Scarlett Mysteries: Cursed Child Review (Switch)

Review code used thanks to Artifex Mundi

Ghosts and spirts guide Scarlett

From time to time I find relaxation in a point-and-click puzzle game. This all started when I tried one of the other games in the genre by Artifex Mundi and ended up liking it. No frantic button mashing, no hard core action and no jumping and leaping. Instead, enjoying the often beautiful artwork in the game, and trying to find the right sequence to solve the puzzles. Picking up everything you can, combining items and applying them in the right place. So when the developer brought another of their titles to the Switch, I decided it was time to take up another one.

At the start of the game you get the option to choose the difficulty setting. Just how difficult do you want your game to be? There’s casual, advanced and expert. As I was in the mood for a relaxing time, I chose the easier option. No need to get frustrated because it would take forever for me to complete the puzzles!

So, let’s meet Scarlett!

Join Scarlett on her quest

Scarlett Mysteries is set in the Victorian era. When Scarlett was young her father, Jonathan Everitt, left her in an orphanage to be taken care off by nuns. Her father promised to come back, but he never did. Aside from her father leaving her, she had psychic abilities that gave her night terrors. Ghosts and spirits followed Scarlett around wherever she went. Not an easy childhood, that’s for sure.

10 years later she finds herself receiving a telegram that is addressed to her dad. It refers to Scarlett’s physic abilities: ” Jonathan, she is growing stronger…I need your help. Please come back.”

Curious, she decides she is going back to her old stomping grounds to answer her most burning question: where is her dad? She sets off to to Baronet Steameyer’s mansion. Steameyer that used to have the Train Empire, where a tragic accident happened. The plot thickens, time to find out what’s happening.

Back-paddling and using your visions

The game follows the tried and tested kind of point and click gameplay. Look around carefully in every scene. Sometimes you can zoom into certain areas for closer inspection. Needed objects can be picked up, but more often you have to combine them before you can make actual use of them. And it’s not like everything you need to progress can be found in the same scene.

Back-paddling happens often, going back to find just the right use for an item you saw earlier but couldn’t get to work. Items in your inventory that have a little + sign next to it, can be examined further. Which is fun, when for instance you find a chest that you can open with the right key, to find other much needed items in there.

What makes the game so enjoyable though is that Scarlett has her physic abilities enhanced by the signet ring giving her visions. When the visions icon on the left of the screen glows you can enter the mini game and try to solve it to get a clear vision. It should give you more clues to solve the mystery.

Should you need a refresher coming back to the game after a while, you can always check your objectives in the right hand corner. And if you really can’t find the next move, there’s always hints.

Keep the sound on…spooky!

The visuals of Scarlett Mysteries are beautiful and have the hand-drawn feeling. The stages are very detailed, really a joy to look at. The game flows very well, with smooth transitions to the next scene and some cut scenes in between to weld it all together.

At the start, the game tells you that for a better experience, you should play with the sound on. So true, as it adds to the spooky atmosphere.

Conclusion

Artifex Mundi is a master at making these kind of hidden object games, they do a very good job. Enjoyable gameplay, wonderful visuals and a nice soundtrack that adds to the atmosphere.

Scarlett Mysteries: Cursed Child is another solid entry and I had a good time playing it. If you have played these kind of games before, you know what to expect. And if you have never experienced this kind of game before, this is a good place to start.

The game will give you a relaxing time unraveling the mystery and puzzling your way through the story.

Final Verdict: I like it