Midnight in Salem is, for the most part, a fun and entertaining game. I know many long-time fans of Nancy Drew games were disappointed with this one, but coming from someone who has played every Nancy Drew game multiple times since she was 8, I can say that I did find this game to be highly enjoyable.

If you are a first-time player of Nancy Drew games, I guarantee you will love it. The negative reviews come from long-time fans who wanted something more than they got. This is understandable considering the developers spent four years working on this game alone, when in the past, they were releasing two games per year. Should there have been more to this game? Absolutely. But if you know a little bit about what went on behind the scenes with HERinteractive during this time, then what we received with this game was unfortunate but understandable.

Overall, I do highly recommend this game. It has decent graphics, excellent voice-acting, a phenomenal soundtrack, and a really compelling story. The story is quite immersive. The puzzles that are included are very fun as well. They require thinking, and that’s what I like when it comes to puzzles. No one wants the answers to puzzles handed to them on a silver platter, and this game does not do that.

The game also has the perfect atmosphere. It manages to include horror elements without being too scary. There are no jump scares. Whenever something even remotely creepy is about to happen, the player is prepared for it.

The game also has MANY characters with whom to converse. There are 10 characters who are present in the game (most of whom could be a potential suspect), and 4 other characters whom you can call on the phone at any point. This is a definite step up from previous Nancy Drew games.

But by no means is this game perfect…

Some complaints that reviewers have are valid. There is a LOT of talking in this game. This didn’t bother me much as talking to suspects is one of the aspects of Nancy Drew games that I’ve always enjoyed. But I could see how all the talking might bother other players, as it takes away from time that could be spent exploring, looking for clues, and solving puzzles.

You also don’t have much of an inventory in this game. You only find a few items here and there, and you won’t even use most of them.

Puzzles are scarce, but as I’ve already mentioned, the ones that are in the game are pretty entertaining.

Locations to explore are limited.

Despite a few minor setbacks, I do think this is an excellent game. I’m very happy with the product, and while I do think four years of planning could have brought us more, I wasn’t disappointed. I only hope that future Nancy Drew games continue to improve on the new platform they are using.