Nancy Drew: Message In A Haunted Mansion traps you in a ridiculous hotel with an alarm clock for a best mate

It's been a while, but I'm finally back on the Nancy Drew mystery game train. Choo choo, next stop: San Francisco! This has pleasing synergy with my real life, because I'm currently watching through Monk, a popular detective show also set in San Francisco. Mr. Monk would be displeased by the house Nancy finds herself in this time, which is a mansion being converted into a B&B. The owner, Rose, is working on a shoestring budget and has decided that the best player to add to her renovation team is a young-adult woman who's a friend of a friend. It all makes sense!

Nancy Drew: Message In A Haunted Mansion is the third game in the Nancy Drew mystery series of puzzle games, and boy does the weird first-person fixed camera work against you here. It's also a more disappointing plot than the previous games, but it adds in a new time system that, much like Stay Tuned For Danger, is an ambitious move - and in this case I think it sort of works. It's a mixed bag, is what I'm saying.

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