Nancy Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor – PC – Review

Once again, that inquisitive young lady, Nancy Drew, is hot on the trail of a spooky mystery. This time around, Nancy actually gets to leave the United States and visit England, where she is the guest of an old, aristocratic family, complete with large, rambling mansion.

A neighbor of Nancy’s has requested that she visit this home in England, to check on her daughter, who is newly married to the head of the Penvellyn family. Upon arriving and beginning to walk up the outside steps, Nancy is startled to hear a gruff voice rasping out her name, “Nancy….” When she turns to see who’s calling her name, she sees red eyes glowing at her out of the dark mist. She turns and bangs on the door, which opens immediately. Of course, when she tells the woman at the door what just happened, there’s nothing to see beyond the steps.

This scary introduction sets the tone for the rest of the game, which is really spooky on the lines of Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake, rather than the more recent Danger on Deception Island and Shadow Ranch. Those two games were more lighthearted and humorous, but The Curse of Blackmoor Manor is much more dark and mysterious, just right for a fun Halloween game!

Nancy is greeted at the door by Mrs. Drake, the aunt of Mr. Penvellyn, an English diplomat who is the current head of the Penvellyns, a very old and established Essex family. Nancy is told to take her things to her room and rest, before meeting the others of the family. Supposedly, Mrs. Penvellyn is indisposed in her room and not available for visits, but Nancy goes to see her anyway. In the room, she is surprised to learn that Linda Penvellyn has been behind her bed curtains for days now, and refuses to come out and see anyone. On being questioned through the curtains, Linda gives a few details, but then suddenly stops talking and the interview is over. Nancy then moves on to meet Linda’s young step-daughter, who has been staying up to meet her. It’s been a long day, and Nancy retires for the night.

Of course, the next day Nancy is all set to do some exploring, and boy, is there a lot of it to do in this house! There are many pretties to examine just like in every Nancy Drew game, and much of it is well worth looking at. Puzzles and clues abound, too, and every item should be examined thoroughly. As in the last several games, there are also lots of mini-games to play around with when sleuthing becomes old, and most of them are quite fun.

This is a more serious game than some of the latest in this series, and is more like the scary Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake, than the most recent Shadow Ranch. The content is also darker, with occult overtones. The puzzles are more difficult, more on the level of The Secret of the Scarlet Hand, although not quite as difficult as those. As in most Nancy Drew games, there are also interesting educational facts scattered throughout.

The story takes place in England, and all the stereotypes and then some are pulled out. The little girl, Jane, is currently being schooled at home while her father is on a sudden diplomatic mission, and has a tutor in the home just for her. Of course, this being the England of storybooks, she is dressed in a very conservative dress that my daughter wouldn’t have been caught dead in at that age, and that I doubt seriously that any English 12-year-old would, either. Her Great-Aunt, Mrs. Drake, the pseudo-housekeeper, is dependent on her nephew for her upkeep, of course, as she is currently unmarried and therefore unable to support herself. Jane’s curriculum includes lots of history dates, and she has totally memorized her family’s entire history, stretching back to the 1200’s, give or take a century or so.

Still, these amusing chestnuts won’t bother the said 12-year-olds playing this game, as most teens will accept this old-fashioned view of English aristocratic life as normal, from the narrow scope of their limited reading of the Narnia and Harry Potter books, and exposure to movies like the re-made Parent Trap. And, to be fair, Jane isn’t at all a nerd, she’s into hot boys, cool music and other interesting things.

This is a much more serious game than the last three, and can be really frightening at times. It even scared my 14-year-old daughter with the beginning introduction. The puzzles are much harder, too. There were a few that had me scratching my head, but I eventually figured them out. Of course, there is always help to be had, although not quite as much as usually. Bess, George and the Hardy brothers aren’t on hand to help out Nancy this time around, but are out there busy living their own lives for once. As in the last game, though, there is a strategy guide included to help get through the really sticky puzzles.

There are a lot of really nice mini-games included, in the guise of a chest of board and card games that Jane will make Nancy play to gain clues and objects from her. They can be played at any time, separately from the story. These games definitely add to the fun! One is an old favorite from The Secret of the Scarlet Hand. I really liked the jigsaw puzzle, too bad it wasn’t randomized, like the other games. As mentioned previously, there is also a good amount of educational factoids, but not as many as in some of the games.

The setting is dark and mysterious, with very spooky sound effects. The sound is done very well, from the creaking and sighing of an old house settling, to the clicking of game tiles during play. The voice acting is well-done, too, with really good accents from all around the pond. The look of the house is detailed thoroughly, and matches the serious, somber mood for the most part. There are at times humorous injections, as in the very talkative parrot, and the carnivorous plants in the hothouse. As always, there are plenty of items to click on while exploring, and the visual payoff is quite good. I especially enjoyed the picture gallery.