Nancy Drew PC Games

[Petrichor]

I didn't know anything about them firing the majority of their staff until I started wondering where the heck the new game was last fall. I also assumed that Lani Minella had left on fairly amicable terms, but apparently when HER Interactive let Lani go, she was asked to do Midnight in Salem with the understanding that it would be her last game, and she refused.

I do think the fans are going a little crazy, though. I know it's disappointing not to get a game for two years when you're used to two every year, but alas, we are by no means entitled to them. If the company wants to alienate their entire fanbase by refusing to update them on the game, then I guess that's their prerogative, although it is frustrating and disappointing. I just have to wonder what's going to happen if they do eventually release MID. I don't really believe all the angry people who keep saying, "Even if it is released, I won't play it! " ...yeah, you probably will. But if they don't like it, they might not stick around for the next game, given what HER has put the fans through.

[bookworm]

Wow I didn't realize it was so long without a new game now! It would seem something is definitely going on there, but I would hope it's not as dire a situation as you make it out.

Back when that app thing launched I did raise an eyebrow, but I didn't consider it may lead to significant corporate issues, I just thought it was another questionable attempt to branch out. Like that short lived Dossier experiment. Those bombed so hard they actually scrapped the next one that was actively in development right?

Anyway, in my own journey with the games I've finally been able to slowly make some progress in catching up. I finished The Shattered Medallion, and I have purchased Labyrinth of Lies, but haven't been able to start it yet.

[Petrichor]

It's been almost a year since I made my last post summarizing the state of Her Interactive and Nancy Drew games. Still no real news. Still no game. Bye-bye, Nancy Drew.

They did release this kind of weird newsletter that says they're aiming to release the game in Spring 2019, but that was about four months ago, and since then, no updates.

[bookworm]

I have gotten all caught up finally. I took so long I thought the next game would be about ready to release by the time I was ready and I could skip the wait everyone else had to go through, but I guess not. At least mine won't be as long as the people who have been waiting for this one since the beginning.

[Petrichor]

I'm still kind of torn on whether or not I should keep my hopes up for a new game being released, or if I should just give up waiting and be pleasantly surprised if at some point something is released. I still think they must be trying to release something since they keep their Facebook page and newsletter active, and they did just give away a fairly lucrative prize. I guess we'll see what Spring 2019 brings.

On a happier note, I started playing The Final Scene with my niece today. It was her first time playing Nancy Drew, and it brought back all sorts of happy memories for me, since it was my first Nancy Drew game, too. She's only four, so it'll probably be a few years before she actually starts understanding what's going on, but she still had fun exploring and talking to people!

[Peachey Keen]

I'm almost to the point now that I don't really care if they ever release a new game. I don't play any of the old games much anymore, although I did start playing The Deadly Device recently. I'm afraid that a new game will be too different than any of the previous games. That said, when (if) Midnight in Salem ever comes out, I'll still buy and play it, but I don't have high hopes for it.

[Petrichor]

For anyone who's interested, this article has a fairly detailed summary of what's been going on with the Nancy Drew games.

I'm almost to the point now that I don't really care if they ever release a new game. [...] I'm afraid that a new game will be too different than any of the previous games. That said, when (if) Midnight in Salem ever comes out, I'll still buy and play it, but I don't have high hopes for it.

This is pretty much how I feel. To my understanding, there was a pretty consistent team of developers and writers who worked at HER, and now that they're all gone, I think whatever game HER produces is going to feel totally different. Like you said, if they somehow manage to miraculously produce a game, I'll try it, but I'm not expecting great things.

[bookworm]

My brother got me the Blackmoor Manor DVD game for my birthday this year. It's of course inferior to the original, but it's really neat to have since that's my favorite in the series. And it's an interesting oddity in the collection.

[Petrichor]

Just a quick update to this thread. Allegedly Midnight in Salem is still going to be released this spring, but it is now April, and there's no release date. Honestly, if they do actually have something in production and it's not quite ready to go, I wouldn't mind if they delayed it until fall. It seems more appropriate for fall than spring, anyway. I am (perhaps foolishly) hopeful that the game will eventually be released, given that they released a bunch of character artwork recently. Back when they were on their old schedule of releasing two games per year, I think the games usually came out in May or June, so that's kind of when I would expect to get the game/another update.

My brother got me the Blackmoor Manor DVD game for my birthday this year. It's of course inferior to the original, but it's really neat to have since that's my favorite in the series. And it's an interesting oddity in the collection.

