Mint's Hints
- October 1, 2024
- Grant Marrs
- 20h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"Mint's Hints" is a horror-themed puzzle adventure game where you, the former showrunner of a canceled children's show, are abducted and must escape the abandoned studio. Collect paw-shaped "Hints" and use your "Happy-Go-Lucky Notebook" to uncover the show's secrets, all while avoiding the vengeful stars of the series. The game boasts stunning visuals, intuitive gameplay, and unique characters and lore, providing a thrilling experience in just 30 minutes.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game creatively blends nostalgia from Blue's Clues with horror elements, providing a unique and engaging experience.
- The flashlight mechanic is innovative, allowing players to reveal hidden objects and navigate the environment in a fun way.
- The art style and character designs are charming and well-executed, contributing to the overall whimsical yet creepy atmosphere.
- The chase sequence is frustratingly difficult, requiring near-perfect timing and often leading to repeated failures.
- The game suffers from performance issues and bugs, including crashes and poor optimization, which detracts from the overall experience.
- Many players found the gameplay to be short and lacking in depth, with some puzzles feeling underwhelming and the horror elements not fully realized.
- gameplay34 mentions
- 41 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this horror puzzle game features an intriguing flashlight mechanic that allows players to reveal hidden objects and clues, adding a unique twist to the experience. While the initial execution has been criticized for lacking depth and feeling short-lived, many players appreciate the charming visuals and engaging puzzles that keep the gameplay fresh. Overall, the game shows potential for improvement in future chapters, particularly in utilizing its core mechanics more effectively.
“The gameplay is pretty good and has an interesting idea; basically, you are given two flashlights that can reveal clues and invisible objects depending on which flashlight you use. It's actually an interesting concept, and I hope it's utilized more in chapter 2.”
“Gameplay & mechanics: the gameplay is intuitive and engaging, making it easy to pick up while providing enough depth to keep you hooked.”
“The variety of puzzles keeps the experience fresh, with new mechanics introduced as you progress, ensuring players are constantly engaged.”
“Although I think that a Blues Clues inspired horror game would have been a great idea, this game doesn't really execute it well gameplay-wise.”
“Puzzles feel vague and unsatisfying; the story didn't seem very intriguing and was kind of predictable. The main gimmick mechanics don't really feel very puzzle-like; they feel more like novelties to me.”
“Gameplay itself is short, just a brief escape from two felines (or foxes).”
- graphics30 mentions
- 37 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received praise for their vibrant colors, whimsical art style, and faithful recreation of the original "Blue's Clues" aesthetic, creating an inviting atmosphere that enhances the gameplay experience. While many players appreciate the charming visuals and unique design, some have noted issues with optimization and performance on lower-end devices, leading to concerns about graphical settings and functionality. Overall, the art style is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's nostalgic appeal and atmosphere.
“The graphics art style is good, nice and stylized with a good use of color and designs that actually feels a lot closer to the original Blue's Clues, especially with the character designs.”
“The vibrant colors and whimsical art style create an inviting atmosphere that perfectly complements the lighthearted gameplay.”
“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.”
“The note I'll give is, I did struggle with the graphics a bit, as they gave me a hard time being able to move around or do actions in some points of the game.”
- story28 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The story of the game has garnered mixed reviews, with many players finding it engaging and endearing, particularly appreciating its unique blend of horror and puzzle elements inspired by children's shows like Blue's Clues. While some critiques highlight predictability and clichés within the narrative, others express excitement for its potential and the intriguing mysteries it presents. Overall, players are invested in the story and eager to see how it develops in future chapters.
“The story, so far, has me incredibly invested, and the controls were pretty good, not too janky.”
“So the story is good; it takes a lot of inspiration from Blue's Clues, even the one human character is essentially Blue's Clues Steve, but it all has a horror twist. It has a good mystery that sets up how the show got canceled with visual cues and character dialogue that you can piece together what happened, but still leaves you with plenty to theorize.”
“The story was so interesting, it kept me hooked from start to finish!”
“The story seemed incredibly cliché, especially for this particular sub-genre of horror.”
“A shame because it really got me more interested in the story.”
“Good premise, somewhat curious about the story.”
- optimization8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while some players report smooth performance on mid-range setups and commend the lack of bugs, others experience significant performance issues, particularly on weaker hardware. Many reviewers express a desire for more optimization options and improvements, especially given the game's short length and the performance of competing titles in the mascot horror genre.
“It also runs pretty smooth on my kind of mid computer setup, so well optimized.”
“On a positive side, I love the graphics; also, top-notch performance from voice actors.”
“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 and performance issues.”
“I do have some performance issues even after tinkering with the settings, and I felt the chase scene AI was a little too aggressive!”
“It is horribly optimized for a game that literally takes about 5-10 minutes to beat.”
- atmosphere7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is characterized by a blend of nostalgia and whimsy, infused with an underlying sense of dread. The vibrant colors and unique art style create an inviting yet unsettling environment that enhances the gameplay experience, although some players feel it could benefit from additional polish. Overall, the atmosphere is praised for its creativity and effectiveness in complementing the game's themes.
“The vibrant colors and whimsical art style create an inviting atmosphere that perfectly complements the lighthearted gameplay.”
“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 that something is obviously wrong.”
- humor5 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its dark comedic elements and clever voice acting, with players appreciating the nostalgic yet absurd blend of a horror theme inspired by "Blue's Clues." The inclusion of quirky characters and humorous gameplay mechanics, such as the necessity of using two flashlights, adds to the overall comedic experience.
“I highly enjoyed the dark humor.”
“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 Blues Clues-inspired horror game, lol.”
“Funny, silly, amazing characters!”
- stability3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Users report significant stability issues, including frequent glitches and freezing, even on lower settings. Many experience complete game freezes that hinder access to settings, resulting in a frustrating gameplay experience.
“Please fix the tearing issue. I can run more demanding games at 60fps without issue, but this game, even at the lowest specs, glitches nonstop at the end.”
“It freezes the entire game.”
“If I close it and re-launch to try and get to the settings as fast as I can, I only reach the graphics option before my screen freezes mid-transition, leaving me with a black screen.”
- character development3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The character development is enhanced by charming and stylized designs that evoke nostalgia for the original "Blue's Clues," complemented by smooth animations. The appealing character aesthetics contribute positively to the overall experience, making the characters feel engaging and fun.
“The animations are smooth, and the charming character designs add to the overall appeal.”
“The graphics art style is good, nice and stylized with a good use of color and designs that actually feels a lot closer to the original Blue's Clues, especially with the character designs.”
“Fun character designs in the house.”
- music3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-received, featuring enjoyable tracks that enhance the experience. However, some players noted that the chase music can be inconsistent, not playing at certain distances, which can detract from the overall atmosphere. Despite this, the chase theme itself is considered catchy and memorable.
“The music is good; it has nice tracks to listen to.”
“Also, the chase song was really catchy!”
“The chase music doesn't play if you're a certain distance, which can ruin the mood.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, particularly during chase sequences that require precise timing. While some appreciate the hidden objects mechanic and the creator's passion, the overall experience is marred by the repetitive and dull nature of the grinding elements.
“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 accidentally double-clicking on a door is enough to kill you.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game is perceived as thoughtful and considerate, rather than exploitative or purely profit-driven.
