Abigail Aurora Taleon

Midnight in Salem was a game that I highly anticipated and that, for the most part, I thoroughly enjoyed. It's true that it's vastly different from the first 32 Nancy Drew games in terms of structure, graphics, and play objectives. However, if you can look past that, then I believe you will have an enjoyable experience playing this game. It boasts a riveting storyline; a large number of suspects; beautiful autumnal scenery; goosebump-inducing hauntings; and a likeable, approachable heroine. It was also fun to work alongside the Hardy Boys and Deirdre Shannon again. My reasons for withholding a 5-star review are as follows: 1) the game is difficult to navigate on a trackpad, forcing players to use an external mouse, 2) several puzzles were difficult simply because they were too small and therefore illegible (e.g., Olivia's decoder puzzle), and 3) for a game that centers around the Salem Witch Trials, it included very little history (the museum was the biggest disappointment; I enjoyed Olivia's self-guided tour much more). I know many players also did not like the long conversations with suspects; I personally did not mind it, although I will say that if HerInteractive continues to include these, it needs to be possible to save and exit the game in the middle of a dialogue (as was the case for games 16-32). Overall, I enjoyed Midnight in Salem and would replay it, but there is room for improvement in game 34.