Nancy Drew: Mystery of the Seven Keys

54%
Game Brain Score Based on 109 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • music
Nancy Drew: Mystery of the Seven Keys Game Cover
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In "Nancy Drew: Mystery of the Seven Keys" , players assume the role of the famous detective and navigate through the historic city of Prague. They must uncover the truth behind a stolen heirloom necklace, unravel a sinister web of cybercrime, and outwit devious suspects to save the city's Bohemian heritage. Challenging puzzles, riddles, and medieval lore await as players investigate the mysterious old-world environments.

Play Modes

Reviews

54%
Audience ScoreBased on 109 reviews
story18 positive mentions
stability11 negative mentions
  • The game features beautiful graphics and a well-designed environment, particularly the exploration of Prague.
  • The puzzles are challenging and engaging, providing a satisfying experience for players who enjoy problem-solving.
  • The option to switch between modern controls and classic point-and-click navigation adds flexibility to gameplay.
  • The story feels disjointed and lacks the charm and depth of previous Nancy Drew games, making it less engaging.
  • Many puzzles are unintuitive and poorly explained, leading to frustration and reliance on walkthroughs.
  • The game suffers from technical issues, including glitches and a clunky user interface, which detract from the overall experience.
  • story57 mentions

    The story of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it engaging and filled with twists, while others criticize it for being overly complex, linear, and lacking cohesion. Many appreciate the character development and the integration of puzzles into the narrative, but several reviewers noted issues with pacing, clarity, and the overall execution of the plot. Overall, while some players enjoyed the story's mystery elements, others felt it fell short compared to previous entries in the series.

    • “Pros: great characters, engaging story, loved the new open world mode for walking around.”
    • “Overall, the story is captivating and makes you want to see it through to the end.”
    • “The story and twists are good and genuinely caught me off guard, and her attempt to modernize the Nancy Drew games is working well.”
    • “My two biggest critiques would be that a) the story is wildly and needlessly complex, with no clear through-line.”
    • “The dialogue was rough and the story felt weird and disjointed.”
    • “The execution of the plot is lacking and the story isn't quite enough to make up for it, but we keep holding out hope that it improves.”
  • graphics46 mentions

    The graphics of the game received mixed reviews, with some praising the beautiful visuals and improved environments, while others criticized them as dull, lifeless, and reminiscent of outdated styles. Many players noted that the graphics sometimes hindered gameplay, making puzzles difficult to solve due to poor visibility and lack of clarity. Overall, while there are moments of graphical beauty, the inconsistency and perceived laziness in design left some players disappointed.

    • “The good: the setting was great and I was so happy to see much more consistent quality in the visuals and the environments!”
    • “The graphics were amazing.”
    • “The good parts of this game possibly lie only in the graphics, which are really quite beautiful.”
    • “The graphics resemble the outdated visuals of 'Sherlock Holmes versus Jack the Ripper' from 2009, which today seem both archaic and unimpressive.”
    • “First, the graphics look like something out of Sims 2000 with boxy, boring graphics as opposed to the beautiful artwork from previous games.”
    • “The difference in graphics of the trailer to how the game looks when you're playing it is laughable.”
  • music19 mentions

    The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it overly repetitive and lacking the variety that characterized previous titles in the series. While some appreciated the beauty of the soundtrack, they felt it was forgettable and did not evoke a lasting connection to the game. Overall, the rigid association of music with specific locations and the constant presence of the soundtrack detracted from the immersive experience that fans have come to expect.

    • “Loved exploring the Prague setting, and the soundtrack was so lovely.”
    • “We need music that gets stuck in our head and reminds us of the game days after we've played it.”
    • “For example, the music from 'The Deadly Device' or 'Shadow at the Water's Edge' have some of the best soundtracks of any PC games in my opinion.”
    • “Music is overly repetitive, and the point-and-click option is such a drag that I am forced to play the other control option -- which, by the way, I am not a fan of since it doesn't feel like I am playing a Nancy Drew game at all.”
    • “The music in the game is decent but overly repetitive.”
    • “In previous games, the music was more varied and changed randomly, sometimes even falling silent, which added to the atmosphere.”
  • gameplay17 mentions

    The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players finding the mechanics frustrating, clunky, and not intuitive, leading to a complicated experience that often requires external guidance. While some appreciate the modernized controls and exploration options, others express disappointment in the overall execution and feel that the gameplay detracts from the story. Overall, the shift in mechanics has polarized long-time fans, with some advocating for a full embrace of the new system despite its shortcomings.

