Monthly Wrap Up: December 2021

It's the end of the year and I though the best way to end the year is was to talk about all the games that I've played this month! This month I've tried my best to play a many games this month as possible and with what I accomplished I'm pretty happy with it.  Since it's the end of the year, this means that there will be no more posts until next year!  (I wrote this post in advance and just updated at time went by).  Now without further ado, lets get to what games I've played this month!

Monthly Wrap Up: November 2021

It's December and you know what that means! It means we're less than 24 days away from CHRISTMAS!! It also means that we have less than 30 days before the end of the year.  It also means that Daniella and I are closer to announcing our secret project!  But before we can get to that, first we have to go back and look at all the games that I played in November!

Happy 7th Birthday to My Flourishing Retrospect

It's been 7 years since I started blogging.  Back on November 29th, 2014, I was just a simple game enthusiast who sat in their room and debated on starting a blog.  Who knew that 7 years later it would lead to everything that I've accomplished and done.  So for todays post I think I'm going to look back at the last seven years a just take a trip down memory lane.  So let's get started!

Nancy Drew The White Wolf of Icicle Creek Review

The sun is going down earlier and earlier, the temperatures are dropping, and you know what that means.  It's finally autumn in Arizona, or what other people call winter this time of year!  Ok ok, I know my 80 F degree wether is not what everyone experiences during November or even December but when it reaches this temperature it means that I can finally make some hot cocoa and play one of my favorite winter Nancy Drew games, The White Wolf of Icicle Creek!  This game was released by Her Interactive on June 7th, 2007.  So let's get started!

Nancy Drew Curse of Blackmoor Manor Review

The Curse of Blackmoor Manor is one of my favorite games to play when it's time to get into more spookier games.  This Halloween is no different with Daniella and I playing this game again over on our Twitch channel DJTwinGamers!  We were super excited to play this game over on stream and have really enjoyed playing it with so many new friends.  With this I thought it was the perfect time to write my review of the game as it helped refresh what I love about this game.  Curse of Blackmoor Manor was released by HeR Interactive on October 25th, 2004.  So let's get started!

Monthly Wrap Up: October 2021

October and Halloween are at an end, and that means its time for Christmas!  Oh, wait, I forgot we still have Novemebr to go through before December and Christmas.  Le sigh...  Oh well, I can still start early on the Christmas spirit!  However, before I can pull out the Christmas decor, I must first talk about all the games I played in October!  So let's get started!

HeR Interactive Mystery of the Seven Keys?

A click bait title? I know, it's not the best, but when you find out that HeR created a new trademark for a new video game called Mystery of the Seven Keys, you know that at least half of the Nancy Drew fan based will go bonkers over it. After all, HeR hasn't trademarked anything for a while. Midnight in Salem isn't trademarked so that begs to questions, what is this mysterious trademark for? Well, there's only one way to know and that is by creating our own theories about what this could be. WARNING everything in this post will be focused on not confirmed information. This is only a theory about what I think this game could be.  So, let's get started!

Man of Medan Review

Halloween is just a few weeks aways and what's better than playing spooky games with your family and friends.  Probably a lot of things if you hate anything scary but we're going to ignore my irrational fear of horror games and review The Dark Pictures Anthology Man of Medan.  I originally gave this as a Christmas gift for a friend back in 2019, and after 2 years we finally sat down to play it!   Man of Medan was released on August 29th, 2019 by Supermassive Games.  So let's get started!

Nancy Drew Shadow At the Water's Edge Review

Since this month is the month of everything spooky and scary I though it would be a great time to start off this month of reviewing a ton of spooky and scary games!  The first one up this month is Nancy Drew Shadow at the Water's Edge!  This has to be one of my favorite scary games along with one of my favorite locations.  I've always wanted to go to Japan and this game gave me the greatest ability to go explore a virtual version of this beautiful country.  Shadow at the Water's Edge was released by Her Interactive on October 19th, 2010.  So let's get started!

Monthly Wrap Up: September 2021

Oh... hello... it looks like I forgot to finish my blog post for last two week and now its October. Oops... I guess thats what happens when one gets busy and lacks the motivation to write. A lot of my energy has been put into my Instagram page, which still have my blog blocked over there (I'm still fuming about that after 7 months). But enough of my grumbling as you are all here to hear about all the wonderful and lovely games I've been playing! So let's get started!

How To Install The Original Secrets Can Kill Without Discs

(Updated: 06/06/2023)

 

For a little over a year now, I've been trying to figure out the best way to play the original Secrets Can Kill. I have tried everything to editing files and trying to figure out how to mount drives. But now I have finally figured out how and I really want to share it with everyone.  You will have to download one thing but other than that it's super easy and does not require you to change any code or do anything complicated.  So let's get started get started!

Going Medieval Review

Another day, another sim city builder game!  As you can tell, I'm slightly addicted to these kind of games, even though I consider myself terrible at them once things get difficult.  But that's never stopped me before!  I've been watching Medieval a few months before it was released and I was super exited when I was able to get the chance to buy it and finally play it!  I bought the game when I was at my peak of busy college classes but I made sure that I made time to finally play the game!  Going Medieval was developed by Foxy Voxel and published by The Irregular Corporation on June 1st, 2021.  So let's get started!

