Madame Fate is the latest offering from the juggernaut that is Mystery Case Files. If you have ever wanted to play an intense, challenging find-the-hidden-object game, the Mystery Case Files series is going to be your gold standard.
In general, the find-the-hidden-object games are like an adult version of I Spy. You have a background picture scene filled with an incredible variety and quantity of objects. You'll have a list of things you need to find. You have to find the things on your list before time runs out. Your clues aren't always going to be straightforward. If you're looking for shells, it might be eggs or the kinds from the sea. A spade could be a type of shovel or a suit of cards. You need to keep your mind open to the possibilities.
As with the previous games in the Mystery Case Files series, your powers of observation and detection are once more being sought after. This time, you get the call from Madame Fate — a medium at a spooky carnival. She has foreseen her own death at the stroke of midnight and needs you to investigate the other carnies to see where each of them will be at the fateful hour. She is certain that one of them will be her killer.
If ever you have aspired to leave the waking world for the shadowy world of the carnival, Madame Fate may give you second thoughts. The atmosphere of this carnival is a few clicks beyond creeping and heading into the fringes of scary movie with banjo music territory.
The developers have definitely kicked up the level of challenge in Madame Fate. You have more locations, more objects to find and a number of new puzzle challenges — some of which can be fiendishly difficult. Some of the puzzle difficulty has been increased so much, in fact, that they are actually selling an online strategy guide to guide you through how to solve the puzzles. Technically, you can complete the game without the strategy guide. If you get totally stumped, you are given the option of skipping a given puzzle. The penalty is that you'll start the next level with less time on the clock. For the couple of puzzles I skipped, the time decrease did not prevent me from completing the level.
Along with the puzzles you need to solve, you also will be encountering a new set of objects to find that aren't on any list. Within the various scenes, there are certain objects that morph from one thing to another. If you catch an object behaving in this fashion, click it. Finding all of these objects unlocks three additional areas for you to investigate within the carnival. On my first pass through the game (which took just over seven hours), I unlocked the kitty circus and the tunnel of love. The last one to unlock is the outhouse. I'm a little afraid to contemplate what kinds of objects I might find in that particular location.
The other little twist is that some things have to be put together to match the clue. I remember one clue being "head over heels." Within the scene, there was a drawing of a head. Elsewhere in the scene was a picture of a few pair of shoes. You'll have to move items around to be awarded that solution.
I found Madame Fate to be a much longer game than previous offerings (which is all good as far as I'm concerned). There are 15 carnies to investigate, multiple locations to investigate for each carnie and some hidden locations within the other locations, and on top of that, puzzles abound. When you've gathered enough evidence (all but two clues) on each carnie, Madame Fate uses her crystal ball to scry the location of that person at midnight. Not only will you see their situation, Madame Fate is a creepy woman that really enjoys her bad puns. I won't tell you what you'll see, since that would spoil the surprise ...
I like that if you find multiple objects in quick succession, you get a reward of additional time on the clock.
There are five possible hints for each level of your investigation. You need to pay close attention, as the hint will be a glowing ring around the general area of the item you're looking for. You definitely won't be handed the item on a silver platter. You still have to be able to spot it.
I found Madame Fate to require more brain power on my part than the typical hidden-object game. Some of the items are tricky — not just visually, but because of the plays on the definitions. Some of the puzzles were quite hard (at least to me). The puzzles you face to reveal each crystal ball challenge come with no explanation — so you're kind of thrown in the deep end of the pool.
There is one particular level in which you have to get all of the pieces flipped to make a complete picture. As you click a piece, adjacent (but not diagonal) pieces flip over. Somehow you have to click pieces in the right order to get everything flipped to the picture you want. I have always been frustrated by this kind of puzzle. I guess I don't take the time to try and figure my way through it (but then I've never been much of a chess player either). This same kind of puzzle might be quite easy to another person if it suits the way their mind works.
Madame Fate is the first hidden-object puzzle in a long time that has taken me multiple days to work my way through. The thing is huge. It's entertaining and challenging and doesn't finish so soon that it leaves me wanting more. And it's addictive enough that upon finishing last night, I started over, determined to find all of the special changing objects this time through.
I strongly recommend Mystery Case Files — Madame Fate. As far as I'm concerned, it has the whole package for the fan of hidden-objects game, and it's tied up nicely in a deliciously challenging bow. The graphics are awesome. The sound effects are spot on — and Madame Fate has a voice that totally creeps me out. And if you persevere all the way through to the end, you'll even get a nice teaser about a sequel to Mystery Case Files — Ravenhearst. Yummy!
I’m a working mom – married with one child. My daughter is 7 and she has autism. Everything else in my life moves around this core. Online gaming has been a big part of my social life over the last several years due to the difficulty of going out and about. I have to say that my daughter Alissa is awesome at computer games. She has skills with electronics that amaze me. When I get away from the computer, I like doing craft projects (knitting, crocheting, sewing, painting, quilling, whatever sounds fun) and reading. I mainly read suspense these days but I have a pretty eclectic collection and a library of about 6000 books. I’ve been using a computer since grade school – I started with an Apple IIe and have upgraded considerably and many times since then. I played Dungeons and Dragons for at least a few decades. I met and married my husband through gaming. He was my DM. I stopped tabletop gaming more from lack of time than anything. It’s easier to meet and game with friends online than it is to coordinate real life schedules around my daughter’s needs.
