Mint's Hints

About

Mint's Hints is a single player survival simulation game with a horror theme. It was developed by Nightmare Emporium and was released on October 1, 2024. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

CONTROLS: WASD / Arrow KeysLeft-click and right-click to toggle Flashbrights on/offE to interactShift to runSpacebar to jump As the previous showrunner of beloved children’s TV series Mint’s Hints, you never expected to find yourself on set again - especially after the show had been abruptly cancelled. However, you find yourself corrected after being mysteriously abducted and placed on the …

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78%

Audience ScoreBased on 211 reviews

gameplay15 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

Unique and creative flashlight mechanic that reveals hidden objects and adds to the puzzle gameplay.
Nostalgic and charming art style inspired by Blue's Clues, creating a cute yet unsettling atmosphere.
Engaging story and lore with intriguing characters that keep players interested in future chapters.

Chase sequences are criticized for being too long, difficult, and sometimes frustrating due to trial-and-error gameplay and tight timing.
Motion sickness and nausea caused by intense camera bobbing and fast mouse sensitivity with no options to adjust.
Game suffers from bugs, optimization issues, and lack of features like save game, skip dialogue, and control customization.

gameplay
49 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
63%
6%
The gameplay centers around a unique flashlight mechanic that reveals hidden objects and clues, offering a creative and atmospheric puzzle experience. However, this mechanic is underutilized, with gameplay often feeling basic, repetitive, and somewhat lacking in polish or direction, leading to mixed feelings about its overall engagement and execution. Many reviewers see strong potential for improvement and hope future chapters expand and refine these ideas.
- “✅ Unique puzzle mechanics – using the flashlight to uncover hidden ghostly details is a cool touch, and the notebook gives the game an investigative feel, making you feel like you’re slowly unearthing a disturbing mystery.”
- “I also love the game's primary gameplay mechanic with the flashlights; since there's no audience to tell us where the hint prints are; and we need to find them ourselves; we have these flashlights that reveal hidden objects; and it even helps us to survive showing us which areas are blocked off with otherwise invisible objects; and shows us where Mint & Fuschia are in the game's intense chase scene after solving the clues in the solving seat and getting the pink flashlight.”
- “Having your childhood TV show turn into a horror game is always a delight for me and Mint's Hints does deliver that. Story is very interesting enough for me to want to buy chapter 2 of the game. Gameplay-wise is what you'd expect from a psychological horror game but the game is creative when it comes to the game mechanics; the use of the flashlights was very unique and very clever in my opinion.”
- “Little direction, lasts way too long, don't really get a good look at the enemy, weird mechanics, honestly worst part.”
- “The gameplay isn't fun and the monsters aren't scary, so there's no reason to keep playing.”
- “However, the gameplay and chase sequences are super annoying to the point that I just stopped playing.”
story
41 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
52%
7%
The story of the game is generally praised for its interesting concept, engaging mystery, and unique horror twist on a childhood TV show theme, keeping many players hooked and eager for future chapters. While some find the plot and characters somewhat straightforward or underdeveloped due to limited resources, others appreciate the creative storytelling, atmosphere, and the way clues and visual cues build intrigue. Overall, the narrative is considered a strong point that compensates for some gameplay shortcomings, with anticipation for further story development in upcoming installments.
- “The story line, characters, and design is phenomenal!”
- “Having your childhood TV show turn into a horror game is always a delight for me and Mint's Hints does deliver that. The story is very interesting enough for me to want to buy chapter 2 of the game.”
- “The story was so very interesting, kept me hooked from start to finish!”
- “Characters are mid, plot is mid, colors are so bright they hurt my eyes, I like games like this but this game is not good, would not recommend.”
- “But for a chapter one, it was pretty slow, and (spoilers) you would just talk to characters which mostly wouldn't say anything relevant to the game or the story itself.”
- “Story seemed incredibly cliché, especially for this particular subgenre of horror.”
graphics
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
53%
10%
The game's graphics effectively capture a nostalgic, Blue's Clues-inspired aesthetic with charming, stylized visuals and vibrant colors that enhance its unique atmosphere. While many praise the art style and voice acting, some users report performance and optimization issues, particularly with high graphical settings causing lag or crashes on lower-end devices. Overall, the graphics show strong potential but could benefit from further polishing and better optimization in future updates.
- “The graphics art style is good, nice and stylized with a good use of color and designs that actually feel a lot closer to original Blue's Clues, especially with the character designs.”
- “I love how thoroughly they managed to re-create the aesthetic of those older Blue's Clues episodes, really tickled my nostalgia brain lol.”
- “The art style is so unique and cool—it's stunning and adds a lot to the overall atmosphere of the game!”
- “The graphics during the house look a bit too simplistic and this doesn't seem right for a game that is using up to 80-90% of my GPU.”
- “Chapter 2 doesn't seem to have better looking graphics and this makes me very concerned for the future of this game.”
- “Motion blur was tied to graphical effects so I had to turn it low because the motion blur was pretty overbearing.”
humor
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game’s humor is widely praised for its quirky characters, dark and uncanny comedy, and playful references to other media that elicit genuine laughs. Players enjoy the blend of silly antics and soft horror, with well-executed voice acting enhancing the comedic experience. Overall, the humor adds a unique and entertaining charm to the game.