Going Medieval: Fort Building

Game Description

"In the world of Going Medieval, dark age society is on its knees. At the end of the 14th century, 95% of the global population has perished due to rampant plague.

Eventually, survivors emerge from society’s ashes, and it’s now up to you to help them settle in a dangerous new land reclaimed by nature. Build your people a home, help shape their lives, and protect them from animals, bandits, and other dangers in a lawless post-calamity age."

Going Medieval: Farming

Gameplay/Controls 

I absolutely love the gameplay in Going Medieval!  There is so much you can customize in this game when it comes to buildings, farming, and etc.  I absolutely love this feature.  I can make my buildings as large as I want, I can make them any shape, and I could make them as tall as I want too!  This made is absolutely perfect and I just loved it.  The controls were also super simple and easy to use.  I will admit though that I find it kind of tiring of having to tell each individual character what jobs they can and can't do.  at the moment I only have 4 people but I know what once that number increases it will be a lot more difficult.  But maybe thats the point as you build up.

Going Medieval: Winter Castle

World/Graphics

I have my graphics set more to a medium as my computer can't handle going any higher, but even on medium the world is absolutely gorgeous!  I love all the tiny details that I can see.  This is especially true when it's raining and snowing.  It just makes the world so pretty and the time changes to make the world more dark or lighter really highlighted the world and make it better so that I could work while my characters were asleep.

Thank you everyone for reading!  I have had an absolute blast playing Going Medieval and I think I have a new favorite city builder game!  I can't wait to see what the developers do next for the game!  So I think its time to go back and continue my game and try my best to expand as much as possible before I end up having to restart due to forgetting about the character needs.   If you want to check out my Games Review page where I have all my current reviews!

Until next time,

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Monthly Wrap Up: August 2021

Wait what happened, first I just turned August now its September!  What the heck is happening to time!  It's going to fast that I cant keep up with whats happening and its making it difficult to get anything done.  But then I guess that means I need to plan better and figure out whats the best play to play all the games!  So let's get started!

Sherlock Holmes The Awakened Remastered Review

Another day, another Sherlock Holmes mystery solved!  I have been having an absolute ball playing all the Sherlock Holmes games and the next one on the list was Sherlock Holmes The Awakened!  This was technically the first game in the trilogy series, before Nemesis and Jack the Ripper, though these games were played out of order, I was was still excited to see how this mystery unfolded.  Sherlock Holmes The Awakened was released on September 23rd, 2008 by Frogwares.  So let's get started!

Nancy Drew The Secret of Shadow Ranch Review

It's been a quick minute since I last write a Nancy Drew review.  So this week I though it would be fun to write a review on the latest Nancy Drew game that I just got done playing over on Twitch, which Daniella and I had a blast doing!  The Secret of Shadow Ranch is the tenth game in the Nancy Drew series and it was released on August 30th, 2004.  So let's get started!

Assassin's Creed Valhalla PS4/PS5 Custom Controls Updated August 2021

Earlier this year I have uploaded a set of custom control that are supposed to mimic what I find to be the best control settings based off of Assassin's Creed Odyssey. However with this came the fun bug that limited some of your game play. Now, the first set of custom controls still works perfectly fine other than the odd pop-up of a torch while calling your horse and the fact that your can throw or fish. Well now I have one that will fix your ability to throw items and it will allow you to fish too! Sadly can't figure out why the torch keeps popping up my its fine it not like your going to call everyone to your immediate locations if they see the light... right? Anyway, here's the up dated version of control that will allow you to fish and throw items!

My First Impressions of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

Over the last couple of months, I've been exploring the Norwegian and English countryside in Assassin's Creed Valhalla. With everything that I have seen and done so far in the game I really wanted to share my first impressions about the game before I write my official review of the game and since I'm about 80% through the main storyline of the game (I think?), I feel like I'm at a great point to discuss what I think of the game so far.  This is not my official review of the game that will come after I finish the main story which will hopefully be soon.  So let's get started!

Monthly Wrap Up: July 2021

Where has the time gone! It felt like it was July 1st a week ago and now we're into August!  Time please slow down, I don't want to loose the free time I have just been given before I have to start working! Anyway, enough with my complaining. July was filled with games and I am so happy that I've basically caught up to everything that I've been lagging behind in.  However, this gave me the perfect opportunity to try out some new games and finish some old one!  Shall we begin?!?!

Against the Storm Demo Review

Another day, another simulation city building game! This game has been on my radar for a little while and I'm happy to announce that I have finally gotten the chance to sit down and play the demo for the game.  As you know I love playing the game Banished as it is one of my favorite city building games.  Over the last few weeks, I've been dying to play Against the Storm demo and I had finally got the chance to sit down and play it!  So let's get started!

