An absolute triumph and a gift to the ND community!

A quick explanation for those wondering why this release is such a big deal (from my POV, at least):

In their prime, the HerInteractive studio made Nancy Drew games a genre unto themselves, combining immersive scene-setting, excellent writing, and complex, multilayered mystery plots with a very specific, slightly hokey charm; the end result is a series of 20ish games that helped shape a generation of smart, curious, empowered adults. I started playing Nancy Drew games at 10 and now, at almost 30, still enjoy them. Part of the draw is nostalgia, for sure, but the stories, puzzles, and explorative possibilities hold up remarkably well for an adult player.

HerInteractive caught lightning in a bottle and, in retrospect, it's pretty amazing how long they were able to keep it there. It's a testament to the greatness of their '00s run that the community HerInteractive created lives on, even in the absence of satisfying new releases -- the kids I used to race home from school to swap alternate endings and ASCII signatures with on the message board are now adults on Reddit and Discord with a heartfelt appreciation for Nancy and hunger to have that same kind of fun again.

What sets Alex Hill apart from other adventure/mystery games that have made a grab for the ND audience is that the developer is so obviously and deeply one of us. It warmed my heart to see all the thoughtful homages Hannah inserted -- by which I mean not only the obvious ones like names, but things like books you can open and read (with well-written, non AIish text!), fun, quippy one-liners from the suspects, and a breakfast bar you can eat from (a charming, totally unnecessary, fan-fave element from many ND games). Hannah has struck a really delicate balance of updating and refreshing ideas for the now mostly adult audience (the story is more PG-13 than PG, for instance), and preserving the old-school things that never needed replacing (the point-and-click navigation will feel super familiar). The most critical element missing from the later ND games for me is quality writing, and I was thrilled to find this to be an interesting and well-written story.

Is it perfect? No. Is it "long enough"? Yes, although it would be great fun if it were longer. My bottom line is, Alex Hill gets at the heart of what ND fans have hungered for better than any other game I've played. And the developer has done it solo, without the backing of a studio or studio funds. It's pretty darn impressive. I'm eager to see how her next titles will flesh out as she gains traction.

This game wouldn't exist without ND games, and I think everyone is aware of that; Alex Hill feels like an homage, not a ripoff, and HerInteractive wrote a lovely, very classy social media post in support. I love that Hannah has resurrected the genre in a way that everyone can feel good about. There's room for everyone.

So, would I recommend? Definitely. If you were a fan of earlier ND games and hungry for more, this should give you a good taste.

Easily the most successful Nancy Drew formula recreation attempt I've played yet, and I've played a LOT of them. I appreciated that it was slightly more adult thematically than the standard Nancy Drew plot. The quality voice acting was another plus, and the story did take me by surprise with the turns it took!

My only critiques are that I found the music (or often lack thereof) a bit disconcerting in a bad way and some of the logic of what to do to trigger the next scene is a bit strange, a lot of re-entering areas or going through a door multiple times to trigger time changes. There were also some minor graphical issues that made it difficult to see some hotspots. That said, I did really enjoy this game and absolutely recommend it to other Nancy Drew adventure game style fans.

I can't believe there's already a steam page for the sequel :o

A fantastic new game and HOPEFULLY start to a new series that is a great upgrade from the classic Nancy Drew Mystery series. Great job and worth every penny!