I was lucky enough that HerInteractive sent me the newest release to review Nancy Drew: Sea Of Darkness. Nancy Drew as usual has gotten herself into an unexpected situation. Not just any mystery but a missing person. This is a darker situation than ever before because up North the sun sets early. The passing of time definitely isn’t noticeable in this game because you’re always treated to a glimpse of the beautiful Northern lights.
In Iceland, you will learn some Icelandic while in the small town of Skipbrot. The centerpiece is the Heerlijkheid, a restored trading ship with more secrets than the Bermuda Triangle. While, you won’t find yourself sailing anytime soon, you’ll still learn all about life on the sea. How to tie knots and nautical terms including port and starboard. Vikings are not just legends but ancestors. There’s a lot to be learned in the town museum.
The locals though are a bit cold and not just from the winter chill, but they don’t seem to appreciate visitors. Even though their town festival is important to their economy. You will find it hard to make friends as Nancy tries to figure out what happened to Captain Magnus. He is missing after all and yet no one seems all that interested in finding him. When no one wants to call the police, you know Nancy will find out why they are reluctant to involve the authorities.
So, it’s up to you to explore and figure out what other secrets the town of Skipbrot is hiding. You may even find yourself an expert spelunker by the end of the game or you may find yourself hopelessly lost in the vast ice caves. Truly a stunning maze that I had a little trouble navigating. As is to be expected, the legend of the Heerlijkheid is fantastical. There’s a reason why the whole town cares so much about the past because without the Heerlijkheid they might not all be there today.
As usual patterns play an important role and the unlikeliest clues will lead you to solving this mystery. The real treasure though lies in the message. I don’t want to spoil anything because it may give away the culprit, but sometimes our actions aren’t meant to be harmful. Truly a lesson that we could all stand to learn is that reaching out to others is never a bad idea. We can all use someone to talk to and even more a good friend. Even when you suspect everyone has done the worst, that doesn’t mean we can’t try to understand them, because not all of our choices come from bad intentions. Empathy is powerful force and luckily you get to witness how a small town forges those bonds.
Personally, I didn’t learn quite as much as I usually do from a Nancy Drew game. I did grow up learning about boats. The puzzles were top notch as usual. Some great forms of deduction and reasoning are necessary. As always I had to take notes to finish them all. I definitely think this is one of the tamer Nancy Drew games. There’s less scary elements. No one will be popping out at you even though it is dark. Overall the feeling is warmer and you will learn that Iceland is a warm place as community is valued and tradition is not lost to the past.
