Nancy Drew: Mystery of the Seven Keys (KEY) is the 34th instalment in the Nancy Drew (ND) series, dating back to 1998. This iconic series features one of the first female protagonists in video games (as stated by devs Her Interactive) and is adored by a large, diverse and extremely loyal fanbase. After playing each of the 34 games and witnessing Nancy Drew evolve and change as the years go by, it is with sadness that I express that KEY is near unrecognisable to the first 32 ND games and has many, many issues even if treating it as a standalone game. Although the new team at Her Interactive are trying to take ND in a different, more modern direction, the exuberant price tag of $AU46.60 combined with its extensive list of issues just do not coincide. The original ND charm is all but lost and I cannot recommend this game at full price or to newcomers to the series. I am a sucker for more ND games and there were elements to the game that felt nostalgic and that I enjoyed, but overall it is lacking in too many areas for me to wholeheartedly and genuinely recommend to others.

Pros

• Well researched, filled with immersive cultural & historical information on Prague to read and is incorporated into some puzzles
  
• References to other ND games (Second Chance screen, Koko Kringle, Krolmeister, etc)
  
• Puzzle variety
  
• Lengthy gameplay

Cons

• Extremely bare large open outdoor spaces filled with nothing but NPC clones
  
• Unintuitive & complex puzzles
  
• Original P&C movement style is essentially dysfunctional
  
• Lack of shadows, dimensions or visual effects to help provide a basic sense of realism
  
• Extremely steep price of $AU 46.60
  
• ND sounds like AI
  
• Repetitive, uninspired soundtrack

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Nancy Drew is invited to Prague, Czech Republic to uncover the truth about a heirloom necklace theft. Here, she meets many characters and begins her investigations to find out whodunit. The story poetically mixes the modern issue of cybersecurity in the historic region of Old Town, which further highlights the gorgeous setting.

Although Bess & George are missing, Nancy still has her trusty boyfriend Ned to call on for help (although sparingly). Many characters dialogue seemed a bit unnatural, but is mostly passable and up to par with other ND games. Sadly, there is no case file, day/night clock, phone charms or Nancy’s hotel room/accommodation to explore like in other games. I do miss these additions as it helped to build anticipation and immersion into the mystery. In KEY, it feels as if you’re thrown straight in there. You don’t go to bed to sleep, you’re just teleported between day and night.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3275197211


The ND franchise has only recently began making 3D games and utilizing a different game engine so understandably, things are expected to be a bit on the wonky side. However, the P&C movement option is nearly completely unusable and so offering players to pick their movement style, classic or WASD, there is not much of a choice. The WASD option is more functional and easier to navigate, but boy oh boy does Nancy zoom around like you’re trying to place furniture in build mode in the Sims. There are no sounds from her, no stamina she just zooms from A to B extremely quickly. This feature is completely new to Her Interactive and not a big negative, but it does feel highly unnatural!

In contrast, KEY is a step in the right direction compared to the last ND game, Midnight in Salem which had many game breaking glitches, overly simple puzzles and camera angle issues. Whilst each of these features is improved upon in KEY, there is still a lot more to adjust.

Puzzles
I was surprised to find that the puzzles in KEY are quite complex and original. Rarely are there repeating concepts except in already original minigames such as a hacking simulation. I am sure that this puzzle design had much effort and thought poured into it, however, it seems that QA testing on these puzzles was severely lacking.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3273011119

I enjoy complex puzzles in my ND games and want to feel that I am being challenged, with a sense of satisfaction once I have completed the task. However, in KEY, players are rarely given the appropriate tools or description on how to go about completing the puzzle. For instance, if something locks into place and becomes colourised, general game knowledge will make players expect that this object is in the correct spot. IN KEY, this is not the case. Another example is not providing enough context on actions such as rotating. The whole game, objects are rotated by holding M1 and dragging them, but in a particular puzzle at the end, right click must be used. This is only conveyed to the player by a tiny icon at the bottom of the screen that is barely visible. Often the task list in amateur sleuth difficulty does not list next steps or things are illogical. For the main astronomical clock puzzle, how are players supposed to know to have to call Ned for help? Why would Ned know specific details about a historical clock in Czechia? That does not match his background at all. It would immensely help if Nancy just had some small voice lines to send players in the right direction. Even something as simple as “hm, maybe Ned could help me with this.”


