Family Mysteries: Criminal Mindset – Review

In Family Mysteries: Criminal Mindset, Brave Giant Studios is back with another case in the increasingly popular Family Mysteries saga – the third game within the past year! Follow Nancy Bradford, a talented behavioral psychologist who’s following her parents’ footsteps, but when she receives a generous offer from a corporate firm Neurotech, her world turns upside down.

Family Mysteries: Criminal Mindset tells a well-written Sci-Fi storyline full of cool twists, dangerous schemes, and even an exciting involvement from the CIA. Compared to the futuristic adventure in Family Mysteries: Echoes of Tomorrow, this sequel is definitely more grounded in reality. The science fiction theme is mostly derived from the game’s criminal psychology premise, rather than an outerspace extravaganza. Nonetheless, the game feels refreshing every step of the way and is different enough from other hidden object games on the charts.

Gameplay wise, Family Mysteries: Criminal Mindset is thoughtful and clever. While there are plenty of cookie-cutter tasks, there are also smarter, more creative ones to balance them out. The hidden object scenes are highly interactive and imaginative, as well as included a fun puzzle alternative. Similarly, the puzzles are wonderfully tied into the storyline and can be fairly challenging.

As the large majority of Family Mysteries: Criminal Mindset is based in modern-day reality, there is less to play around with from the visual standpoint. The visual style can sometimes feel a little too sanitized, but the clean lines and crisp colors are great at delivering crystal-clear graphics. The audio side of the game is a little spotty. The voice-overs are inconsistent and depending on the character, slightly distracting. In contrast, the background music is usually smooth and fitting.

Family Mysteries: Criminal Mindset has a nice length of around four hours, which is the perfect length as the story begins to drag towards the end. The Collector’s Edition contains all the standard extras; a bonus chapter, a strategy guide, wallpapers, soundtracks, videos, replayable hidden object scenes, replayable puzzles, achievements, collectibles, and morphing objects.

The Family Mysteries series has cemented itself as a true rising star with Family Mysteries: Criminal Mindset – an engaging and creative Sci-Fi adventure.