Inspectors' Review:
BOX
SHREDDED PAPER
Ohhh, a poker chip?
This lock is...locked! I'm trying with my teeth this time!
If only these poker chips were real money...
Then we could buy some catnip!!
Something fishy is going on at this sheriff department... we must get to the bottom of this!
Boss' Review:
The Mystery Agency started as a Kickstarter during the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 spearheaded by Henry Lewis, a well-known name in U.K. theatre and television. This Kickstarter offered three games – Ghost in the Attic, The Balthazar Stone, and the one I’m reviewing today, The Vanishing Gambler. While I didn’t initially back the Kickstarter, I pre-ordered the games back in April 2021 with the final game arriving September 2021. I have already reviewed The Balthazar Stone and Ghost in the Attic so now it’s time to dive into this final one!
NOTE: There is a bonus mystery to play using all three games - I provided my thoughts on it at the end.
The Story:
The Vanishing Gambler focuses on the mysterious disappearance on gambling cheat, Roy Marshall. Marshall, a professional gambler was being held behind bars for being caught cheating at blackjack after casinos have spent years trying to catch him in he act. Yet, right before midnight on June 16th, Marshall vanished from his cell without a trace despite CCTV footage. You have been tasked to uncover what happened and, more importantly, figure out where Marshall has gone. All the evidence left in his room has been sent to you to aid your investigation. It is up to you to out trick the trickster!
I will note this storyline had the most complexity across the three Mystery Agency games. There is a great deal of nuance with lots of hidden pieces of information which were a joy to uncover. I also enjoyed how the end goal wasn’t something that became obvious like the other games. There is no way to get the end goal until you have solved everything while in previous games you knew what would happen but just need an exact wording from the end game. The twist and turns of this game do make me think this game targets an older audience because there quite a bit of backtracking and general tracking. This story requires you to jump through different hoops and there isn’t an exact order. Since this games story is integral to the experience, I do recommend taking time to read everything and look stuff over (including online content) carefully. Some things won’t necessarily seem important at first but it all comes back around.
The Puzzles:
In terms of puzzles, Roy has left a series of clues to help someone find him. Your first clue has indicated the sheriff’s department website will have some important pieces of evidence to aid your work. There are some websites to explore, locked compartments, and hidden secrets. The puzzle range from ciphers, observation, searching, and deduction. This game was, for me, the most challenging of the three games as it requires careful observation and making connections to things. My favourite moment in this game was how there were multiple opportunities to gain “aha” moments because of observation. online portal asks you to find a message left by the ghost. So there’s more chances of “aha” but you can easily get lost as the clues aren't always strong. There were times where I was unsure how I was meant to input an answer or what exactly they were looking for but the hint system did help. I recommend playing with a friend and dividing up the tasks to help smooth out the journey, otherwise you may be bouncing around. I would say this is probably the finale game to play if you choose to play all through so you have a chance to ramp up to this – especially for beginner players.
Customer Service:
I will keep the customer service notes the same as my other reviews. I have had no contact from the company except when they announced they were shipping two games before the other, but the games did arrive on time (as in they all arrived by end of September 2021). The games shipped randomly and it who shipper who notified me. The hint system provided by the game was solid and quite helpful but I do wish the clues in the actual game were a little strong for a couple puzzles.
Conclusion:
In the end, The Vanishing Gambler provided an engaging narrative and puzzles that led you through twist and turns. This was more challenging (though, not that hard in comparison to other games), which made the rewards feel so much better. This game took the longest of the games but still took only 90 minutes. The production quality, the websites, and set up were awesome and I loved how it all came together. If you’re looking for a good puzzle experience with high production value and puzzles that really take you on a journey, I recommend trying this out.
Check out the Mystery Agency here!
The Oracle
If you've made it this far done the page then you're probably curious to know what is "The Oracle?" Well, back in October 2021, The Mystery Agency announced there is a hidden mystery across the three Mystery Agency games titled "The Oracle." It can only be completed if you physically still have the three games available.
I want to note, you need a specific code on the solve page to access this first clue (and hint system) for this experience and it is not the easiest to find. I could not find it on their website or their Instagram but it was pinned in an old post on their Twitter.
Overall, I enjoyed the mini mystery. It does require you to draw on different pieces from each experience to assist in the puzzle solving and I really appreciated how much thought and planning went into bringing this together as these are clues you may not have noticed but fit seamlessly into the games without revealing anything until you're given a nudge to look in a certain way. I highly recommend refreshing your gameplay or playing this soon after you finish the other games to help make the experience a little smoother. There were quite a few times where I had to unlock all the other locks (I had reset the games) to unpack items and look them over to clues. I did catch a typo which could easily be fixed but it doesn't impede the gameplay.
I still find the price for these games to be a lot for the game value but this added experience went a ways to show how much production and complexity went into these games. I think it was a great way to bring the whole series together and I am really curious if this mystery will continue into subsequent games!