- “A super hilarious horror game with talking furniture and a magnificent colorful house level.”
- “The characters are quirky and had me laughing quite a few times, and the jump scares did get me.”
- “I think the voice acting is well done, and the nostalgic setup is also rather hilarious -- I never would've thought I would see a Blue's Clues-inspired horror game lol.”
atmosphere
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The atmosphere is praised for effectively blending nostalgic, whimsical elements of early 2000s children's shows with a creepy, eerie vibe, especially in the opening area. While the initial ambiance is strong and unique, some feel it could be further polished, and later moments tend to soften the horror with more charming character designs. Overall, the game's distinctive art style and thematic consistency significantly enhance its compelling atmosphere.
- “Creepy but nostalgic atmosphere – the game nails the eerie vibe of old kids’ TV, with set designs straight out of early 2000s shows.”
- “The atmosphere in the beginning was just right, balancing between nostalgic/whimsical and a feeling of dread that something is obviously wrong.”
- “The art style is so unique and cool—it's stunning and adds a lot to the overall atmosphere of the game!”
- “A bit more polish to help crank up the atmosphere could help.”
- “Speaking of atmosphere, it does get a bit better when you're getting chased by mint and fuchsia but once again, they make me want to jump onto them and hug them rather than run from them.”
- “The atmosphere in the beginning was just right, erring between the line of being nostalgic/whimsical and the feeling of dread and that something is so obviously wrong.”
optimization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
Optimization receives mixed feedback, with some users praising smooth performance on mid-range setups and bug-free gameplay, while others report performance issues, lack of settings like mouse sensitivity, and poor optimization on weaker hardware compared to similar games. Improvements are recommended for future updates.
- “It also runs pretty smooth on my mid-range computer setup, so well optimized.”
- “I also want to give huge props to the dev for the game's performance - I didn't experience a single bug throughout my entire playthrough, and it ran flawlessly.”
- “Besides the lack of more options like mouse sensitivity, the game performs well.”
- “And for the next chapter, this game needs to be optimized much better in every way, especially since every other mascot horror game runs immensely better, considering how little content this has.”
- “It is horribly optimized for a game that literally takes about 5-10 minutes to beat.”
- “One thing to note, the game isn't well-optimized and can run poorly on weaker hardware.”
music
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
28%
29%
The music in the game is generally praised for its catchy and well-suited tracks, especially the intense chase music that enhances the horror atmosphere. Some users note minor issues with the timing and distance-triggering of encounter music that can disrupt the mood. Overall, the soundtrack effectively complements the retro horror aesthetic and adds to the immersive experience.
- “I'd also like to point out that the developer and his wife were behind the story, designs, music, development, animation, and live-acting—and I'd consider all of that no small feat seeing the chapters so far.”
- “I really liked the chase music, and the chase itself was pretty good and intense, though it could have been slightly more forgiving.”
- “Also, the chase song was really catchy!”
- “The chase music doesn't play if you're a certain distance which can ruin the mood.”
- “More of a nitpick, but the audio, specifically the encounter music, feels like it should start a bit earlier when it fades in.”
character development
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
The character development is highlighted by unique and appealing character designs that blend adorably creepy elements with nostalgic references. While the visuals and voice acting receive high praise, deeper narrative or growth aspects of the characters are not extensively mentioned. Overall, the characters strongly contribute to the game's style and atmosphere.
- “Absolute peak, the story is easy to understand, character designs go hard as hell, and the video tape segments are really well done, and don't even start about the voice acting omg, it's perfect.”
- “The graphics art style is good, nice and stylized with a good use of color and designs that actually feels a lot closer to original Blue's Clues, especially with the character designs.”
- “Character design is adorable, mildly creepy and very reminiscent of Mangle from FNAF, which makes for a good base.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is minimal overall but includes a tedious and highly precise chase sequence that can be frustrating due to strict timing requirements. Despite this, some players appreciate elements like the hidden objects feature and the evident passion of the creator.
- “They're barely in the game apart from a tedious and mind-numbingly dull chase.”
- “The flee section is a little tedious because you have to be nearly frame perfect to complete it (a single half-second wrong turn or double-clicking 'E' accidentally on a door is enough to kill you).”
- “The grinding sections lack variety and feel repetitive, making progress feel more frustrating than rewarding.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Monetization received mixed feedback, with some users feeling it's overly focused on merchandise and shallow content, while others believe it was implemented thoughtfully without being a cynical cash grab.
- “Feels like a cash grab since there's a link on the main menu for merchandise, and the content feels a little too shallow.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game exhibits significant stability issues, frequently freezing and causing black screens during transitions, especially when attempting to access settings. These crashes impede smooth gameplay and require forceful restarts.
- “It freezes the entire game.”
- “When I close and relaunch the game to access the settings quickly, I only get to the graphics option before the screen freezes mid-transition, leaving me with a black screen.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Replayability is somewhat hindered by lengthy dialogue sections that lack a skip option, making repeated playthroughs less smooth and potentially tedious.