Meh – Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst Unlocked - A Hidden Object Adventure Review

This is a typical Adventure "Puzzle" game from Big Fish: lots of Hidden Object Scenes (HOS) which aren't true puzzles because the player is doing random searching instead of figuring out how and why something works; collecting inventory items and then searching for the proper spot to place them; a few recycled puzzle types or activities such as tangrams, untangling strings, repeat the sequence, sliding picture puzzles, etc.; and the occasional mini-game that was so poorly designed that a Skip button became an industry standard addition. Most other puzzles can be "solved" with a few seconds of random tapping. The graphics are blurry and dimly-lit which is unconscionable in a game that is mostly HOS with target objects made ridiculously small and often hidden behind other objects; it's especially bad when the game adds insult to injury by penalizing for random tapping. The voice acting is poor. The characters are either bland or overblown stereotypes, and the story is so uninspired that it is no hardship to stop playing on reaching the end of the demo portion. The locations tend to be bleak and ugly and filled with horrific imagery. I have no phobias for spiders or rodents or skeletons, but pretty, colorful settings are depressingly rare in these games. I have reached the point where I am no longer willing to spend more than a dollar on a Big Fish title unless it was made by BoomZap or has bright, pretty graphics like those in Flights of Fancy: Two Doves, and even BoomZap's games have many of the flaws in the average Big Fish adventure title, but at least BoomZap's games aren't full of withered bodies making screaming death grimaces, filth-encrusted tools and furnishings, and insane asylums. The fact that this one review can be fairly applied to the bulk of Big Fish's line-up of fantasy adventure games should give their customers pause. I have found free Room Escape games made years ago that provide superior gameplay to most of Big Fish's current offerings. And because Big Fish never reduces their prices to a dollar and BoomZap is being forced to churn out casino games (as if there were really an appreciable difference between one casino game and another), I'm no longer buying Big Fish games even though fantasy adventure games are my favorite type and Big Fish is about the only company releasing any.
Review by player58z on Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst Unlocked - A Hidden Object Adventure.