Who Framed Mr. Wolfe is the fourth and final instalment in Society of Curiosities' offshoot puzzle experience, Fairy Tale Files. This series was launched as a Kickstarter in 2020 where you receive four case files from Inspector Maximillian Lepoof of the Magical Mishaps Agency. Inspector Lepoof is a little inexperienced with crime because Happily Ever After is meant to, you know, be happy, but you, the hardened detective, can provide invaluable expertise to solve a series of strange cases. Previous I reviewed The Cinderella Murders, The Case of the Poisoned Apple, and Sweet Witch Inferno so I’m excited to dive into the final adventure.
Also, If you haven’t heard of Society of Curiosities, they are a tabletop escape room company from Hawaii who create episodic puzzle adventures. I absolutely loved the secret society based series filled with treasure, adventure, and intrigue, which prompted me to support their kickstarter! Fairy Tale Files is a lighter adventure so if you want something with a bit more of a challenge check out their other series.
Story:
The premise of this case follows the disappearance of expert knitter Granny Rousseau right before the annual knitting contest. The crime scene is violent and with so much going on, the Inspector needs your assistance. He’s narrowed down four suspects - Little Red, Mr. Wolfe, Baba B. Sheepe, and The Three Little Pigs. Each suspect can be tied to the crime scene itself but all are claiming alibis that you must investigate.
I found the story to be a lighthearted adventure with fun easter eggs to the various fairy tales. There was one thing I didn’t expect in the narrative that I enjoyed as a twist and the conclusion was well rounded. The story isn’t complex or hard to follow so I recommend taking your time to piece together the mystery and read the newspaper for some fun world building, and important clues for solving. This game does require deduction to solve the crime but the conclusion cleans up any loose ends you may have. This is why I recommend making sure you’ve fully put the story together before giving the final answer for a true sense of satisfaction at solving.
Now, I will also add that, as usual, the artwork is beautiful and I appreciated how this adventure included an actual print of the map of Happily Ever After. This adventure, compared to the other cases, felt a little more linear. If you try exploring outside places you should be, you will be directed back which is helpful for younger audiences who might get distracted. The AI, Inspector Lepoof will guide you through a text adventure on a chat log from Society of Curiosities’ website. He will direct you to different pieces of evidence but remember the suspect profiles, map, crime scene, and newspapers are all components you start off with immediately. Inspector Lepoof will prompt you with questions to figure out next steps. I recommend having a pen and paper to make notes alongside each clue to help you narrow down suspects. Consider why certain suspects are acting suspicious. I had my suspicions of the criminal for a while, but their motivation was fascinating!
Puzzles:
I felt the puzzles for this final chapter were a little easier than the previous one. The most important thing to remember is that certain puzzles require information from previous locations (ie. illustrations) so make sure to keep things laid out in front of you to help job your connections. The puzzles ranged from logic, ciphers, tracking, observation, deduction, and more. These puzzles are self contained so all information you need is within the game. As you navigate Happily Ever After to follow trails, you are faced with puzzles to unlock rooms, chests, and more with Inspector Lepoof prompting you along the way. At the end, you are meant to deduce who is the culprit using deduction from the previous locations and information to learn (ie. you open a locked box with an item that can be connected to the suspect). These still follow the problem-solving idea that I remember from the previous games and I enjoyed it. I especially enjoyed the puzzles around getting yourself out of sticky situations you managed to find yourself in. In these situations, the beautiful illustrations are not just pretty but key to the adventure.
Customer Service:
My thoughts on their customer service are the same as always. The game arrived in a timely fashion once shipped and the AI was ready to help me navigate the adventure. The hint system and how to access it has some fun easter eggs and had some good use towards the end. It provided good incremental clues that were easy to follow. The documents for the game look well made with aging effects and all - as I ordered the collector’s edition I also received a wax seal to close up my game.
Conclusion:
Who Framed Mr. Wolfe was a lighthearted and fun detective adventure that captures the essence that Fairy Tale Files was, which is a beautiful send off for the final episode of the season. I find this series to be a great family friendly series that provides collaborative puzzling throughout with ways for groups to discuss, organize, and examine evidence to aid their work. I would say if you are looking for a puzzle game with beautiful visuals, a linear progression, the need for a keen eye, and a sprinkle of deduction, this game will give you all you need. I am curious what is next for Society of Curiosities but once again they have definitely created another great experience!
Check out the other Fairy Tale File games here!