Nancy Drew®: Secrets Can Kill REMASTERED
Unimportant little Rant:
People really want to find any flaw they can with the Nancy Drew series. I have been playing this game series since I was about 5. I’m 20 now. I love the clunky art style, and like 12 fps you get when scrolling around, it’s charming more so than ugly. It gives me a feeling of going back to 2007 and playing these kinds of games all over again, when I couldn’t just find a review or guide to it and beat it in half an hour, but actually had to use the in-game books and phone for clues and help. I guess as younger and younger people start to play this series, they might not fully appreciate it, much like I don’t think I could fully appreciate an N64 game. With that being said, I hope whatever your opinion on the series, you will try to rate it based on the time it came out and not now. It obviously is littered with problems if you think about it from a 2021 perspective, but if you could imagine yourself back in the 2000s, this game was one of the better series coming out for the point-and-click adventure genre at the time. Now you have much better story games like LIS and most of Telltale Games' series, but the Nancy Drew games to me still retain that old flair and charm of early 2000’s point and clicks.
– Real player with 29.0 hrs in game
Read More: Best 2.5D Point & Click Games.
ABSOLUTELY RECOMMENDED! :) :) :) :) For those who love playing Nancy Drew games, you are going to love this one, because it’s much better than the majority of the older Nancy Drew games. If you read 2 reviews I’ve made on 2 of the older Nancy Drew games (Treasure in the Royal Tower and The Final Scene), and read the problems that are in both of them, none of those problems are even in this one, because it’s actually a remake, that’s why it’s called remastered, it’s a newer and improved version of the original ‘Secrets Can Kill’ one that was made in the 1980s, so it has the feel of the older games, with a better story than the majority of ones in the newer games lately, but has the features of the newer ones, like:
– Real player with 28.1 hrs in game
Nancy Drew®: Secret of the Old Clock
Afaik, this is the only Nancy Drew game that takes place in the past (1930, to be exact). The subtitle of this game was the title of the first Nancy Drew book, which was released that year. As Nancy Drew, you stay at the Lilac Inn in Illinois at the beginning of the Great Depression.
It’s not one of my favorite Nancy Drew games. While one puzzle referred to Shakespeare, it wasn’t all that educational like most other games in the series are. One of the main things about this game is driving around the roads on a world map. You can run out of gas or get a flat tire, so you have to attend to those. You can make money by delivering telegrams. You’re told you get a flat rate for each letter plus tips, but HER Interactive played a funny Depression joke because no one ever tips.
– Real player with 13.7 hrs in game
Read More: Best 2.5D Point & Click Games.
I have been a very regular player of mystery games most of my life. The Nancy Drew Franchise certainly are not at the top of mystery games I’ve played in my life, but i always enjoy them regardless of the quality compared to mystery games that are slightly more evolved when lookin at things like characters and exploration opportunities throughout the world.
Nancy drew is basic point and click with occasional typing needed.
The story is great, the puzzles are hard enough to make you spend some time trying to figure them out and they certainly push you to think out of the box sometimes.
– Real player with 9.7 hrs in game
Nancy Drew®: The Secret of Shadow Ranch
This is one of my favorite Nancy Drew games and my second time playing it. It’s the 10th game in the series, which I’m playing in order. When I wrote about Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake (7th game, which had also been an old favorite, I mentioned that it didn’t hold up quite as well. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case here. Fyi, my actual playtime is probably more like 10-12 hours.
You are staying on a ranch in Arizona, where the appearance of a “phantom horse” accompanied an accident. You have to help out with some ranch chores, which is something I was looking forward to because of nostalgia. While some chores are one-offs you only do once (fixing wiring for chicken fence, preparing animal food in proper proportions, baking a cake), some you do each day (3 days). The daily chores are collecting chicken eggs and vegetables. Different variety of vegetables are picked at different stages, which you can read up on in an in-game website from your phone.
– Real player with 38.4 hrs in game
Read More: Best 2.5D Point & Click Games.
This is one of my favorite Nancy games. It’s right in the sweet spot of being a little old/outdated and having some of the newer features. It has a modern setting but follows a mystery from the 1800’s, so you still have your secret passageways and a great treasure hunt. The puzzles are just hard enough without leaving you stumped, and it’s always pretty obvious what you’re supposed to do next. Personally, I wasn’t too annoyed by the whole saddle thing, as I grew up with horses (yep sorry annoying horse person here) and it’s pretty accurate as far as horse etiquette goes. Same with the garden thing, just save before you pick vegetables and if you get frustrated you can find a walkthrough online to show you what the ripe veggies look like. My only complaint about this game is the roadrunner game. Good lord. If you want to keep your sanity, make sure you save before using your token so you don’t have to replay the same three levels of an incredibly slow arcade game over and over and over!
