I was tempted at first, due to the huge amount of cutscenes in Three Cards to Midnight, to skip them all and get to the “important” part – playing the game – but fortunately I was quickly sucked in by the story and I soon realized that I was no longer playing just to beat the game, but to find out how the story goes, hoping that the ending will be impressive (and yes, it is, but more on that a bit later – without any spoilers, so don’t worry!).
Three Cards to Midnight, developed by Big Finish Games (which I initially thought it was a parody to the Big Fish Games concept, but it’s not), tells the story of Jess, a woman who lost her memory and wants to uncover her past. She will do so bit by bit, with the help of a tarot card reader who will have her search for clues in her own memory. And really, I repeat: the cutscenes, even though kind of lengthy, must not be skipped unless you want to miss out a great story!
You also have a pre-set number of hints but you can gain one or two more per level after choosing the correct objects, but you can also lose everything and be forced to start over if you miss too many words. This is good on one side but can get a bit frustrating in the long run: you’ll start with the same keywords and objects every time and you’ll have to click on the same things over and over again. This, of course, if you miss too much!
And Big Finish Games didn’t stop the innovations of the hidden object genre here! They have also introduced multiple endings into play, which adds a bit of extra replay value to the game. However, the ending I got was so satisfactory that I didn’t feel the need to restart playing (but this is not a bad thing at all!)
The graphics are simply amazing – from static 2D stills in the “hidden object” part to really, really well done 3D animations in the story mode. The visuals are generally dark and spooky, going well with the game’s focus and perfectly backed up by the soundtrack – and even the voice acting which is quite surprising for a hidden object game!
Simply put, Three Cards to Midnight is everything you could wish from a hidden object game: it innovates the genre without making you feel like playing something completely new and unfamiliar, it adds in some amazing depth with a great story, it cares about the visuals and sounds and the overall player experience. It is obviously a game made by a team of pros who didn’t want to just throw in some objects inside some messy settings and say that they have created a game. No, Three Cards to Midnight is much more: it is a real game, it is a must play, it is a title that will certainly be remembered.
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