like what’s in the dumpster.

It’s the body of a young boy, shot multiple times. More questions than answers at this stage.

It’s time to head back to Parker Center, (former) headquarters of the LAPD, while the Scientific Investigation Division (SID) finishes up with the scene, and the coroner gets the bodies off to the morgue. You’ll check in with them later.

It’s at Parker Center where you lead Carey through the behind the scenes administration necessary for a good investigation. After Carey receives a quick motivational pep talk from the lieutenant to get out there and find the killer, he finds his desk, checks his memos, and gets to work on his report of the scene from a few hours earlier.

Carey also meets his desk-riding partner, Hal. He handles all Carey’s paperwork, but otherwise doesn’t do much else.

Enough paperwork, it was time to hit the streets!

If you’d like a quick view of the opening scenes in Police Quest 4, check out the video below:

Unfortunately for Carey, the media has caught wind of the murders already. A reporter is waiting outside Parker Center for Carey, and ambushes him. In what is a scripted moment, you can’t avoid pushing your way through the reporter. It goes without saying that Carey quickly ends up on the news for the wrong reason.

While I don’t like the execution of this clash with the media scene (how was Carey not suspended or disciplined?), it increases the tension in Police Quest 4. The public is now demanding answers, and the brazen killing of a police officer and a young boy has heightened fear in the city.

Carey needs to deliver. But first, he’s also mourning his best friend. A friend who has left behind a wife and young daughter. It’s time to pay them a visit.

Like the altercation with the reporter, I found the personal story in Police Quest 4 quite awkward. I understand the motivations for including personal and professional pressures that police officers face, but the in-game execution felt pasted on. The interactions between Carey and Hickman’s wife are lacking in emotional weight. Carey almost interviews Hickman’s wife instead of being a shoulder to cry on. They don’t hug. Carey himself is emotionless.

After seeing Carey’s emotional side, you’ll be crying out to get back to the monotonous wandering around locations of interest, looking for leads. And there’s no shortage of that.

As I mentioned above, you need to check in with SID and the coroner to see what turned up at the crime scene and what the causes of death were.

It turns out Hickman was tortured and mutilated, with the official cause of death being poisoning. The young boy found in the dumpster died from the multiple gunshot wounds he took to the chest.

With two very different murders on his hands, Carey’s first question is whether or not they are related.

Was this a cop killing? Was it gang violence? Will there be more?

You don’t have to wait long for an answer, as Carey gets lured into coming back down to the scene of the crime chasing a lead. He ends up in a gang ambush.

So it looks like it was gang violence. And Carey also happened to interfere with an undercover unit that had been working the neighbourhood. Unfortunately, ending up in a firefight has blown this unit’s cover, and Carey is in hot water with the lieutenant.

However, another body has turned up. On the other side of town. And it’s a cop.

It’s going to be hard to start pulling the strings together on this one, with a dead cop dumped outside a rapper’s mansion during a party the night before.

Police Quest 4 also throws a few red herrings your way, though the pace of the game is so quick that it quickly leaves them behind before you have an opportunity to seriously consider them. For example, given how Carey ended up in a gang shootout on day one, this quickly closed down the young boy’s murder investigation with an arrest. That’s one down. Another example was a white supremacist who had been harassing Yo Money and his girlfriend. This ends up being a distraction for Carey, as this isn’t really his case, and it’s soon clear the white supremacist and his girlfriend have nothing to do with the cop killings.

The autopsy of the second police officer proves Carey now has a serial killer on the loose. The second body has also been tortured, mutilated, and poisoned.

The public wants answers too. That reporter that Carey pushed? That incident made the news.

Over the course of the next couple of days, Carey has to juggle solving these murders as well as answering to the public.

In between, he also has to make sure he passes his shooting test.

Oh, and three more bodies show up with the same MO.

It was time to rinse and repeat: canvas the scene, check in with your SID and coroner colleagues, and wait for the next body to show up.

