Nancy Drew: Mystery of the Seven Keys

61%
Game Brain Score Based on 148 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.

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

61%
Audience ScoreBased on 148 reviews
story29 positive mentions
stability15 negative mentions
  • The game features a compelling story with interesting twists that keep players engaged.
  • The new movement mechanics allow for a more immersive experience, with the option to choose between classic point-and-click and modern free-roam navigation.
  • The puzzles are challenging and varied, providing a satisfying sense of accomplishment when solved.
  • The game suffers from technical issues, including bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay.
  • Many puzzles lack clear instructions, leading to confusion and frustration for players.
  • The voice acting, particularly for Nancy, is criticized for sounding robotic and lacking emotional depth.
  • story87 mentions

    The story of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players praising its engaging plot and character development, while others criticize it for being predictable, disjointed, or overly complex. Many appreciate the integration of puzzles that align with the storyline, though some feel that the pacing and clarity of the narrative could be improved. Overall, while the story has its strengths, it appears to lack the cohesion and depth found in earlier titles of the series.

    • “The story is compelling, the puzzles are challenging, and the hints are very helpful.”
    • “Overall, the story is captivating and makes you want to see it through to the end.”
    • “The story poetically mixes the modern issue of cybersecurity in the historic region of old town, which further highlights the gorgeous setting.”
    • “The story didn't hold together well, and at some points, the graphics and lighting made it difficult to see important details in puzzles.”
    • “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.”
  • graphics66 mentions

    The graphics of the game received mixed reviews, with some praising the visual quality and improvements in character animations, while others criticized the overall design as uninspired and reminiscent of outdated graphics from previous generations. Many players noted that while certain visual elements were appealing, the lack of detail and polish detracted from the overall experience, leading to frustration with gameplay and puzzle-solving. Overall, the consensus suggests that while the graphics have potential, they fall short of expectations for a 2024 release.

    • “Have played Nancy Drew games since I was in middle school and the graphics are awesome in this one!”
    • “The graphics in the game were fantastic.”
    • “The good parts of this game possibly lie only in the graphics, which are really quite beautiful.”
    • “The lack of detail in the graphics for the world design was a bit disappointing.”
    • “For a 2024 game, the graphics and NPCs were a bit uninspiring and seemed rather unoptimized and unpolished, especially considering the number of developers and engineers credited.”
    • “The graphics resemble the outdated visuals of 'Sherlock Holmes versus Jack the Ripper' from 2009, which today seem both archaic and unimpressive.”
  • music32 mentions

    The music in the game is generally described as beautiful but overly repetitive, lacking the memorable quality of soundtracks from previous titles in the series. Many reviewers noted that the constant looping of tracks detracted from the overall experience, with suggestions for more variety and complexity in the music to enhance immersion. While some appreciated the soundtrack's melodic elements, the rigid association of music with specific locations and the absence of dynamic changes contributed to a feeling of lifelessness.

    • “Loved exploring the Prague setting, and the soundtrack was so lovely.”
    • “For example, the music from The Deadly Device or Shadow at the Water's Edge has some of the best soundtracks of any PC games in my opinion.”
    • “While I’m encouraged that most of Key’s tracks had more melodic development than Mid’s, I would love more musical complexity and less looping and repetition of certain measures, motifs, etc.”
    • “The music in the game is decent but overly repetitive.”
    • “The repeated soundtracks were nothing like the iconic originals and were quite distracting during extended puzzle sequences.”
    • “The soundtrack can become tedious both because of the music itself and how it’s used in the game.”
  • gameplay31 mentions

    The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it frustrating due to clunky mechanics, unintuitive puzzles, and poor hitboxes that hinder interaction. While some appreciate the modernized movement options and flexibility in controls, the overall experience is marred by a lack of flow and the need for guides to navigate challenges, leading to a sense of being constantly lost. Despite these criticisms, there are hopes for improvements in future installments.

