Immerse yourself in a 19th century mystery thriller in Victorian Mysteries: Woman in White. Play the part of a down-on-his-luck poor art tutor whose latest teaching job ends up dragging him into an inexplicable mystery. A chance meeting with a mysterious woman suddenly turns into a thrilling adventure full of secrets, murder and deceit. Use your skills to search for clues, uncover the plot and weed out the lies in this thrilling hidden object adventure game.
Woman in White is based on Wilkie Collins' 19th century mystery novel of the same name. The novel is one of the earliest forms of detective fiction with its main protagonist Walter Hartright playing the part of the "detective". In this hidden object adventure game, you take on the role of Hartright as you see the dark and mysterious Victorian England through his eyes, and attempt to solve this perplexing mystery.
As Hartright, you are short on cash and decided to take a job with the Fairlie family, teaching art to two young ladies. On your way to the mansion, you encounter a mysterious woman dressed in white who seems to know a lot about the Fairlies. The job goes well, and you get along splendidly with the two ladies, especially the beautiful Laura Fairlie. Things take a turn for the worse when Laura's fiance arrives and she becomes the center of a mysterious and treacherous plot.
You view the game through the eyes of an art teacher, and old England as shown in the game is indeed a beautiful work of art. The graphics are crisp and clean, though it is a bit dark and creepy at times due to the nature of the story. It does however create the perfect atmosphere for the game, and successfully brings the feel of Victorian England to life. It is also accompanied by a haunting soundtrack and great voice-acting that all blend together to make you feel like you're really living the mysteries in this 19th century novel.
The gameplay in Woman in White is what you would expect from a hidden object adventure game. You have the main adventure screen where you see all the locations and scenes that you can visit, with the ability to interact or zoom closer on various objects in each scene. The main screen also contains your journal which contains all the clues you have compiled so far, as well as biographies and a family tree of all the characters you meet in your adventures. Any items that you collect along the way will also appear on this screen.
Depending on what mode you choose at the start of the game, the "objects of interest" in each scene will either be highlighted to make it easier for you, or unmarked so that you have to figure out which items might be important to your investigations. Clicking on these will either zoom in closer on the object to reveal more clues and items, or launch mini-puzzles and hidden object games. Some of these objects will also require tools and items that you gather from other locations in order to interact with them. For example, you will need to collect a brush and some paint in order to touch up a dirty painting.
The hidden object scenes scattered throughout the game contain various hidden items that you will need to spot. Some of these will turn out to be useful tools to be used in other puzzles later on in your journey. The scenes are drawn up very well, with the objects blending in well with the background but not being too difficult to find. The puzzles and mini-games are also well-designed. It looks like the game developers have tried to put in new twists to these puzzles. Instead of getting a standard memory matching game, you will see a more complex version in the form of newspaper articles that you need to match... and these articles also happen to be liners for a bird cage! If you pause for too long when you encounter a new puzzle, the game will helpfully provide you with some hints on what you are supposed to do. And if you are still stuck after that, there's always the "skip" button...
What I find to be the most attractive and compelling part of the game is the strength of the story. Unlike the majority of the hidden object games out there, this one is based on a great detective novel by an established 19th century author and playwright. Because of that, the story really engages you chapter after chapter. And when you finish the game, you will feel like you have taken part in a great adventure. The Victorian Mysteries: Woman in White PC game is perfect for those of you who like detective and mystery games such as the Mystery Case Files series as well as those featuring Sherlock Holmes.
Rating: 4.5/5.0
You can read more about Victorian Mysteries: Woman in White at
http://www.hidden-puzzles.com/woman-in-white.html