– Real player with 23.8 hrs in game
Nancy Drew®: The Creature of Kapu Cave
This is the only nancy drew game i have played so far. Some puzzles in the game made no sense and others you had to die a million times to figure out. The Plot seems to lack a few things but it was okay..they couldve added more. sadly the villian characters stood out like a soar thumb. if it had built more into the story line and characters it wouldve been better. Making Characters more mysterious and harder to read, adding puzzles that acually had hints, better ways to buy/ find items (took forever to find certain things). what i hated the most was listeing to the characters lines, there is no skip option for that so everything i already read had to be spoken again and agian. The only reason i like this game is because its point and click. other than thats its a super easy game with stupid problem solving puzzles that are easy as fuck or just impossibe without a walkthrough. 2 outta 5. if you like point and click puzzle games try it out. it may have flaws but surprisingly out of all the stress it put me ethrough i still enjoyed playing.
– Real player with 10.5 hrs in game
I really wish I hadn’t bought this. I absolutely love the Nancy Drew games, and I grew up on Maui, so I thought “Hey, I love Her Interactive, they haven’t let me down before, and I miss Maui and my family, it’d be nice to have a little reminder of home. This’ll be perfect for me, right?!”. But, no. I was wrong. So wrong.
I had actually bought a physical copy of this game when it first came out. However, I was still in Maui at that time, and I had a bunch of other ND titles I still hadn’t played yet, so it got put off. And eventually I moved, one of the discs got lost somewhere along the way, and I couldn’t play it. Recently, I got some birthday money, I found that the ND games were starting to be put on STEAM, and I thought “Oh, perfect! I’ll FINALLY be able to play it!!” But the hype was short-lived. The searching for shells, the fishing, making necklaces, etc. were nice and calming, but they got boring and tedious very fast. ND characters are usually all so vibrant, varied, and interesting, so at first I thought these ones would be the same, especially with the interesting concept introduced at the very beginning of doing stuff, getting novelty money, doing more stuff, and repeat. I mean, it wasn’t the most fun, but it was an interesting concept at least.
– Real player with 8.0 hrs in game
Nancy Drew®: Tomb of the Lost Queen
I really like the graphics of this game and how in order to progress in the computer game, during which you play as Nancy Drew, you are trying to figure out the nature of the crime (whatever the crime is) by being a sleuth. I enjoyed reading the Nancy Drew books growing up during my childhood and it was really fun for me, as well as my family because my sister and I grew up watching watching mysteries, and so I’ve always liked to solve mysteries too. I think the Nancy Drew games are really nicely done because it feels like you’re solving the crime as a sleuth rather than someone who works for law enforcement, which is why I feel it’s more fun in that regard and you can progress in the game by using clues that you find while playing and also talking to various suspects in the game to investigate, which not only gives you information about them that would help in your investigation, but also helps to continue to progress further along in the game.
– Real player with 37.3 hrs in game
This is a must for anyone who’s a fan of the Egyptian tomb-exploration setting. I’d say the puzzles are medium to difficult, but they shouldn’t cause you too much pain unlike some of the more challenging installments. Some were very challenging for me but only because I happen to be really bad at ‘find the hidden word’ and sliding block puzzles.
I feel that the cast let this installment down a little. There are only four others with you at the dig site, one of whom is only there for a limited time, and none of them were particularly interesting or likeable. Often the dialogue felt like it was going nowhere and dragging on forever. On top of that Bess is the only one of Nancy’s regular crew you can chat with on the phone, and she’s even less helpful than usual. I did enjoy the reapperance of Professor Hotchkiss, though, and Nancy’s employer/supervisor. Despite the lacklustre cast and non-excistent mystery, the puzzles, the setting, and the fascinating history makes up for a lot.
– Real player with 23.8 hrs in game
Nancy Drew®: The White Wolf of Icicle Creek
At this point i guess i am making my way thru all the ND games. I play on JR level and this was my 9th game so far. Honestly this was a favorite of mine. IT had all the right stuff:
-multiple locations
-a few mini games, including one of my favorite food making mini games
-multiple suspects
-several changes in the plot that kept it interesting
Fox and Geese wasn’t as bad as everyone says, i found it interestingly challenging, and probably one of the more fun games that had been thoroughly game tested for inaccuracies. There is a trick to it, however, and just a quick youtube video and you get the trick of it. Honestly, it makes me love it more now knowing there is an entire set up to follow - its like the odd cousin of checkers and chess.
– Real player with 16.2 hrs in game
Once again, I have played a Nancy Drew game that has left me dissatisfied and wondering why I bothered purchasing HER interactive games.
The White Wolf of Icicle Creek is a very fun game to play, like most of the titles of Nancy Drew, however, there is one glaring problem and I have found it in almost every single Nancy Drew game. There is always a story element; side quest or puzzle that seems either near impossible to pass or takes so much of your time, energy and mental state that you simply - give up.
– Real player with 9.8 hrs in game
Nancy Drew®: Message in a Haunted Mansion
I remember why I don’t like these early games. Between the weird characters, old graphics, and dull plot it does little to excite. Worst of all, I found myself having to call for help every other second because the gameplay is so arbitrary. It is mostly a guessing game, and I still have no idea if I did everything I was supposed to. I know I missed the seance, which caused me to worry that I was going to have to restart the whole game, but I managed to finish it. My interactions with Abby were just non-existent. Also, the dumbest second chance in the series has to be Louis realizing you snooped through his stuff simply by you saying you saw a phrase in a book. It could be any book Mr. Guilty. Overall, I wish I had just saved the $3 and ignored this game.