    • “The games have changed a lot over the years but have always retained the same core mechanics: they are point-and-click adventure games built around investigating a crime, questioning suspects, and solving puzzles.”
    • “It offers flexible controls with the option to move via point-and-click or WASD, which you can switch between anytime during gameplay.”
    • “If you've been playing Nancy Drew games since you were little, then the first thing I want to comment on is the fact that the developers have tried to modernize the game mechanics for this new one quite a bit.”
    • “The gameplay and the design are bad - we had to look up hints and cheats so much just because we weren't clicking on exactly the right spot.”
    • “The mechanics made the gameplay more difficult and less intuitive, and made even easy things frustratingly difficult to do.”
    • “The mechanics of this game are clunky and awkward at best; navigating the map and interacting with items can be immensely frustrating.”
  • stability16 mentions

    The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting various glitches and bugs that can disrupt gameplay, including issues with dialogue, puzzles, and controls. While some users experienced significant problems requiring restarts, others reported a smoother experience, suggesting that performance may vary based on hardware. Overall, the game's stability appears to be a concern, with hopes for future patches to address these issues.

    • “I encountered no glitches.”
    • “The game runs smoothly without any crashes.”
    • “I appreciate how stable the gameplay is; it never lags or freezes.”
    • “It’s sad when a franchise loses its heart and soul in pursuit of maximizing profitability, and in this case, it has resulted in a game that is buggy, janky, and low-budget, without any sense of charm to help you ignore these problems.”
    • “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.”
    • “The game itself is incredibly buggy.”
  • atmosphere10 mentions

    Overall, the atmosphere of the game has received mixed reviews, with some praising the solid story and character integration, while others criticize the loss of the immersive qualities found in previous titles. Many users noted that the music and environmental design fell short, detracting from the overall experience and failing to evoke a sense of place, particularly in settings like Prague.

    • “In previous games, the music was more varied and changed randomly, sometimes even falling silent, which added to the atmosphere.”
    • “From story to characters to puzzles to atmosphere - it's a solid addition to her interactive's catalog of amazing games.”
    • “Good: the story is solid and the general atmosphere of the game too.”
    • “Regardless, this also detracts from the game's atmosphere.”
    • “Why redesign the game in such a way that completely undermines the cherished atmosphere?”
    • “The atmosphere of the area is terrible.”
  • optimization8 mentions

    The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with some players noting a lack of polish and uninspired graphics, especially for a 2024 release. While there are no significant performance issues on high-end systems, many feel that the game requires patches for smoother operation and criticize the lack of optimization in certain gameplay features. Overall, the technical execution appears to fall short of expectations given the franchise's history.

    • “No performance issues running on: amd ryzen 9 5900x, 16 gb ram, nvidia geforce 3070”
    • “The game is hefty in size and performance for the average adventure player, but it pays off with the ability to dual-play between modern movement using WASD, and point-and-click with cursors.”
    • “It hasn't happened again, but this game probably needs a couple patches for it to run smoothly.”
    • “My biggest gripe is on the technical side. For a 2024 game, the graphics and NPCs were a bit uninspiring, and it seemed rather unoptimized and unpolished - especially when you see how many people are listed in the credits as developers and engineers.”
    • “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.”
  • grinding6 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly criticizing the repetitive nature of puzzles and the soundtrack. Many express a desire for more engaging and varied puzzle designs, such as scavenger hunts, instead of monotonous tasks that contribute to a sense of isolation. Overall, the grinding experience detracts from the enjoyment of the game.

    • “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 its former quirky and delightful charm.

    • “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.”
  • replayability3 mentions

    Overall, the game's replayability is noted to be significant, as players can discover new content and achievements that may have been missed during their initial playthrough. However, some users feel that changes, such as the voice actor, have impacted the experience, suggesting that replayability may be more appealing for completionists rather than for the narrative itself.

    • “There's a great amount of replayability here because you can miss so much in your first playthrough.”
    • “It went downhill after the original voice actor changed, but even the last game was much more playable and had a more interesting plot.”
    • “[b]Replayability value:[/b] for achievements only.”
    • “The replayability value is limited; it feels like it's only there for achievements.”
    • “Once you've completed the main story, there's little incentive to play again.”
    • “The game lacks meaningful choices, making multiple playthroughs feel redundant.”
  • character development2 mentions

    While the character design is praised for its beauty, the lack of variety 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 and uniqueness to the game.”
    • “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 little to no backstory or growth throughout the game.”
    • “I was disappointed by the lack of unique traits among the characters; they all blend together and feel interchangeable.”
  • emotional1 mentions

    Users express that the emotional aspect of the game evokes feelings of giddiness and excitement, particularly when encountering nostalgic references, enhancing their overall 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

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Play time

14hMedian play time
17hAverage play time
6-40hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 4 analyzed playthroughs

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