This game was an absolute treat to play! So nostalgic to this old-school Nancy Drew fan... I was lucky enough to play the game with no glitches or crashes, but for those struggling, the dev is wonderful at answering questions via the discord and she has made sure to patch issues as soon as they come up.
Pros:
- The breakfast bar, enough said.
- The dialogue was absolutely great; the voice acting is top-notch, with good pacing and sound quality, and it flowed well.
- The graphics were quite impressive for an indie game. I have a higher end PC, so we ran at full speed ahead. Wonderful little touches to the environment too; I loved clicking on random spots, even if they weren't instrumental to the case.
- The characters themselves were well-written with deep storylines. The only one who could have had a bit more development was Shirley, but she was still a good character. Including personal issues too was such a good touch!
- The music was simple, but also very fitting for the atmosphere. I found myself humming along and I believe it created a more immersive environment.
- The ending got me, man. I was already pretty emotional from finding what we found in the boathouse that night, and hearing the culprit's side made me so sad. I feel like leaving certain people's involvement in the ghost's death ambiguous was a good touch, as it lets the individual gamer decide, based on what they've found throughout the game.
Cons:
- A bit more detail in the task list would be helpful, or perhaps a hint system. There were multiple times I ended up just wandering, talking to and calling everyone until something opened up. Most of the game is intuitive, but there are a few laggy spots.
- A journal of some sort would also be helpful, as I occasionally forgot something I'd read or heard.
- Most of the puzzles were fairly easy, but certain ones (yes, I'm looking at you, door that shall not be named) were too tricky for me to figure out. Luckily, I was able to get my partner to help. This would be a good area for a hint system.
All in all, a wonderful game and I can't wait for the next! Like others have said, having a teaser trailer at the end brought back so many fond memories from Nancy Drew games.