– Real player with 16.4 hrs in game
The second Nancy Drew game I’m (re)playing and the third in the series, although I don’t think I ever played this one before.
It takes place in San Francisco, but you spend the whole time in a Victorian mansion that a friend of a the Drew family’s housekeeper is trying to renovate to turn into a B&B. Something I like about the Nancy Drew games is how they try to incorporate the history and culture of a place. This one features a bit of Wild West/Gold Rush history (with made-up characters for the game) along with the influence of Chinese immigrants. In fact, get a notebook out if you play this, because a game-long puzzle has you collecting Chinese characters (which the game told me are called hanzi) that you will need to be able to distinguish. My Chinese handwriting is way better than my handwriting with the latin alphabet, but I also spent like 10x the time and effort.
– Real player with 9.9 hrs in game
Nancy Drew®: Warnings at Waverly Academy
Ah, Nancy Drew…these games were my childhood. My younger brother and I would play these games over and over again when we were kids. I received two of them for my ninth birthday, and from then on, we were hooked on mystery solving! Our teamwork always made the gameplay shorter, but we always had so much fun together! When I told my brother that I had purchased another one, he was very excited and agreed to help me with this one. I’m currently a student at an all-women’s college, and he’s getting ready to go to college in September, so I figured it would be good to compare my school to the school in the game while teaching him some of the basics of college life. (Okay, this particular academy isn’t really college, it’s a boarding school, but still…)
– Real player with 31.1 hrs in game
Most Nancy Drew fans say that this game is one of the best in the series. I’m not one of them. Every single character is unlikable in some way, and not in the good ‘written that way on purpose’ sort of way. I can tolerate a lot of bad stuff from a game for the sake of good characters, but they’re all awful. ‘Rachel’ is fine (if you ignore that your only interactions with then are focused entirely on doing her homework) but was so focused on her work that you never got a sense of her personality. That’s the nicest thing I can say about her. Corine is nosy and manipulative, Leela is a boring and single-minded minigame machine, Mel is a tryhard edgelord whose popularity with the fanbase baffles me, and Izzy is written to be ‘the unlikable one’ in a world where all the other girls are so awful that she has to be over-the-top to stand out as the one who is INTENDED to be awful. The albino squirrel who stole my MacGuffin was my favorite. I only played this a second time through because everyone insisted it was great, and I wondered if I was wrong. I wasn’t. At one point, I spent half an hour making fake sandwiches in the school’s cafeteria, because I would rather do that than spend time with any of the characters. If you like chores and catty drama, this is the game for you. I love this series overall, but for me, this one ranks at the very bottom, along with Midnight in Salem, The Shattered Medallion, and Creature of Kapu Cave. However, I’ve been told that I’m one of only a few who thinks this, so maybe give it a try.
– Real player with 17.7 hrs in game
Nancy Drew®: The Silent Spy
Overall, I’d give this one a 7.5/10! I liked the story and the puzzles were a good level of difficulty, perhaps it was on the medium side. Some of the characters were great, some were alright. The setting of this game was a good one as well, however there weren’t that many places to explore. I’m glad that the “chore” type stuff in this one was super minimal - barely there at all. I also liked that most of the resources you needed were with you most of the time.
One of the weaker points to this one was that there was a lot of repetition in the conversations with the characters. I think Nancy asked the same questions like 10 times. But because I liked most of the characters enough, it was not unbearable, and you can skip through them. It also felt like a relatively short game compared to some others.
– Real player with 14.6 hrs in game
Scotland. Secret agent themed brain teasers. Scotland. Archery. Need I say more?
Seriously, if you are a long time Nancy Drew game fan, this one hits all the marks, not to mention it’s a rare and responsibly told foray into Nancy’s canon and they do such a good job with the story. The game flows well and there always seem to be something to do, even in lulls
(of which there were few). It has a good range of puzzles, ranging from fun, to medium to challenging (for me these are always the ones where you simply use association and intuition to put the clues together, and ultimately solve it using trial and error). Be warned there is a lot of text/letters to read and lots of dialogue.
– Real player with 10.5 hrs in game
Nancy Drew®: The Deadly Device
It was a good Nancy Drew game but I thought a few of the puzzles required a big leap to make connections between materials/clues. i.e. certain machines are available for the entire game - some are used eventually, some aren’t and sometimes it’s a stretch to figure out the next step so you’re left wandering and re-exploring. But good story, good dialogue, and the logic puzzles in this one were the best I’ve played in a long time.
– Real player with 17.1 hrs in game
This ND game was different to others I have played, i enjoyed the science-theme and the fact that it was a murder case. The pace was good and the characters keep you guessing till the end. I must admit that I found some puzzles very difficult on Master Sleuth! If you’re up for a challenge I would give it a try :)
– Real player with 15.4 hrs in game