Latest Reviews

One of my favorite trends in the casual gaming space is the fusion between hidden-object games ("HOGs") and adventure game-like puzzles, like Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst and Dream Chronicles: The Chosen Child. Read more»

It's time once again to step into the gumshoes of private investigator Tex Murphy. In the grim, radiation soaked future of Martian Memorandum, he's been hired to find the missing daughter of the obscenely rich head of Terraform, Marshall Alexander. It looks like a simple kidnapping, but as Tex soon learns, nothing is as it seems. Read more»

In G.H.O.S.T. Chronicles: Phantom of the Renaissance Faire, you've been asked to investigate the supposed haunting of a local theme park. Don't worry - you won't have to dress up in olde tyme costumes, get your face painted, or drink ale from a leather mug to get to the bottom of this mystery, you'll just have to find a lot of hidden objects and solve a few puzzles. Read more»

SpinTop's Mystery P.I. - Lost in Los Angeles is the fourth game in the Mystery P.I. hidden object game series. In it, an important and exclusive copy of the most important blockbuster movie of the year has gone missing. Using your skills of observation, you must find and recover the missing film. Read more»

Stop me if this sounds familiar: You fall asleep watching a cartoon marathon and find yourself in a dream where your friends have all turned into cartoons. This is precisely what Spencer Shay is going through while dozing in front of the boob tube. Before he wakes up, though, he needs to solve the mystery behind who transformed his buds Carly, Sam and Freddie into colorful cartoons, and why.

If you're up for the challenge, consider downloading Nickelodeon's iCarly: iDream in Toons, a new hidden object game ("HOG") designed for kids and teens. While not a flawless adventure, this personality-driven puzzler delivers some fun.

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Ahoy! The Magician's Handbook returns for another adventure. Instead of exploring a cursed valley, the hero goes on a quest to rescue fairies from the dread pirate Blacklore. The Magician's Handbook 2: Blacklore beautifully integrates the game with the story so everything has a purpose, something few hidden object games pull off. However, it has a few flaws that turn the magical journey into a challenging one, maybe too challenging. Read more»

As Katya, you're in a bit of a high-pressure situation in Kuros. Someone has been tampering with the glyphstones that keep the world in balance, and you're the only one who can restore them. Unfortunately, you've woken up with no idea of who you are, where you are, or what you're supposed to be doing. Hope you're a fast learner, or it's the end of everything. Read more»

Family Mystery - The Story of Amy is a lovely and unique hidden object game in which a young woman, the titular Amy, is searching for answers about her past. Amy's mother was eight months pregnant with her when she and Amy's father were killed in an accident. Now Amy has returned to the house where her grandparents raised her to learn more about her family and herself. Read more»

Enlightenus from Blue Tea Games is a creative, richly-textured game that offers an excellent combination of hidden object and adventure in a lighthearted, inspiring story. With 14 hidden object scenes and over a dozen magical rooms to explore, Enlightenus provides challenge without being overwhelming. The only drawback is that freeform exploration that lets you move as you like between rooms can sometimes leave you wondering where to go next.

Please note:  This is a Big Fish World Premiere Exclusive so you must sign up as a Big Fish Games member to play as of this moment.  We'll tell you when it's off this period.

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Have you ever had a psychic dream? Among people who believe they are psychic, nearly half claim to get their best visions through dreams. That's the premise a Dream Sleuth, a hidden object game that has you solving a mystery with the help of some surreal psychic dreams and some good old fashioned detective work. Read more»

Oh, that Bernie the Bookworm. Don't be fooled by his meek appearance -- he has the goods to become a savvy sleuth. After reading an ad in a magazine, Bernie orders a detective kit and with the help of his friend Flo (of Diner Dash fame), he sets out to solve more than two dozen mysteries plaguing Diner Town.

Such is the premise behind PlayFirst's DinerTown Detective Agency, a new hidden object game (HOG) with fun deduction elements and many mini-games.

