PC Game Review: Mystery of Unicorn Castle

Agatha Christie (Miss Marple, Hercules Poirot, and Tommy and Tuppence). James Patterson (Women’s Murder Club). Carolyn Keene (Nancy Drew). Open Mystery of Unicorn Castle to transport yourself into the hidden object world of your favorite mystery writer.

You play Jane Morion, a young woman who receives a letter from an unheard of relative to come to the family castle in England regarding an inheritance. Arriving in England, she meets others who also received the mysterious letter from Lord Morion.

Guests view a video from Lord Morion (Sound familiar? Family, inheritance, video from rich and dead person) who says that whomever can discover the secret heart of the castle will be the one to inherit it. To make things creepier, the family has a curse that causes some to go insane or their spirits can’t ever leave the castle.

Find hidden objects in one of five ways:

1. Standard list of objects.



2. Compare scenes to find their differences.



3. Silhouettes of objects.



4. Find object pairs.



5. Clean a room of objects that don’t belong.

Sometimes you’ll need to open a cabinet, a drawer, or a box to reach an object. Before you can peek in, you must conquer a mini-game. Mystery of Unicorn Castle contains NO memory game. Thank you. It gets old finding one in almost every casual game. Mini-games include:

• Gears: Pick the right size gear and put it in the right place until all the gears turn to unlock the door.



• Match three: Keep making matches of three or more of the same object until you fill the bar.



• Jigsaw puzzle: Connect pieces together.



• Path: Turn squares until you make a clear path from every key to every lock to open the locks.

Some think the game contains too many of these mini-games, but the original beta had much more. I believe the hidden object to mini-game balance works. Also nice is how the mini-games all tie in with the story and objects. They have a purpose.

Experienced hidden object games players run into dark scenes many times where they only have a flash light to help them find objects. This one adds a twist. Instead, find three candles and three matches to light up three areas on the scene. Much easier on the eyes after all that hidden object hunting.

Hints. The game provides unlimited hints, but players must wait for the magnifying glass to refill before using it again. Fairies fly around the scene, so catch one to fill the hint meter a little more.

Mystery of Unicorn Castle contains decent graphics quality. Not the best. Another weak spot in the game comes in clearing out of place objects from a room. The game deems some objects as not belonging in a room when they could or doesn’t recognize some objects as belonging to a category such as toys.

Scenes take a little longer than usual to load plus the dialogue boxes use a slow fade in effect that needlessly slows the game. While the story intrigues, some players want to skip the dialogue and the game offers no way to do it. The game doesn’t last as long as the average hidden object game. However, unlike most hidden object games, this one doesn’t repeat scenes and objects as much as others.

Mystery of Unicorn Castle may not be appropriate for children because of its few cuss words and spooky music (it even scared me that I had to turn off the music). Players most likely won’t feel compelled to replay the game especially since it comes with one mode.

The story ties up with a nice bow. Many casual games tend to leave players handing with an unclear ending, but not Mystery of Unicorn Castle. Whether beginners or experienced hidden object players will like this one is hit or miss. Try the free trial and judge for yourself. Personally, it intrigued me enough to play all the way to the end without feeling tortured (as a game reviewer, I play the game to the end… unless it’s impossible or horrible).

Download Mystery of Unicorn Castle.