Emerald City Confidential

About

Emerald City Confidential is a single player action game. It was developed by Wadjet Eye Games and was released on August 12, 2009. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

In "Emerald City Confidential," play as detective Petra in a film noir-styled Oz, filled with puzzles, magic, and iconic characters such as Scarecrow and Lion. This game boasts over 1

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

95%

Audience ScoreBased on 208 reviews

story66 positive mentions

stability8 negative mentions

Emerald City Confidential features a well-written and engaging story that creatively reimagines the Wizard of Oz characters in a noir setting.
The game boasts high-quality voice acting and impressive graphics, enhancing the overall experience for players.
It includes a helpful hint system that prevents players from getting stuck, making it accessible for both casual gamers and fans of the genre.

The game suffers from technical issues, such as cursor glitches and crashes, particularly on modern systems, which can detract from the experience.
Many players found the puzzles to be too easy and straightforward, lacking the challenge typically expected from point-and-click adventure games.
The game is relatively short, with a playtime of around 5-7 hours, which some players feel does not justify the price.

story
148 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
53%
2%
The game's story is widely praised for its engaging narrative and well-developed characters, set in a creatively reimagined Oz universe that blends elements of noir with classic lore. Players appreciate the clever twists and immersive storytelling, although some find the pacing uneven and certain plot points anticlimactic. Overall, the narrative is considered a strong draw, making it a worthwhile experience for fans of story-driven games.
- “In addition to staying accurate to the Wizard of Oz books, this game also goes ahead and gives a fresh new take on the Emerald City in terms of a noir story that has you going all over the Emerald City as well as other outside lands helping characters from the books solve cases.”
- “The storyline is great, full of drama and plot twists, while voice acting and dialogues are superb.”
- “I'm recommending this game because it has intriguing characters, a wonderfully fleshed-out world, and a solid story.”
- “The overall plot is a bit marred in the middle by the introduction of your standard fantasy quest for two powerful artifacts, and the animations are very simple, but otherwise the game is rock solid (if on the easy side).”
- “Would have liked to have dealt with all four witches and would have preferred a better resolution with the revelation on who Cutter really is (even though you can guess at it so early on in the story that it's not really a big surprise).”
- “Occasionally the writing felt like it was giving off sort of a juvenile worldview (especially when it came to the university), but this never really interfered with the story.”
graphics
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
42%
8%
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their charm and beauty, with a richly atmospheric art style that enhances the experience. However, some players noted minor graphical glitches and an overall aged appearance, reminiscent of older titles designed for Windows 98. Despite these issues, the visuals contribute positively to the game's appeal, complementing its engaging story and voice acting.
- “So dive into Emerald City Confidential: a game where the art style is charming, the writing is sharp, and the voice acting might actually make you feel things.”
- “Step 4: serve with a side of stunning visuals – a richly atmospheric world to explore.”
- “The art style was beautiful.”
- “In addition, this game has a very indie look in terms of its art style.”
- “The interesting thing about that is that the whole production has a sort of 'a graphic adventure designed for Windows 98' feel while Wadjet Eye's other games have a more timeless quality.”
- “First impressions were that this point-and-click adventure has an annoying protagonist, and judging by the difficulty and graphics, it is aimed for 6-year-olds.”
gameplay
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
60%
11%
The gameplay is primarily a blend of visual novel and point-and-click mechanics, characterized by straightforward and forgiving puzzles that are often easy to solve. While some players appreciate the immersive story and flowy gameplay, many note that the challenges are minimal and lack depth, with a desire for more complex puzzles. Overall, it offers a nostalgic experience reminiscent of classic adventure games, but may leave players seeking greater difficulty and engagement.
- “The mechanics of gameplay are nicely woven to where the player is never at a loss as to what they must do, thanks to a hint system that provides as much or as little assistance as the player likes.”
- “Gameplay-wise it does hold up to this day, with classic point-and-click controls and nothing complicated.”
- “Sometimes, I just think to myself that it would be fun to fire it up and play it some more just because of how enjoyable the gameplay is and how immersive the story is.”
- “Then they too would warn other fans about this game’s painfully average gameplay.”
- “Overall, the game has a very minimalistic attitude to the way it approaches gameplay.”