Before I elaborate, I will clarify that I do not by any means, expect AAA/AA or even GOOD quality graphics in ND games. However, in KEY, it really feels like the graphics have gone backwards in time in comparison to past games. Still, visuals are not imperative, but the bland, open, empty grey areas of Prague are extremely jarring. The city looked like a deserted concrete box with NPC clones every 10 metres. There are no shadows or lighting to provide dimensions or scaling. Birds in the sky appear to be lego blocks etc. You cannot interact with any NPC, but seeing the same one wearing the same clothes, same expression etc, just a few metres away from another version of itself is perhaps the creepiest thing about the game. It feels as if it did this setting a great disservice and took away from the charm of ND.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3275205549

Having lost Lani Minella as the voice of ND for over 20 years is a colossal disappointment. Whilst the other character voices had poor Czech accents (understandable), Nancy’s grating voice was by far the worst. I found her to sound almost identical to AI and it was difficult to see her as the warm, friendly but curious person we know her character to be.
The repeated soundtracks was nothing like the iconic originals and was quite distracting during extended puzzle sequences.


Playtime: Approximately 16 hours, developers state it has up to 20 hours gameplay time.

Controller Recommended? No

Replayability value: For achievements only.

I was extremely hyped for this release and am disheartened to critique it so heavily. If there was a mixed option on Steam, I would have gone with that. Whilst my list of critiques is long, I also really enjoyed areas of the game and immersing myself into Prague. Speaking with familiar characters, hearing the well known ND phrases and completing puzzles. However, when comparing this with the blaringly obvious negatives and hefty price tag of nearly $AU50, it is just not something I can recommend.

If you would like to see more reviews written by me, please follow my curator page and help support my work Cookie Reviews.