I was getting a little over it all, as each day contains a certain number of fixed or triggered events. Tick all these off, and then suddenly you proceed to the next day. I found Police Quest 4 frustrating at times, as I was often left wandering around trying to find which item I’d missed picking up or which police procedure I’d forgotten to follow.

In the end, the case is over in four days. I don’t want to spoil the ending, so I’m not going to go into detail of how Carey connects all the dots and ends up apprehending his killer. Though I don’t consider saying that much a spoiler. Surely it’s not much of a surprise this story ends with a solve and all the loose ends nicely tied up?

Speaking of “loose ends” (if you know, you know), having tried to build up a by-the-book police procedural of a game experience, the ending throws this completely out the window. Even reaching the endgame in Police Quest 4 requires what I consider a considerable dose of “dumb luck”—I’ve finished this before, and I still needed it again this time.

Further, the showdown with the killer steers off into ridiculousness, with both Carey and the killer making inexplicable decisions.

There’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s get started.

The Verdict

First things first, let’s take a look at the audio-visual side of Police Quest 4 and the gameplay. For a thirty-year-old game, I’m just going to say it, it hasn’t aged well. Having full-motion-videos of the actors might have looked impressive in 1993 (I can’t recall I was that impressed, probably meaning I wasn’t), but now it just looks very muddy.

With voice acting, I didn’t have a problem with its inclusion or execution—whenever this featured in a 90s game, it was an exciting opportunity. However, the dialogue seemed to be driven by very stereotypical character selections. Minorities, marginalised communities, and women suffered from unfortunate stereotypes. For example, there is the convenience store owner, Kim Chee (enough said). African-Americans are exaggerated in their use of vernacular language. And then we have the receptionist at the coroner’s office, who’s enthusiastic, but not too bright. Carey also awkwardly walks in on her and the coroner at one stage.

With regard to gameplay, one aspect of point-and-click games I’ve never missed before is having a journal or quest log. But playing Police Quest 4, I really wish there was a record of the case progression. There’s a lot of information put to you (and with voice acting on, there are no subtitles), and no way of recalling it. Thankfully, Police Quest 4 doesn’t feature unwinnable situations (where you failed to do something earlier in the game, preventing you from progressing later on). As such, you’ll never have to restart.

Initially, Police Quest 4 requires a procedural approach, where usually playing point-and-clicks requires outside-the-box thinking. As a police officer, you have to play it by the book and follow standard procedure.

However, as the game progressed, I found the story to be an uneven balance between a personal drama and a mechanical police procedural. Police Quest 4 didn’t get this balance right. The personal episodes you experience with Carey feel out of place and tacked on, having no tangible impact on the overall story arc. At the other end, having to manually extract about a dozen bullets from a wall, or go through multiple rounds of shooting practice (when you never actually need your sidearm), is more than a bit tedious.

It’s like an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, or any mystery of the week drama. For a game trying to present itself as realism, Police Quest 4 does end up playing out overly dramatic and implausibly.

And the ending itself is the worst offender, which left me feeling that Police Quest 4 was all flash and no substance. It was a ridiculous ending, that made me feel as if all the hard police work until that point had been a waste of time, as you just end up in an incredibly unlikely final showdown with the killer. A killer who also had two opportunities to kill Carey and didn’t, with one of those situations being one Carey unbelievably puts himself into.

It tried to look gritty and real, with shock-value themes. But in the end, I felt this constant disconnect between being a detective and being in a Hollywood blockbuster. Actually, a B movie at best.

9

So, have you played Police Quest 4?

Yes, I enjoyed hitting the (real) streets of LA.

Yes, but it can stay in the 90s with those beige suits.

No, but I'd like to investigate this further.

No, I'm not taking this case.

Be sure to check out some great headphone deals with Audeze, as well as some great gaming deals with Fanatical, and Eneba.

And don’t forget to check blogs for more content!