Detective Di: The Silk Rose Murders
Recommended, with some reservations
The case for
Detective Di: The Silk Rose Murders is a murder mystery game, so the first, most important question should be: is the mystery engaging? And it is, which is why it earns my thumbs up. The plot is intriguing and the pace is generally good all throughout the game. It tells several short stories, with an overarching plot connecting all of them and ending on a satisfying conclusion.
The case against
When compared with other murder mystery games, like the Gabriel Knight, Sherlock Holmes or Laura Bow series, in Detective Di there’s surprisingly little detectiving to do. There’s a clue board that fills up as you uncover relevant information, but you don’t have to actually figure out what clues are relevant or how they connect, as the game does all of this automatically, and once you reach the end of the chapter and the board is full Magistrate Di will make all the connections himself and explain his conclusions to you. All the actual detective work in the game is done automatically.
โ Real player with 9.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best Detective Pixel Graphics Games.
Detective Di: The Silk Rose Murders
The best point and click adventure game I have played in a long while. A really gripping story full of twists and turns that will keep you entertained to the end.
Pros:
๐
๐Gripping Story
๐ Wonderful music
๐Great atmosphere
๐ Achievements and Trading Cards
Cons:
๐
๐Sometimes the scene music felt repetitive and annoying
Overview
Detective Di: The Silk Rose Murders is a point and click adventure game set in ancient China.
โ Real player with 9.3 hrs in game
The Case of the Golden Idol
The Case of the Golden Idol is a wryly amusing detective game set in the 18th century, brought to life with striking hand-drawn artwork. The game tests your ability to piece together clues and reconstruct the events leading up to some mysterious deaths.
Investigate a series of mysterious deaths
Explore hand-drawn locations set in the 18th century, where some mysterious deaths have taken place.
Reconstruct the events with a unique drag-and-drop mechanic
Gather verbal evidence and visual clues, then apply your deduction skills to figure out what actually happened and how each victim died.
Explore a greater mystery that spans centuries
Start revealing a larger overarching story that connects all the individual tales.
Read More: Best Detective Mystery Games.
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
Exactly how you remembered the game from childhood. Objectively the best Carmen SanDiego installment. Has the most plot and character development. I have experienced a major issue with saving my game though. The game is supposed to automatically save and in my case it just does not work properly. Really hope this can get fixed soon because essentially all progress is lost and it’s super annoying. Worth the $9.99 price if you really want that nostalgia but if you’ve never played before, consider holding off for a discount or look for an indication that the save feature has been repaired.
โ Real player with 7.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Detective Strategy Games.
I played this repeatedly as a kid who owned the CD game and I’m glad I can get a chance to play again now. The characters and banter are just as charming as I remember and the puzzles are fun but simple enough for a child. And the game involves traveling and learning facts about locations all over the world while solving clues so it’s very educational, but not in a boring way. The secret agent/detective aspect of the game remains the focus and it’s well done in my opinion.
The save issue that was reported at release is also fixed. I was hesitant to buy earlier when I heard about it but I tried it out and I can save normally. Just exit the game normally (by clicking the green light on Hawkin’s vest) and there should be no issue. And press Space to skip the intro or outro cutscene.
โ Real player with 7.7 hrs in game
Dark City: Paris Collector’s Edition
Friendly Fox returns with a shocking new mystery in the Dark City series!
When ghost sightings in Paris threaten to ruin the World Expo, only a detective of your caliber can crack the case! Someoneโs using ghosts to terrorize Parisians, and recent scientific advancements only seem to make them stronger. With both the Expo and the city itself on the line, can you uncover whoโs behind the dangerous attacks and stop them before itโs too late? Find out in this electrifying Hidden-Object Puzzle adventure!
This is a special Collectorโs Edition release full of exclusive extras you wonโt find in the standard version. The Collectorโs Edition includes:
โขHead to the Louvre and investigate a confounding case in the bonus game!
โขReplay your favorite HOPs and mini-games and earn achievements!
โขTons of collectibles and morphing objects to find!
โขIncludes downloadable wallpapers, soundtrack, concept art, screensavers, and more!
โขNever get lost with the strategy guide!
This is a Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game, meaning a specific genre of story-driven, point & click adventures. Throughout the game, players are tasked to find a list of objects hidden within a particular scene, and to occasionally complete various mini-games/puzzles.
Return of the Phantom
A classic point and click adventure - You play as a detective who’s investigating a deadly accident which seems to be the work of a Phantom of the Opera copycat. Great atmosphere and beautiful visuals
โ Real player with 14.5 hrs in game
I was reminiscing my childhood while i was playing this. It’s just a simple click-and-point game with retro BGM and graphic. It used to be so hard to beat it and pretty terrifying back then. But, it’s so easy and i enjoyed every part of it now..
โ Real player with 7.3 hrs in game
A Case of Distrust
๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ป๐ผ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ-๐ฏ ๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐.
My favorite two aspects of the game were the art and the story.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐, ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ฐ, ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐' ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐บ๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ๐. Never did it feel like it was missing something as it definitely fit the format.
Now, the story took me by surprise. ๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ป’๐ ๐๐๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐ฏ๐๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต๐ ๐’๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฝ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฐ๐ต ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐๐ฒ, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ณ๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป; it’s sort of reminiscent of Agatha Christie stories, where you’re presented with a handful of characters connected to the case and you have to use every tiny piece of information you get to come to conclusions.