Nancy Drew: Mystery of the Seven Keys (KEY) is the 34th instalment in the Nancy Drew (ND) series, dating back to 1998. This iconic series features one of the first female protagonists in video games (as stated by devs Her Interactive) and is adored by a large, diverse and extremely loyal fanbase. After playing each of the 34 games and witnessing Nancy Drew evolve and change as the years go by, it is with sadness that I express that KEY is near unrecognisable to the first 32 ND games and has many, many issues even if treating it as a standalone game. Although the new team at Her Interactive are trying to take ND in a different, more modern direction, the exuberant price tag of $AU46.60 combined with its extensive list of issues just do not coincide. The original ND charm is all but lost and I cannot recommend this game at full price or to newcomers to the series. I am a sucker for more ND games and there were elements to the game that felt nostalgic and that I enjoyed, but overall it is lacking in too many areas for me to wholeheartedly and genuinely recommend to others. [b][u]Pros[/u][/b] [list] [*] Well researched, filled with immersive cultural & historical information on Prague to read and is incorporated into some puzzles [*] References to other ND games (Second Chance screen, Koko Kringle, Krolmeister, etc) [*] Puzzle variety [*] Lengthy gameplay [/list] [b] [u]Cons[/u] [/b] [list] [*] Extremely bare large open outdoor spaces filled with nothing but NPC clones [*] Unintuitive & complex puzzles [*] Original P&C movement style is essentially dysfunctional [*] Lack of shadows, dimensions or visual effects to help provide a basic sense of realism [*] Extremely steep price of $AU 46.60 [*] ND sounds like AI [*] Repetitive, uninspired soundtrack [/list] [quote] Follow our curator page, [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/] [b]IndieGems[/b][/url] if you enjoyed this review and wish to see more like it[/quote] [h1]Story[/h1] Nancy Drew is invited to Prague, Czech Republic to uncover the truth about a heirloom necklace theft. Here, she meets many characters and begins her investigations to find out whodunit. The story poetically mixes the modern issue of cybersecurity in the historic region of Old Town, which further highlights the gorgeous setting. Although Bess & George are missing, Nancy still has her trusty boyfriend Ned to call on for help (although sparingly). Many characters dialogue seemed a bit unnatural, but is mostly passable and up to par with other ND games. Sadly, there is no case file, day/night clock, phone charms or Nancy’s hotel room/accommodation to explore like in other games. I do miss these additions as it helped to build anticipation and immersion into the mystery. In KEY, it feels as if you’re thrown straight in there. You don’t go to bed to sleep, you’re just teleported between day and night. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3275197211 [h1]Gameplay[/h1] The ND franchise has only recently began making 3D games and utilizing a different game engine so understandably, things are expected to be a bit on the wonky side. However, the P&C movement option is nearly completely unusable and so offering players to pick their movement style, classic or WASD, there is not much of a choice. The WASD option is more functional and easier to navigate, but boy oh boy does Nancy zoom around like you’re trying to place furniture in build mode in the Sims. There are no sounds from her, no stamina she just zooms from A to B extremely quickly. This feature is completely new to Her Interactive and not a big negative, but it does feel highly unnatural! In contrast, KEY is a step in the right direction compared to the last ND game, Midnight in Salem which had many game breaking glitches, overly simple puzzles and camera angle issues. Whilst each of these features is improved upon in KEY, there is still a lot more to adjust. [b][u]Puzzles [/u][/b] I was surprised to find that the puzzles in KEY are quite complex and original. Rarely are there repeating concepts except in already original minigames such as a hacking simulation. I am sure that this puzzle design had much effort and thought poured into it, however, it seems that QA testing on these puzzles was severely lacking. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3273011119 I enjoy complex puzzles in my ND games and want to feel that I am being challenged, with a sense of satisfaction once I have completed the task. However, in KEY, players are rarely given the appropriate tools or description on how to go about completing the puzzle. For instance, if something locks into place and becomes colourised, general game knowledge will make players expect that this object is in the correct spot. IN KEY, this is not the case. Another example is not providing enough context on actions such as rotating. The whole game, objects are rotated by holding M1 and dragging them, but in a particular puzzle at the end, right click must be used. This is only conveyed to the player by a tiny icon at the bottom of the screen that is barely visible. Often the task list in amateur sleuth difficulty does not list next steps or things are illogical. For the main astronomical clock puzzle, how are players supposed to know to have to call Ned for help? Why would Ned know specific details about a historical clock in Czechia? That does not match his background at all. It would immensely help if Nancy just had some small voice lines to send players in the right direction. Even something as simple as “hm, maybe Ned could help me with this.” [h1]Visuals & Sound[/h1] Before I elaborate, I will clarify that I do not by any means, expect AAA/AA or even GOOD quality graphics in ND games. However, in KEY, it really feels like the graphics have gone backwards in time in comparison to past games. Still, visuals are not imperative, but the bland, open, empty grey areas of Prague are extremely jarring. The city looked like a deserted concrete box with NPC clones every 10 metres. There are no shadows or lighting to provide dimensions or scaling. Birds in the sky appear to be lego blocks etc. You cannot interact with any NPC, but seeing the same one wearing the same clothes, same expression etc, just a few metres away from another version of itself is perhaps the creepiest thing about the game. It feels as if it did this setting a great disservice and took away from the charm of ND. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3275205549 Having lost Lani Minella as the voice of ND for over 20 years is a colossal disappointment. Whilst the other character voices had poor Czech accents (understandable), Nancy’s grating voice was by far the worst. I found her to sound almost identical to AI and it was difficult to see her as the warm, friendly but curious person we know her character to be. The repeated soundtracks was nothing like the iconic originals and was quite distracting during extended puzzle sequences. [b]Playtime:[/b] Approximately 16 hours, developers state it has up to 20 hours gameplay time. [b] Controller Recommended? [/b] No [b]Replayability value:[/b] For achievements only. [h1]Conclusion[/h1] I was extremely hyped for this release and am disheartened to critique it so heavily. If there was a mixed option on Steam, I would have gone with that. Whilst my list of critiques is long, I also really enjoyed areas of the game and immersing myself into Prague. Speaking with familiar characters, hearing the well known ND phrases and completing puzzles. However, when comparing this with the blaringly obvious negatives and hefty price tag of nearly $AU50, it is just not something I can recommend. [quote] If you would like to see more reviews written by me, please follow my curator page and help support my work [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/34936724/] Cookie Reviews[/url]. [/quote]