Love a good Artifex Mundi game

This was a disappointing one. I wanted to like it, really I did. But the story is so flipping ridiculous it just makes me go "UGH." :( There's really no redeeming qualities either. Nothing makes up for the poor dialogue, very poor storytelling that makes NO sense, nor the poor minigames and HOPs to play. I do appreciate the length of the game - and the bonus story was a good length unlike so many that can be barely 5 minutes of playtime. If I were you, I'd only buy this game if it was.... $2. :(

Ghost Files 1 is a worrisome Hidden Object Mystery. Rough plot: A woman saves the life of the detective protagonist by helping her become psychic. Driven by the urgency of her visions, the protagonist commits crimes while on the trail of a killer rather than waiting for warrants, due process, or backup. Surprisingly, she is in fact under a time limit and it is shortly revealed that things could have gone horribly wrong had she taken different actions.

There's a number of different ways this could be handled. I think the writing here falls short, causing a major divide between the player's expectations and how the protagonist actually acts in critical moments. Yeah... If you already have a copy of this game, probably go ahead and play it. You're in for a weird ride. I can't recommend buying this game based on its own merits. Hopefully the sequel is better?

While mentally viewing Limbo, the detective can interrogate the psychic impressions of people and solve surreal elemental-based puzzles influenced by the past of the local area. The optional bonus case, out of left field, reveals that self-aware ghosts do exist and that they can physically abduct people into Limbo. I feel waiting until the epilogue to justify the game's title is an interesting flex.

In a rather odd slip for the Artifex Mundi catalog, the English version of this game contains frequent misspellings.

I thought it was neat that the optional collectibles came with short biographies of detectives, until I found enough to decide they weren't based on real cases. I find it strange that the first scene, and only the first scene, has a feature where you can turn to look at the other side of that specific room.

The game is not terrible and it is mechanically sound. While I seriously question the logic of the plot and the interactions with the world, I had no major issues with the puzzles. While I did rely on the optional matching game to skip finding the last item in several hidden object scenes, I still somehow managed a full run of Steam Achievements.