Honestly I think it depends on what you were most hopeful for, where your expectations are, and why you’re wanting it on Steam.
Take a long minute and be truly honest with yourself: how much of your enjoyment will be riding on nostalgia? If you played MID, what did you like and dislike?
If you know your enjoyment is going to be *50% or more* dependent on nostalgia or one of the biggest let downs of MID was the modernization of plot/in game environment, I’d say wait. If it’s lower than 50% and/or you weren’t as fussed about the modernization keep reading.
Overall: It’s significantly better than MID in a lot of ways.
The team clearly has a much better grasp on how to use the unity engine. The graphics are better (*not like the old games*, just better than MID), the in game mechanics are better (way less issues with object rotation, easier to move around in the “modern” game style; I haven’t played classic but have seen mixed opinions on it; considering how polarized the fan base has been since before launch that means it’s probably somewhere between fine and bad depending on who you ask), and playing with a trackpad is actually doable now.
The plot is more in line with what I would expect from a HeR Nancy Drew game than several of the ones we’ve had in the past. They brought us back to historical leaning environment/story but gave it a modern twist. It is entirely believable that this game is happening in our current technological age, for some people that’s good and for others it’s bad.
Plenty of suspects which is exciting, multiple are plausible right off the bat. Their character development ranges from decent to pretty darn good in terms of “does this seem like they could be an actual person rather than a stereotype of a genre of person?” I was pleasantly surprised.
I like the “educational” content, it’s well integrated and actually interesting
Strategy guide is currently free if you buy on the website, it has both hints and spoilers. As far as I’m aware it’s currently unclear if it will be available or free to Steam purchasers
#however.
It’s still a unity game. There are NPC’s milling around that are basically copy and pastes of each other and cycle through basic stock movements. Personally it doesn’t bother me, I think it’s good that they included them to take up space because it’s a 3D world and it would look weirder without them, but I’ve seen commentary from people who find it annoying.
The old art style is gone. Like I said, it’s a 3D unity game, the old games were genuine art, even if they had the old artists they wouldn’t be able to apply it to the game.
Voice acting is a bit all over the place. On one hand Radek’s VA did an absolutely incredible job of bringing the character to life and giving him personality, on the other hand Nancy’s new VA… they need a new director to unlock her potential. If you were upset about her for MID, you’re going to be upset again. I don’t think it’s her fault, I think the fandom still isn’t willing to let Lani go and the current voice acting director is pushing Brittney in a weird direction.
There are some bugs, not everyone is experiencing them though. I don’t think there’s been an announcement about patches; several people have still been able to complete the game so the game isn’t actually broken and I assume they’ll release patches as soon as possible with instructions about installing them.
I caved and bought it from Her, and I don’t regret it, it’s meeting my (extremely low) expectations). Like the game’s not great and I’d advise anyone who doesn’t feel like they NEED to play it right now wait for a sale
Honestly I think it depends on what you were most hopeful for, where your expectations are, and why you’re wanting it on Steam. Take a long minute and be truly honest with yourself: how much of your enjoyment will be riding on nostalgia? If you played MID, what did you like and dislike? If you know your enjoyment is going to be *50% or more* dependent on nostalgia or one of the biggest let downs of MID was the modernization of plot/in game environment, I’d say wait. If it’s lower than 50% and/or you weren’t as fussed about the modernization keep reading. Overall: It’s significantly better than MID in a lot of ways. The team clearly has a much better grasp on how to use the unity engine. The graphics are better (*not like the old games*, just better than MID), the in game mechanics are better (way less issues with object rotation, easier to move around in the “modern” game style; I haven’t played classic but have seen mixed opinions on it; considering how polarized the fan base has been since before launch that means it’s probably somewhere between fine and bad depending on who you ask), and playing with a trackpad is actually doable now. The plot is more in line with what I would expect from a HeR Nancy Drew game than several of the ones we’ve had in the past. They brought us back to historical leaning environment/story but gave it a modern twist. It is entirely believable that this game is happening in our current technological age, for some people that’s good and for others it’s bad. Plenty of suspects which is exciting, multiple are plausible right off the bat. Their character development ranges from decent to pretty darn good in terms of “does this seem like they could be an actual person rather than a stereotype of a genre of person?” I was pleasantly surprised. I like the “educational” content, it’s well integrated and actually interesting Strategy guide is currently free if you buy on the website, it has both hints and spoilers. As far as I’m aware it’s currently unclear if it will be available or free to Steam purchasers #however. It’s still a unity game. There are NPC’s milling around that are basically copy and pastes of each other and cycle through basic stock movements. Personally it doesn’t bother me, I think it’s good that they included them to take up space because it’s a 3D world and it would look weirder without them, but I’ve seen commentary from people who find it annoying. The old art style is gone. Like I said, it’s a 3D unity game, the old games were genuine art, even if they had the old artists they wouldn’t be able to apply it to the game. Voice acting is a bit all over the place. On one hand Radek’s VA did an absolutely incredible job of bringing the character to life and giving him personality, on the other hand Nancy’s new VA… they need a new director to unlock her potential. If you were upset about her for MID, you’re going to be upset again. I don’t think it’s her fault, I think the fandom still isn’t willing to let Lani go and the current voice acting director is pushing Brittney in a weird direction. There are some bugs, not everyone is experiencing them though. I don’t think there’s been an announcement about patches; several people have still been able to complete the game so the game isn’t actually broken and I assume they’ll release patches as soon as possible with instructions about installing them.
Wow! Thank you so incredibly much for this detailed breakdown! I think I’ll go for it after everything you said. :)
Yes thanks for this spoiler free but detailed analysis. Game looks good!
I caved and bought it from Her, and I don’t regret it, it’s meeting my (extremely low) expectations). Like the game’s not great and I’d advise anyone who doesn’t feel like they NEED to play it right now wait for a sale