    • “Gameplay: the gameplay was great, and I can't wait to see the improvements in the next one.”
    • “That being said, I would highly recommend giving the modern gameplay a full chance instead of sticking with classic out of tradition.”
    • “It offers flexible controls with the option to move via point-and-click or WASD, which you can switch between anytime during gameplay.”
    • “The game mechanics are so frustrating and not intuitive.”
    • “The mechanics of this game are clunky and awkward at best; navigating the map and interacting with items can be immensely frustrating.”
    • “We had many moments where we had no idea what to do; that paired with the mechanics led to a lot of time stumped.”
  • stability12 mentions

    The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting various glitches and bugs that can disrupt gameplay, such as dialog issues and getting trapped in puzzles. While some users experienced significant problems requiring restarts, others reported a smoother experience, suggesting that performance may vary based on hardware. Overall, the game is described as beautiful but notably buggy, leading to frustration for some players.

    • “I encountered no glitches.”
    • “The game runs smoothly without any crashes.”
    • “I appreciate how stable the gameplay is; it never lags or freezes.”
    • “There were a few glitches where things happened out of order, dialog got stuck on screen, or the player got trapped in puzzles with no way to back out, but most of those fixed with a restart of the game.”
    • “Game glitches and tried fixes but unable to play past a certain point.”
    • “I also encountered glitches (several in the alchemy room) that forced me to restart the game from the last save - unacceptable for a game that's $32 and has been out for a few months.”
  • atmosphere8 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game has received mixed reviews, with some praising the solid story and previous music variations that enhanced immersion, while others criticize the current design as lacking effort and failing to capture the essence of its setting, particularly in comparison to earlier titles. Overall, many feel that the game's atmosphere has significantly diminished, detracting from the overall experience.

    • “The story is solid, and the general atmosphere of the game is impressive.”
    • “In previous games, the music was more varied and changed randomly, sometimes even falling silent, which added to the atmosphere.”
    • “Overall, the magnificent atmosphere that we cherished in Nancy Drew has been lost.”
    • “The atmosphere of the plaza is...terrible.”
    • “The atmosphere of the area is terrible.”
    • “This game had poor design and you could tell the minimal effort they put into making the atmosphere and player feel like they were in Prague.”
  • grinding5 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly criticizing the repetitive nature of puzzles like wall puzzles and door locks. Many express a desire for more engaging and varied puzzle designs, reminiscent of scavenger hunts, to enhance the overall experience.

    • “In one word: tedious.”
    • “I would have loved to see puzzles that required more of a scavenger hunt to solve, rather than tedious iterations of wall puzzles and door locks.”
    • “If I had to bring back one aspect of the old school games, it would be the puzzles; doing one at a time and having mainly 'spin object a certain way' puzzles become boring and tedious.”
  • humor4 mentions

    Reviews indicate a desire for a return to the game's previous humorous style, with players feeling that the current dialogue lacks authenticity and emotional depth. While some find humor in the static NPCs, the overall sentiment suggests that the game's writing has fallen short of delivering the delightful and quirky humor that fans once cherished.

    • “We want the old style back and the funny, delightful, hilariously weird writing that these games were great at.”
    • “Laughing and crying the whole time, this was 3% better than Salem but still so..... wow.”
    • “The NPCs placed around don't really move, but, personally, I find it funny more than anything.”
  • optimization4 mentions

    The game's optimization has been criticized for requiring several patches to run smoothly, with specific complaints about the poorly implemented classic point-and-click option. Reviewers noted a lack of polish in performance, especially considering the developer's extensive experience with similar titles. Overall, the game's execution feels subpar and unrefined.

    • “The game probably needs a couple of patches for it to run smoothly.”
    • “The option for classic point and click could have been optimized better.”
    • “The game's performance is very embarrassing given they have published over 30 of these games.”
    • “I feel like I’m just listening to Brittany read off of a script; there’s no life to her performance at all.”
  • character development2 mentions

    While the character design is praised for its beauty, the lack of diversity in character models, with many appearing as repetitive copies, detracts from the overall character development experience.

    • “The character design was beautiful!”
    • “The variety of character designs adds depth to the game world.”
    • “Each character feels unique and well-developed, contributing to an immersive experience.”
    • “You walk outside of the main shop and there are like six character designs just copied and pasted throughout an open area.”
    • “The character development feels shallow, with no real growth or change throughout the game.”
    • “I was disappointed by the lack of unique personalities; most characters blend into one another.”
  • replayability1 mentions

    While some users noted a decline in quality after the original voice actor changed, the latest installment is still considered more playable and features a more engaging plot, contributing positively to its overall replayability.

  • emotional1 mentions

    Players express a strong emotional connection to the game, feeling giddy and excited, particularly when encountering nostalgic references that enhance their enjoyment.

    • “Seeing it made me feel giddy and excited inside, and I just loved every moment that I saw references.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Buy Nancy Drew: Mystery of the Seven Keys

Play time

6hMedian play time
6hAverage play time
5-6hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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