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The sequel to the original 1993 title Simon the Sorcerer, Simon the Sorcerer II continues the story of our young wizard full of attitude. Transported back to the dreaded fantasy world of the first game by the evil sorcerer Sordid, Simon must find his way back home while dealing with rights-activist Woodworm, witches, wizards and pirates, all while wading through Almost-Banana flavored Swamp Shake. Read more»

In Youda Legend: The Curse of the Amsterdam Diamond, the first hidden object offering from Youda Games, you'll travel to Dutch country to the capital and largest city of the Netherlands. You begin your trip in Amsterdam looking for a place to stay, getting settled in a hotel room and finding yourself in the middle of a mystery. The story is like stepping into the middle of a conversation without any context, yet in spite of the mysterious plot, little dialogue gets in the way of enjoying the crisp scenes and variety of puzzles. Read more»

Cover-ups. Secret experiments. Mind control. Suicide - or was it murder? Hailing from the days when games came on floppy disks and home PCs were something of a luxury, Mean Streets (the first game in the Tex Murphy series) is as juicy a mystery as they come. It certainly shows its age in places, but delivers a smart whodunnit adventure that'll put your sleuthing skills to the test. Read more»

When people think of fairy tales, they tend to envision beautiful princesses, charming princes, and happily-ever-afters. Simon the Sorcerer, a classic PC adventure originally released in 1993 and now offered as a download at GoG.com, crushes these stereotypes with all the wit and cynicism of true comedic genius as our poor hero tries to rescue a wizard and find his way back home while dealing with split-personality trolls, Rapunzel turned Repulser, and various suspected copyright infringements. Read more»

Step into the Victorian era and go on a quest to help a magician find his brother, Gustav, in Mystic Diary: Lost Brother, a game that exemplifies a traditional hidden object game with some original puzzles ready for the solving. Read more»

The year is 1903. A London professor receives a mysterious letter. It is night. Strange artifacts have arrived at the Museum of History. Can you help Professor Hunt unravel the mystery of the Black King before morning? This is the challenge posed by AGON: The London Scene, the first in a series of point-and-click adventure games that place you in the shoes of a turn of the century British professor and adventurer.

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Rangy Lil is a tough-as-nails cowgirl who's not afraid of anything - not even her ex-husband Bob, who conks her on the head one night and disappears into the hills with their two children. You don't have to be a mother to know what comes next. She'll need help from a few friends along the way, but nothing's going to stop Lil from getting her kids back. Read more»

The fifth hidden object game in the Dream Day franchise, and the third to focus on weddings, Dream Day Wedding: Viva Las Vegas puts you in charge of planning a lavish Las Vegas wedding for Kelsey and her fiancé David. While some sequels can start to lose their lustre, Viva Las Vegas seems as fresh as ever thanks to some clever new twists and a romantic, "feel good" story.

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Sherlock Holmes and The Silver Earring from Frogwares was first released on CD in 2004 and is now available as a download. It's a point and click adventure with dozens of characters and clues.  The mystery is excellent, but gameplay is ugly, with large rooms, tiny clues, and insufficient tutorials. Adventure lovers who like feeling they've worked really hard to solve a mystery will be satisfied, but many players will find the game frustrating when compared to more smoothly-designed competitors.

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When you think about the fact that the original Riddle of the Sphinx game was created by just two people, it tends to strike you as amazing especially when you think about all the research that went into the puzzles and the storyline.  But can the 2003 sequel, Riddle of the Sphinx 2: The Omega Stone (now available as a large file download) impressive just the same with a bigger budget and the same amazing husband & wife team? Now that's a riddle I can answer. Read more»

Game reviewing sounds like a dream job, but remember not every game receives four or five stars. We run into poor developed games and can't quit as soon as we confirm the game stinks. Truck on, we must and we do with The Hardy Boys: The Perfect Crime. Read more»

What happens when a board game and hidden object game collide? The answer, of course, is CLUE Accusations and Alibis, a new downloadable puzzler from RealGames based on the mystery classic from Hasbro. Read more»

Treasure Seekers 2: The Enchanted Canvases from Artogon is a thoroughly enjoyable Hidden Object/Adventure game that shows that at least in casual gaming, sequels often improve on the original. Beautiful graphics, well-balanced gameplay, and puzzles that are engaging without being too hard combine for a game that’s sure to be a hit. Read more»

For more than 200 years, treasure hunters and mystery buffs have been fascinated by Oak Island, a tiny place off the south coast of Nova Scotia, Canada that's rumored to be home to a cache of buried treasure. Many have tried and failed over the years to successfully excavate the island's fabled "Money Pit," which has only fuelled the legend further. You'll get to try your luck too in Cerebral Vortex Games' new hidden object game, Mysterious Worlds: The Secret of Oak Island. Read more»