Mystery Trackers: Mist Over Blackhill – Review

A day off in the life of a Mystery Trackers agent quickly turned into another thrilling mission when she noticed some strange fog coming out of the town of Blackhill on her bike ride. Something is terribly wrong in Blackhill, streets are empty, citizens are in hiding, and all signs point to some suspicious activities at Professor Xiao’s mansion. Can you solve this mystery before the fog consumes the whole town?

Mystery Trackers is now thirteen games in, and Elephant Games seems to have run out of ideas. Mystery Trackers: Mist Over Blackhill features another overdone story about a mad scientist and his dangerous experiment that could potentially harm the whole town. It feels as if we have been through this story countless times before. None of story elements come off as a surprise, the story development is formulaic, and even the backstory fails to capture our interest.

The gameplay relies on the same-old HOPA clichés. As usual, the gameplay of this new Mystery Trackers sequel consists of a large amount of inventory items. However, since the majority of the tasks are so predictable, this does not add any challenge to the gameplay. The hidden object scenes and the puzzles are not that complex or difficulty either, although they are all very well-crafted. Interestingly, Mystery Trackers: Mist Over Blackhill includes an optional Elf the Dog helper in the game, in which you can select to turn on or off at the beginning of the game. This should satisfy those who do not enjoy the inclusion of an animal helper, as well as those who are attached to Elf.

All that being said, Mystery Trackers: Mist Over Blackhill does not fail us when it comes to the production. The visuals are up to Elephant Games’ usual high standards, and the gloomy and foggy environment appropriately sets a suspenseful mood for the game. Similarly, the soundtracks are perfect for the game and the voice-overs fit the characters quite well.

Mystery Trackers: Mist Over Blackhill is a disappointingly short game. The main game took us only three hours to complete and the bonus chapter took us another 40 minutes. The Collector’s Edition contains all the expected extra features; a strategy guide, wallpapers, concept art, soundtracks, jigsaw puzzles, achievements, collectibles, morphing objects, and a secret room.

Mystery Trackers: Mist Over Blackhill ticks all the boxes, but leaves out “originality” completely. At this point, the once-great Mystery Trackers series has turned into just another cookie-cutter offering.