I've always kind of wanted to try that! How does it work, exactly? Do you just play it in Windows Media or something?

[bookworm]

A release date!

[Petrichor]

Pre-orders start tomorrow! Under any other circumstances, I wouldn't want to order from the Her Interactive website since they have notoriously bad customer service, but the rumor is that there will be a very limited run of physical copies of the game, so... I guess I'll take the risk. Historically, they've released the game trailer the day pre-orders start, so we may get the trailer tomorrow, too! They've also added a description of game features, which you can read here.

EDIT: Never mind. They've delayed the pre-orders and release date. Bummer. Apparently there will be a trailer today, though.

EDIT 2: Pre-orders opened today! I made the decision to pre-order since I really want to have a physical copy of the game. Pretty pricey, though. I think it ended up being about $32 since they're charging $10 for shipping.

[bookworm]

I definitely want a physical copy since I have all the other games, but I don't buy from HeR because I refuse to pay their ridiculous shipping costs.

[Petrichor]

No, under normal circumstances, I wouldn't buy through them. The shipping is exorbitant, and they were advertising some deals for free shipping and 20%-off codes that didn't work. When I contacted them, I was told that free shipping was over and they forgot to take it off the site, and 20%-off codes don't apply to pre-orders. Also, just to add to the fun, they aren't shipping the games until the release date, so pre-ordering really does nothing for you.

But that being said, they said they're only making 10,000 physical copies of the game and they're not planning to sell on Amazon or in Walmart. The website says they only have about 6,900 left in stock. I doubt they'll all be gone by the time the game releases, but I didn't want to miss my chance.

[bookworm]

It won't ever go to Amazon? I hadn't heard that. That would be a conundrum for me then. Where did they mention this?

[Petrichor]

https://www.herinteractive.com/2019/09/ ... ght-price/

HerInteractive.com will be the ONLY place that will offer physical and digital copies of the game. Due to retail stores no longer carrying PC/Mac games, the 33rd installment of Nancy Drew will NOT be available on shelves. Please keep in mind that we will have a limited run of units for the physical version of the game, and once they run out, only the digital downloads will remain.

I guess it's possible that some copies could migrate over to Amazon, but it doesn't seem like HeR is planning to list them there. If you decide to wait out the pre-order period, I have a 20% discount code I'd be happy to send you. It won't work on pre-orders, but hopefully they'll accept it once the game is actually released.

EDIT: I was scrolling through the comments on that blog post, and apparently they're planning to release it on Steam, too? I'm not sure why they would say the HeR website will be the only place to get digital copies of the game if it's going to be on Steam. So who knows where the game will end up?

[Peachey Keen]

I have been really ticked at the way Her Interactive has been leading up to this release. However, I went ahead and pre-ordered the physical copy. I have physical copies of all the other games and I want one for MID, too. I might buy the digital copy, too, later whenever it comes on Steam.

I'm trying to keep my expectations low.

[bookworm]

Thanks for the info Petrichor! I'm most likely going to wait and trust there will still be copies left at a reasonable price later, but I'll give it some more thought.

[Petrichor]

They released the cover art for Midnight in Salem today!

I'm not quite sure how I feel about it. It definitely feels different from what they were doing before, although I think it seems cleaner than some of their other covers (e.g., Ghost of Thornton Hall). It does seem kind of odd that there's no tagline or anything like that, though.

Hopefully just about a month to go!

[Peachey Keen]

They released the cover art for Midnight in Salem today!

Midnight in Salem Cover Art.jpg

I'm not quite sure how I feel about it. It definitely feels different from what they were doing before, although I think it seems cleaner than some of their other covers (e.g., Ghost of Thornton Hall). It does seem kind of odd that there's no tagline or anything like that, though.

Hopefully just about a month to go!

It's different, but still good. It definitely plays up the creepy factor.

Also, it looks like Her Interactive has a page for MID on Steam already. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1038 ... _in_Salem/ I did not expect it to be up so soon.

[Petrichor]

The trailer released today! I have mixed emotions. On the one hand, the character graphics are... not great, but on the other hand, the game looks a lot more expansive than what I had been picturing. I'll reserve judgment until I play the game, but it seems like it might be a good foundation for the next games.

Also, we get to hear the new voice of Nancy! They did a whole podcast with the new actress, Brittany Cox, on HER's channel, but it seemed like it had some potentially spoiler-y stuff in it, so I stopped listening after the first few minutes. I like the new voice, though. While Lani's voice was iconic, she didn't sound like a teen/young adult anymore.