โ Real player with 4.7 hrs in game
Introduction
I like detective stories and video game adaptations of crime novels. Itโs no secret that my favorite game of all time is LA Noire and that my nickname is a wordplay on one of Agatha Christieโs most elusive antagonists, U.N. Owen. Unknown until the appropriate moment, as any worthy mystery should be. A Case of Distrust is the Steam debut of Ben โThe Wandering Benโ Wander, a gaming industry professional (not quite vetern yet) which left the AAA standard and its various limitations/pressures for the overall freedom offered by the indie scene. A wise choice, no doubt.
โ Real player with 4.0 hrs in game
Return of the Obra Dinn
In “Return of the Obra Dinn” you’re an insurance investigator who is tasked with determining the fates of all 60 crewmembers aboard the Obra Dinn, a merchant ship that went missing in the early 19th century. Among your possessions is a pocketwatch that, when opened while standing nearby (the remains of) a corpse, shows you a glimpse of the deceased’s surroundings โ and what they heard – at the moment of their death.
Furthermore, you have a book in which you keep a record of every crewmate’s death and disappearance. It also contains an artist’s rendition of the face of every crewmember and a list of the crewmember’s names, their occupation and their nationality. Your task is to assign a fate to everyone aboard the ship by using the 3D stills the pocketwatch provides you with. Some people’s fates are easier to determine than others, and the game will rely heavily on your deductive reasoning skills, since you’ll have to draw conclusions by narrowing down possibilities. Although sometimes conclusions based on guesswork and incomplete information were required too.
โ Real player with 15.7 hrs in game
TL;DR
People declaring Obra Dinn a prime example of games-as-art and a shining pinnacle of what games in general should strive to be, probably have little to no understanding of how games actually work and wouldnโt recognize a good game if it hit them in the forehead. The core puzzle is good, tho.
Longer version
Itโs better to know one important thing before even considering buying The Return of Obra Dinn. This can make or break your experience with it.
The whole affair boils down to solving one big constraint satisfaction problem (think the famous Zebra, or Einsteinโs, puzzle) uniquely presented as a series of โmemoriesโ (still 3d dioramas) accompanied by an interactive notebook instead of a usual cell table. There is nothing else to it, period.
โ Real player with 15.6 hrs in game
Sherlock Holmes versus Jack the Ripper
This game surprised me, and got me into the Frogwares Sherlock Holmes games. I originally played it on Xbox 360 as a rental when it released, the Title caught my interest. Turned out to be a game I loved so much I bought it again on Steam. The PC version is far superior with the exception of the following, but don’t let it sway you away, it can be corrected. It’s not a broken game any means, just needs help on newer hardware when you first install. Some users (like myself) have an issue with the game mot loading initially: for most people this can be easily corrected by opening the game’s folder (“C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Sherlock Holmes versus Jack the Ripper\Support\PhysX”) and re-installing the two PhysX installers, and selecting the repair option if asked to by the installer for each one.
โ Real player with 14.8 hrs in game
CATS MEAT
Beep beep! Yeah, itโs kebabs for cats, okay? Ambiguous meat aside, this oneโs really great, possibly my favourite game in Frogwares' SH series. The story is intricate and smart, and it pays off the Jack the Ripper lore in a really satisfying way, 10/10. The characters are surprisingly more human than usual, though thereโs no Toby, so also 0/10. Itโs got pretty much everything else though โ the gruesome, the macabre, pretentious poetic interludes, ridiculously cartoony chalk drawings you have to investigate with a magnifying glass for some reason, Watson being too embarrassed to talk about sex workers, MS paint (but on pigsโ heads), and a coordinated swarm of cats!
โ Real player with 14.4 hrs in game
The hidden game society
Wonderfull, I absolutly loved this, it’s just a shame that it is so short..
I loved the subtlety of the clues, the 3d rendering, the little touches that make it truly enjoyable..
Only downside is that it is too dark and very very shortโฆ.
โ Real player with 12.4 hrs in game
Pleasant Though Fast
A little bit of interesting history, art and great classical music. A few hours if you take your time. Beautiful Room. Very pleasant.
More than I expected for a couple of dollars.
Looking forward to more games from them.
โ Real player with 3.8 hrs in game
Cliffhanger: Challenger of Tomorrow
Just finished it today. Here are my thoughts:
Elements I adored:
The writing itself. Wow, William sure can turn a phrase! I really enjoyed how he described the action, the settings, etc. You can tell heโs put his work in strengthening his craft.
The richness of the world. Talk about a fully-developed universe! I canโt imagine how much mental energy William put into world-building for this game, like seriously I canโt imagine. Iโd conservatively estimate that one could spin off an entirely new game from any of over 100 references he makes to different individuals, settings, ideas, phrases, etc. I kept thinking, โOh thatโs a cool premise!โ โOh that is a really neat idea!โ
โ Real player with 6.2 hrs in game
I highly recommend this adventure to anyone who enjoys getting into the heat of the situation and calling all the shots! Its an amazing tale that takes not only history as we know it, but legends and myths we have all heard about, and spins them into something at once recognizable and yet completely new.
You will constantly be making choices while confronted with situations that are utterly familiar, in settings that remain completely relatable, while obviously not being the from the world as you know it. Its a high adventure romp that none the less still has the Player making some tough moral choices. Best part imho being that even though the “story” is to be continued in another book, This story wraps its self up nicely. Every plot point gets resolved, in a way that is very satisfying.
โ Real player with 4.4 hrs in game