It’s definitely the memories of patiently and painstakingly collecting the entire Nancy Drew Mystery series that got me interested in this game. Well done, nostalgia marketing!
Following a series of games of the same title, Nancy Drew: Midnight in Salem developed by HeR Interactive, is a 3D adventure puzzle game with visual novel elements. The story follows amateur detective Nancy as she explores the town of Salem in search for a valuable records about wronged ‘witches’ and investigating arson. This linear narrative driven game with interactive elements orbits the themes of seeing through smoke and mirrors for what they are and facing reality.
Although set in a 3D sandbox type environment, the game employs a rather unique and in some player’s minds ‘bizarre’ way of moving. The camera follows the usual 3D game principles of looking around, however instead of having the character walk through the use of key strokes or mouse clicks, instead the game chooses to have the player click and fast forwarded into the point in space. This unusual game mechanic was probably implemented because of the visual novel-esque streamlined storytelling would be ruined if the player was allowed to move too freely. I think this was a great example of limiting things player’s often take for granted; such as free roaming, was used as a tool to help the narrative progress in a linear fashion.
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