Mystery Case Files 13: Ravenhearst Unlocked

Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst Unlocked
by Eipix Entertainment - November, 2015

Series links:  Mystery Case Files 1: Huntsville, Mystery Case Files 2: Prime Suspects, Mystery Case Files 3: Ravenhearst, Mystery Case Files 4: Madame Fate, Mystery Case Files 5: Return to Ravenhearst, Mystery Case Files 6: Dire Grove, Mystery Case Files 7: 13th Skull, Mystery Case Files 8: Escape From Ravenhearst, Mystery Case Files 9: Shadow Lake, Mystery Case Files 10: Fate's Carnival, Mystery Case Files 11: Dire Grove, Sacred Grove, Mystery Case Files 12: Key to Ravenhearst, Mystery Case Files 13: Ravenhearst Unlocked, Mystery Case Files 14: Broken Hour, Mystery Case Files 15: The Black Veil; Mystery Case Files 16: The Revenant's Hunt; Mystery Case Files 17: Rewind; Mystery Case Files 18: The Countess; Mystery Case Files 19: Moths to a Flame, Mystery Case Files 20: Black Crown

Available at:
Big Fish as Collector's Edition / Standard Edition
Steam as Collector's Edition


 
Warning - Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst Unlocked is an intense psychological thriller intended for mature audiences.

An all NEW release! In this insane continuation of the Dalimar saga, find out what happened AFTER the events of Mystery Case Files: Key to Ravenhearst!

Eipix delves deeper into the past as you find yourself trapped in the very cell that the Dalimars once occupied. Can you stop Alister before he sacrifices everything - and everyone - in his maniacal quest for immortality? Or will his menacing granddaughters stand in your way? You'll love the loads of mini-games embedded throughout this adventure. The HOPs are full of variety, with silhouette, listed, interactive, and more to choose from!

Eipix's continuation of the blockbuster Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure series will leave you breathless, with loads of mini-games embedded throughout your adventure.

• Play as Alister Dalimar in the bonus game!
  
• Earn special achievements and replay HOPs
  
• View your collectibles and the souvenir room
  
• Get the available Strategy Guide
  
• Enjoy soundtracks, wallpaper, and concept art
  
• Big Fish Blog Walkthrough
  

Mystery Case Files 13: Ravenhearst Unlocked (IHOG)

This game picks up exactly where Key to Ravenhearst ended, so be sure to play that (and the rest of the MCF games) first!

Options include separate sliders for Music, SFX, Voices and Cutscene volume, Full-screen and Custom Cursor.  Choice of 3 pre-set difficulties, or you can customize it as you like.  Can be changed at any time.

Story:

You are thrust into the cell of a very familiar asylum after the explosion that nearly took your life at the end of the last game.  Now you must orchestrate your escape so that you can address the bigger problem: Alister.  Return to Ravenhearst and explore a region you never would have guessed existed, but hurry!  You must stop Alister before he reaches his ultimate goal!


There is no Journal, and you may have to write things down occasionally, but puzzle clues will usually be added to your inventory.  There is a red flag on your toolbar that tracks your objectives, or you can just look at your map.

Gameplay:

Be on the lookout for collectible lighthouses, one on each scene.  There is an indicator at the top of your toolbar to help you track where you have/haven't found them yet.

The MAP can be interactive, and has insta-transport available.  Directional HINTS are available, and if the area you need to go is more than a scene away, a fast-travel popup will appear.


Hidden Object Scenes are all highly-interactive, and although it felt like most of them were lists, there are quite a few other types of HOS in the game, as well.  The scenes were pretty junky, but most of them still didn't look overly-cluttered, and some were even pretty.

The Mini-games were mostly doable, but I admit that some of the super-puzzle elements were just too much for me.  Luckily, you can skip just one element of the puzzle without skipping the entire thing... Or you can check out the handy strategy guide if you just need a little help.  You can find the button to skip just the current part of the puzzle by clicking on the Info button.

Sights and Sounds:

The graphics are very nice, and sometimes beautiful, but being a longtime MCF fan, there was a bit of a disconnect for me at first.  Later on it felt more "Ravenhearst" to me than it did in the beginning.  The artists stuck to a very purple palette for most of the game, but did break it up with some reds and greens occasionally.


The voice overs were about what you would expect from a casual game.  Some really good voices, some not so much. ;p  The music was nice, but nothing that really jumped out at me, and the sound effects were appropriate for the mood and setting.

CE Content:

• Integrated Strategy Guide
  
• Bonus Chapter
  
• In-game Achievements
  
• 40 Collectible lighthouses and 30 Souvenirs
  
• 15 Hidden Object Scenes (w/accuracy % and time-to-complete)
  
• 21 Puzzles
  
• "Behind the scenes" video
  
• 10 Videos
  
• 8 Wallpapers in four dimensions
  
• 8 Concept Art compilations
  
• 7 Music Tracks (can be saved)
  

Bonus Chapter:

The extra chapter takes place hundreds of years ago, and is told from Alister's point of view.  Although it was interesting to see how it all began, my biggest question regarding this period of time was never addressed, making it seem like they missed telling the last 1/3 of that part of the story.  The gameplay is the same, and includes one of the MCF super-puzzles.

CE content becomes available after completing the bonus chapter, and this is where you will find the souvenir room and start your hunt for those items. 

Any lighthouses you missed during the main game will be accessible from the Extras section, and hints WILL work if you need help finding them.

Verdict:

You really need to be at least familiar with the Ravenhearst storyline before starting Unlocked, and should at least play Key to Ravenhearst before starting this game.  I have not played the game where Alister first appeared -- Fate's Carnival (even though I own it on Big Fish) -- because it is not yet on Steam.  I was able to gather how he came into the story from the previous titles that ARE on Steam, so they're still worth playing.  Although I enjoyed the game, it didn't feel as solid as the last installment (Key to Ravenhearst, which I loved).  I still definitely recommend it to Ravenhearst fans!