Family Mysteries 3: Criminal Mindset

About

Family Mysteries 3: Criminal Mindset is a single player casual management game with mystery, thriller, kids and science fiction themes. It was developed by Brave Giant LTD and was released on July 16, 2020. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Take on a role of a famous scientist drawn into a dangerous game, where the goal is to save the mankind and uncover family secret. Get ready for a pulse-pounding adventure in the world of experiments, mysteries and espionage!

Family Mysteries 3: Criminal Mindset screenshot

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77%

Audience ScoreBased on 84 reviews

story13 positive mentions

stability2 negative mentions

Nice and pretty artwork with smooth controls and ambient background music.
Interesting and varied hidden object scenes and puzzles, offering casual but engaging gameplay.
Compelling and moderately engaging story with some intriguing plot twists and a bonus chapter providing extra content.

The story often feels inconsistent, rushed, or illogical, with some plot points and character actions being hard to justify.
Voice acting quality is mostly poor, often monotone or lacking emotion, detracting from immersion.
The achievement system contains a notably difficult and possibly bugged achievement, which frustrates players aiming for 100% completion.

story
65 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
71%
9%
The story across these reviews is generally seen as average to inconsistent, with some finding it engaging due to its themes of family, science, and mystery, while others criticize it for plot holes, awkward dialogue, and a lack of cohesion. Though it includes some intriguing twists and a darker tone compared to typical hidden object games, many players found it less compelling or more confusing than previous installments. Overall, the narrative is often considered serviceable but not standout, occasionally hindered by pacing issues and repetitive elements.
- “The overall story about family, science, mystery, and your quirky assistant definitely made up the plot for sure.”
- “This was a captivating hidden object game that artfully combines a suspense-filled mystery, unforeseen plot developments (although there was one I caught sight of almost immediately), and excellent artwork.”
- “The story is the part that is not exactly rare, but a bit uncommon for Artifex Mundi games - it's not fantasy or folk/fairy tale - it's a modern investigative type story with a few fantastical twists.”
- “The story is horrendous, the game is not intuitive, I hated it, kept thinking about how the first game was better.”
- “I categorically did not like it, plot inconsistencies are constantly hitting the eyes, from the story there is always a feeling of some kind of raggedness.”
- “The story was not interesting, sorry... it was so boring I had a hard time finishing it, I kept falling asleep.”
graphics
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
35%
15%
The graphics are consistently praised for their polished, painted, and artful style typical of Artifex Mundi games, featuring smooth, dreamy visuals and engaging environmental artwork. While the art is generally beautiful and well-drawn with intricate details, some criticism highlights reused assets, character animations that feel lacking, and low-resolution elements especially in mobile ports. Overall, the visuals provide a solid and attractive presentation, though they are not groundbreaking or without flaws.
- “Right off the bat, the artwork is amazing, well polished, the voice acting is good.”
- “I like the artwork; like most of the time in Artifex Mundi games, you get smooth, children’s book dreamy-like views and scenes.”
- “ Exceptional artwork and intricate visuals”
- “Artwork was still more or less the same and they still reused assets.”
- “As with most mobile ported hidden object games, there's a simplistic interface, locked/unchangeable screen resolution, next to no customizability, and somewhat low resolution graphical assets.”
- “Graphics and sounds were same as always but nothing amazing although I am a fan of the painted look to the levels except the character animations which always look bad.”
gameplay
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
11%
33%
The gameplay offers a varied and engaging mix of puzzles and mini-games with solid mechanics typical of the hidden object puzzle adventure genre. While most players find the puzzles interesting and well-designed, the absence of a mini-game reset button and occasional frustrating design choices detract from the overall experience.
- “The puzzles are varied enough and don't get repetitive, and the hops are varied in terms of layout and mechanics.”
- “The game's mini-games offer both challenge and balance, adding to enriching gameplay.”
- “The mechanics are top notch for the genre, featuring a variety of hidden object scenes including word matching, silhouettes, finding all of the same object, and finding parts to complete an object.”
- “Also, there's no reset button on the mini games which is very annoying and seems like a silly oversight from a company that must know this is something casual gameplayers almost universally want in a game like this.”
- “The gameplay is fine, but there are gaping plot holes and the English dialog is often excruciatingly awkward.”
- “3.5 hour gameplay.”
music
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
12%
38%
The music in the game is generally solid and complements the ambient sounds well, though it tends to be repetitive and lacks uniqueness. While not overly annoying, the soundtrack is considered adequate but not particularly standout.
- “Ambient background music is good, so are the game sounds.”
- “It had a great story along with the puzzle, graphics and music, and I was very happy with it.”
- “The sound and music are good.”
- “Wish they would have more unique music for this series - the repetition is a bit tiresome.”
- “I did catch on a similar background music here, however.”
- “The graphics and music are solid, but nothing special.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The humor in the game is perceived as mostly unfunny and silly, though some players find the cheesy voice acting unintentionally amusing. The poor execution of voice acting and animations contributes to an unintended comedic effect.
- “However, this, like the previous games, is awful at voice acting, 'action scenes', and face movement... it's so bad it's hilarious.”
- “The voice acting is so cheesy it's funny.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report stability issues including screen freezes, particularly on macOS during the first hog segment, and buggy achievements affecting some players.
- “I don't know if it is because I'm on macOS, but the screen freezes every time on the first hog.”
- “One of the achievements seems to be buggy for some players (including me).”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews of grinding in the game are mixed, with some players finding the puzzles well-balanced and enjoyable, while others feel they can be either too easy or overly tedious, impacting the overall experience.
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has little to no replay value, offering limited incentive for players to revisit it after the initial playthrough.
- “No replay value”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is slightly dark and engaging, featuring interesting minigames and decent environmental artwork. It maintains a thematic quality comparable to the second installment while improving upon the first, with a bonus chapter that aligns well with the main plot.

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7h Median play time

7h Average play time

5-8h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Family Mysteries 3: Criminal Mindset is a casual management game with mystery, thriller, kids and science fiction themes.

Family Mysteries 3: Criminal Mindset is available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5 and others.

On average players spend around 7 hours playing Family Mysteries 3: Criminal Mindset.

Family Mysteries 3: Criminal Mindset was released on July 16, 2020.

Family Mysteries 3: Criminal Mindset was developed by Brave Giant LTD.

Family Mysteries 3: Criminal Mindset has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked Family Mysteries 3: Criminal Mindset for its story but disliked it for its stability.

Family Mysteries 3: Criminal Mindset is a single player game.

Similar games include Family Mysteries 2: Echoes of Tomorrow, Demon Hunter: Chronicles from Beyond, The Secret Order 2: Masked Intent, True Fear: Forsaken Souls Part 1, Lost Grimoires 3: The Forgotten Well and others.

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