- “The gameplay is simple and extremely forgiving.”
music
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
31%
19%
The music in the game is highly praised for its fitting and atmospheric qualities, enhancing the overall experience with moody jazz and dramatic scores that complement the unique visuals and storytelling. Players appreciate the top-notch voice acting and the immersive sound design, which together contribute to the game's charm and engaging atmosphere. Overall, the music is considered a standout element that enriches the gameplay.
- “Although the music and voice acting are top notch, it was also fun to collect the hidden buttons that were in the many zones, allowing you to see conceptual art for the characters in the game if you turned the buttons into the patchwork girl.”
- “Great point and click adventure with a unique atmosphere and great music.”
- “The world, the characters, and the music are all excellent.”
- “(cue moody jazz music, heavy on the saxophone. The screen fades from black, revealing a foggy emerald city skyline, drenched in shadow and neon green glow. The gravelly voice of the Honest Trailer guy begins, with interjections from the Ryan George pitch meeting duo.)”
- “(ominous music swells.)”
- “(cut to Petra ripping back a literal curtain to reveal… something shocking, as dramatic music crescendos.)”
stability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, the game's stability is generally good, with most users reporting only minor graphical glitches that can often be resolved through compatibility settings. While full-screen mode may cause significant issues, playing in windowed mode tends to provide a smoother experience. Despite these technical errors, players still find enjoyment in the game.
- “There are some technical errors in Emerald Confidential, such as when you try playing this game full screen, it glitches out badly.”
- “The game's stable, and although the mouse cursor glitches aplenty in full screen, the game runs okay on Windows 10 if you play it in windowed mode.”
- “I had only minor initial issues with some graphical glitches that I was able to fix by setting Windows compatibility to Windows 98 and setting it to run as administrator, and after that, it ran perfectly.”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is praised for its wit and cleverness, particularly in its sequel to 'The Wizard of Oz,' which effectively engages players with its comedic elements. Overall, reviewers find the humor to be a standout feature that enhances the gaming experience.
- “Excellent humor!”
- “A witty and humorous sequel of 'The Wizard of Oz'.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its stunning visuals and immersive world, creating a rich environment for exploration. Reviewers highlight the unique ambiance and complementary music, enhancing the overall experience of this point-and-click adventure.
- “A richly atmospheric world to explore, complemented by stunning visuals.”
- “Great point-and-click adventure with a unique atmosphere and fantastic music.”
- “A richly atmospheric world to explore, complemented by stunning visuals.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game suffers from poor optimization by modern standards, making fullscreen mode unplayable for many users. Additionally, the new company has ceased support for older titles, resulting in a lack of updates or optimizations for those games.
- “The game is not very optimized by modern computer standards, meaning you probably won't be able to play this game in fullscreen mode.”
- “The new company stopped supporting the older PC games that the old PlayFirst made, and thus their games were not optimized anymore.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game offers minimal replayability due to the absence of branching paths, leading to a largely linear experience.
- “There are no branching paths, so there is little to no replayability.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate the game's approach to grinding, noting that it eliminates tedious inventory combining puzzles commonly found in adventure games, resulting in a more streamlined and enjoyable experience.

Skip Game Offers

Buy Emerald City Confidential

Emerald City Confidential
See offer on Steam

Skip Videos

Videos

Skip Games Like Emerald City Confidential

84%2.7kreviews

Primordia

2012

Arcade Role Playing

80%1.5kreviews

The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav

2012

Arcade Role Playing

+11

86%690reviews

Stick it to The Man!

2013

Platformer

+11

88%805reviews

Grim Legends: The Forsaken Bride

2014

Casual Puzzle

+14

87%1.2kreviews

Gibbous: A Cthulhu Adventure

2019

Puzzle

More games like Emerald City Confidential

Skip FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Emerald City Confidential is a action game.

Emerald City Confidential is available on PC and Windows.

Emerald City Confidential was released on August 12, 2009.

Emerald City Confidential was developed by Wadjet Eye Games.

Emerald City Confidential has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its stability.

Emerald City Confidential is a single player game.

Similar games include Primordia, The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav, Stick it to The Man!, Grim Legends: The Forsaken Bride, Gibbous: A Cthulhu Adventure and others.

Emerald City Confidential

Platforms

About

Buy Emerald City Confidential