

So you don’t end up shooting anybody (which might be a bit of a disappointment to some).

Yeah, we’d karate chop her too…But don’t worry! With the exception of the first game, there are no murders, and no real violence. Here there are entire manor houses, entire castles to explore – drawers to rifle through, phone calls to eavesdrop on, secret passages to find, and finally … a culprit to face down and defeat. You play in first person as Nancy herself, sleuthing through the environments, talking to people, finding clues, solving puzzles. So she hops a plane to … (England, Arizona, Ireland, what have you). Each one starts the same way: Someone needs help, and only Nancy can help them. These are completely immersive environments with graphics that become more sophisticated with each game. Usually the Fall title is a spookier mystery with lots of seasonally appropriate ambience (It’s a blizzard at the Boarding School! What’s that howling in the English Manor House? ), while the Spring/Summer title is more like a vacation (Welcome to a Deserted Island! How about a trip to Venice?) Since their first title “Secrets Can Kill” in 1998, Her Interactive has consistently put out two titles a year. Honestly, sometimes I start on Junior Detective in case of a dreaded slider puzzle. You choose between Junior and Senior Detective, and the key differences here is the absence of a Task List in Senior (you’d be surprised how handy this is, even for experienced gamers) and how hard the puzzles are.

While these games are perfectly appropriate for younger people (I wouldn’t recommend them for small children-the narratives are too complex and the puzzles too sophisticated), it really is a game for everyone who values story and snooping above all else in gaming. (Except #28, the most recent so NO SPOILERS) Don’t give any spoilers!She is the undisputed Queen of Girl Sleuths, the Uber-Goddess with a roadster, so it should be no surprise that the Nancy Drew Mystery Games by Her Interactive, truly truly have no peer in the realm.Įvery.
