The Hidden Mysteries franchise is a long running and extremely successful one, and it made its debut on iOS powered devices with a bunch of well received hidden object games. Big Fish Games is trying to expand the inventory with Hidden Mysteries: Royal Family Secrets, a game originally launched for PCs in 2012, but which only now made it to iPhone and iPad.
Personally, I understand the reasons for bringing old and successful games to mobile devices, but for somebody who is still playing similar games on computers, things are a bit more difficult because, even with all those touch controls, they still seem outdated and sometimes a bit frustrating.
The same is the case of Hidden Mysteries: Royal Family Secrets, which might have been a great game one year ago, but isn’t one in today’s market. But before we get to this, let’s see what exactly is this game about!
In Hidden Mysteries: Royal Family Secrets, you play the role of the maid of the Queen and the action starts with you being thrown to jail after a mysterious and powerful Brooch is stolen and used by one of your friends. Framed for something that you did not do, it’s your quest to escape your jail cell, adventure through the 4 towers of the castle and prove your innocence while, at the same time, righting the wrongs the Brooch has made.
The story is pretty interesting and the game itself is quite an epic adventure – but it won’t be always an interesting one. For starters, all the graphics seem to be outdated and of a low resolution, so you don’t have the visual impact to make you ask for more. The puzzles themselves are pretty easy, while the hidden object scenes are not spectacular. They are usually things that we’ve seen done in tons of other hidden object games, but even if they’re not special or innovative or catchy one way or another, they are decent and are by no means poor. They are mediocre, but this is basically because the game is actually one year old.
The music is something that I completely got to hate, especially the sound effects. I ended up playing the game without a sound and the water flow of aquarium’s water filter was a lot more enjoyable and relaxing than the music of this game.
So even though the premise of Hidden Mysteries: Royal Family Secrets is really cool and the story, overall, is great, the game does feel a bit outdated and frustrating, with loading screens and waiting times mixed with mediocre hidden object scenes, simple puzzles and nothing spectacular.
iTunes Link: Hidden Mysteries: Royal Family Secrets