Since 1998, Her Interactive has been producing Nancy Drew point-and-click adventure games that allow users to play as Nancy and solve mysteries by interviewing suspects, exploring for clues, and solving puzzles. Below are casual mini reviews of some of the games. If you’ve played any, tell us in the comments which ones you like the most!
Stay Tuned for Danger
In this game, Nancy travels to NYC to investigate the threats a soap opera star has received. I remember it fondly as having a somewhat simpler game play. Solving the mystery rested mostly on interviewing suspects and snooping around the TV studio for clues. Riddles and puzzles were not very complicated to solve.
Curse of Blackmoor Manor
Nancy travels to England in this game to figure out why the new bride of a British diplomat won’t leave her room. The puzzles are harder to solve but not impossible. However, I was put off by the emphasis on the occult and how scary the game is, seeing as it’s supposed to be for children.
The Secret of Shadow Ranch
This is one of the finer Nancy Drew games in my opinion as it features various locations to explore, puzzles that require thought to solve but not necessarily a walk-through, and more interactivity as it requires Nancy to perform chores around the ranch.
Secret of the Old Clock
Nancy arrives at an inn to investigate a missing will. I loved this game because it is period 1930s Nancy and not a modern one, and players can even go around town in her blue roadster. However, I was disappointed that Nancy cannot enter the various buildings in town and is forced to explore the same area for most of the game. I did like that she has to perform jobs to earn money, though.
Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon
Nancy boards a train to figure out what happened to its last owner, but then one of the passengers disappears. Notable for featuring the Hardy Boys as characters, but being stuck on a train makes the game a little boring, as does having to walk continuously through all the cars to get anywhere.
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NANCY DREW GAMES. YAY! NEW BEST FRIEND RIGHT HERE.
So I avoid all scary Nancy Drew games, but I think I have played about half of them! Though most of them have been the newer ones. Though I DID play Last Train To Blue Moon Canyon, and I do admit that being on the train was quite boring. I really liked the one set in Egypt (which is one of the newer ones, and I LOVE Egypt), and also….I loved that one set in Hawaii, I think it was something that started with a “K”?
I’ve played so many of her games, they are all starting to blend together….
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I hate the scary ones! Shadow Ranch was great and Shadow at the Water’s Edge. But the Curse of Blackmoor Manor. No!! I haven’t played the Egypt or Hawaii ones, but I bought a few used ones at a library book sale, so I’m looking forward to that. I think I’ll play the White Wolf one next. But I do have to look up the summaries sometimes to remember which game is which.
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I’ve only every played one, and I don’t remember which one. Something about a banshee and a castle and a rocket-pack? I remember that it was fun (and a bit creepy, but then I like creepy). I’ve wanted to play other ones, though.
I don’t like jump-scare games. Like, watching my brother play the original Resident Evil traumatized me, but I’ve always had a fondness for the gothic ghost-story like feel.
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That sounds like it might be The Haunting of Castle Malloy, but I haven’t played it, so I don’t know. The Irish setting looks fun, though.
And their next game is supposed to be set in Salem! I’m hoping it’s not scary and just historical.
I could barely handle The Curse of Blackmoor Manor so I doubt I would want to play anything called Resident Evil.
As you can tell, I’m not up on my video games. Resident Evil sounds like a popular one, but I have no clue what it’s about.
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That sounds familiar. I think that was it.
Resident Evil is the defining zombie-apocalypse videogame (I think there are over 20 successors/spinoffs and remakes now, and a couple of movies). The first couple of games, at least, are like psychological warfare, and I never tried to play them. The little I saw of my brother playing them showed me that they capitalize on constant anxiety, jump-scares, and gore. He liked the worldbuilding and survival on limited resources aspect, which I get, but it wasn’t for me.
They’re made for people who enjoy horror genre and who like being scared, and I am neither. Plus I’ve always had a fear of zombies (since before I knew what they were, actually), so… yeah, they really are not for me. But now you know what it is and why you should avoid it. ;P
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That sounds like something I would hate and that would keep me awake at night for weeks. I have enough anxiety in life without seeking it out in video games!
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It certainly gave me nightmares, and for years I would shudder just thinking about it. 😛
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