Detectives United: Origins

Characters? A+. Mechanics? F. I suffered through FOUR of these games, and I can assure you it wasn’t for the stories. The lead detective carries her father’s skull around. The skull occasionally reveals important information. Her partner is invisible and apparently owns an entire department store’s worth of clothing. By the fourth game, they felt like old friends, and I genuinely wanted to know what they were up to next. The mechanics, however, seem to have been designed by a committee of angry raccoons. The Hint button rarely provides a hint. Instead, it informs me that I cannot consult other detectives at this time or presents me with a map. I do not need a map. I need to know where the bloody screwdriver is. And then there are the crashes. Not little crashes. Not occasional crashes. Pick up an item and the entire game sometimes simply vanishes. The whole thing. Gone. Like it entered witness protection. So why did I keep playing? The characters. They are charming, memorable, ridiculous, and somehow worth putting up with all of the frustration. Final verdict: Characters: A+ Story: B+ Invisible Detective’s Wardrobe: A+ Dad Skull: A++ Game Stability: F Hint System: F Would I play another game with these characters? Against my better judgment, aye.

I was all giddy when I found Elephant Games and that you continued on with the Mystery Trackers, Haunted Hotel, etc stories. Those have been and will always will be my favorites. And having all the characters together is a wonderful collaboration. I actually love interacting with the detectives and playing from different perspectives. I would love an app, where fans can keep up with news and developments with upcoming games. Yet, I know you guys are just getting started so, baby steps 😅

Update: I did buy and play this game after reading the reviews of the PC version and I did enjoy it immensely. I am thrilled to have these style of games finally released again. But I do think $2 does make a difference when you tend to purchase every single HOA game that is released. The difference in price does add up. And I am hoping that the developers will realize that - especially with such a loyal fan base. I am hoping that they will reward that loyalty by giving a couple of bucks off to those of us that buy their games immediately. Having said that - this game was great - kind of a superhero’s of elephant games get together. I am hoping all the other developers start releasing their games too. It was wonderful having my guilty pleasure back. Finally a hidden object mystery game. The demo looks good but it was short and seems to follow the standard plot. I was going to purchase the game but...... it was 6.99. I was expecting 3.99 or 4.99 at most. I wasn’t going to take the risk for $7 after such a short trial, no matter if I am going through withdrawals or not.