Marcella Moon The Perfumed Ghost Book Review

Hello everyone! I'm sharing something a little different than my usual video game review. Today, I'm going to be reviewing the newest book Marcella Moon The Perfumed Ghost. Since the creator of the games decided to make a book based on the game series, I was super excited to read it since I love the games. I want to thank the author and the creator of the Marcella Moon Mystery game series, Alice Undergrove, for gifting me a copy of her book to review. The Perfumed Ghost was released on June 1st, 2021. So let's get started!

About the Book:

Title: The Perfumed Ghost

Author: Alice Undergrove

Release Date: June 1st, 2021

Series: Marcella Moon Mysteries

Genre: Mystery

Pages: 42

Book Description

"When Marcella is called to the eerie old Misty Rose Inn to look for evidence of hauntings, she’s skeptical; this isn’t her typical case. But she’s drawn in as she uncovers more and more reasons to believe in the so-called “perfumed ghost”, a spirit who wanders the halls, filling guests’ rooms with a strong scent of roses as she passes by. 

Is this a prank being played by one of the other guests? Or is it something that can’t be explained away so easily? As usual, Marcella is determined to leave no stone unturned."

My Thoughts

*In my review, I plan to go spoiler free. If you want to know more about the mystery, then I would highly recommend you check it out!*

I absolutely loved this story!  It was a perfect sweet and short mystery which had me on the edge of my seat.  Throughout the story, I really enjoyed how we got the chance to listen to Marcella's thoughts on the case and how she analyzed each piece of evidence and how it's related to the mystery.  This gave a fresh breath of fresh air to the mystery stories that I've read in the past.   I really enjoyed how we were able to look at all the evidence in the story so that we, along with Marcella Moon, were able to piece together what really happened at the Misty Rose Inn and the ghosts that haunted its grounds.  It reminded me as if I was playing a Marcella Moon game!  Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it and I look forward to what comes next!

Thank you everyone for reading!  I really enjoyed The Perfumed Ghost and I'm excited for what will come next!  If you want to get the book for yourself, then you can The Perfumed Ghost on Amazon for Kindle.

Marcella Moon Social Pages

Link Tree | The Perfumed Ghost Amazon

Until next time,

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How To Install Sherlock Holmes Collection on Windows 10

After I finished playing Sherlock Holmes The Mystery of the Persian Carpet, I decided that the next game that I was going to play was Sherlock Holmes Nemesis or formally known as Sherlock Holmes Versus Arsène Lupin!  I bought this game for the second time on Steam after being unable to play the original disc version due to their being glitches on the disc.  When I went to play the game it didn't work and for a while I couldn't figure out why until I did some research on what was possibly causing the issue.  Which took me forever to find so, I though it would be a great idea to write a post on how to install the Sherlock Holmes Collection games that you can get on steam.  So let's get started!

Catizens Alpha Review

Sim building games or cats... how about a little of both!  One of the newest games that I've been keeping my eyes on is a new sim building game called Catizens!  It's the newest city building game where you take your cats on an adventure to build your perfect cat city!  Catizens is expected to be released sometime in 2021.  I want to thank the developers over at Bad Optics Games for giving me the opportunity to test out the alpha of the game and I look forward to its full release!  So let's get started!

Monthly Wrap Up: June 2021

Hello... its been a while.  Well maybe not for you since my post were schedule out every week but for me its been like 3 weeks since I've even though about my blog.  Was this done on purpose?  Nope!  That just happened because I was stuck finishing up exams pretty much every other week.  Well now I'm back and I'm ready to roll!  So last month was so small in terms of game play that this post will probably be pretty short but I still want to talk about a few things that have been going on in the background.

Mystery Case Files: Prime Suspect Review

As I look back upon some of the older games that I used to played, one game I happened to get randomly at a Staples always haunted me.  I had lost the CD many years ago and I could not remember the name of the game for the life of me until one day I finally found it!  Mystery Case Files: Prime Suspect had to be one of the most fun yet irritating games I have ever played in my life and after so many years, I though it would be a great idea to not only play the game again but also review it!  Mystery Case Files: Prime Suspect was released by Big Fish Studios on April 6th, 2006 and it is the second game in the Prime Suspect series.  So lets get started!

Sherlock Holmes Nemesis Remastered Review

Out of all the older Sherlock Holmes games (2007-2009), Sherlock Holmes Nemesis or what was formerly titled, Sherlock Holmes Versus Arséne Lupin has to be one of my most favorite games in the older game engine.  I will always remember this game for one reason, being stuck in the British Museum Library but now that I finally have my hands on the remastered version of the game I could finally finish it!  Sherlock Holmes Versus Arséne Lupin was originally released by Frogwares on April 14th, 2008.  They later remastered the game, changing the name to Sherlock Holmes Nemesis on May 18th, 2010.  So let’s get started!

Of Bird and Cage Review

Out of all the combinations that a game could possibly have, a story driven game entwined with metal music has to be one of the most ingenious creations I think I have ever seen!  I have been wait to play this game since I first heard about the game about two years and I could not wait to play Of Bird and Cage.  Of Bird and Cage is a metal driven storyline game focusing on following the butterfly affect for the choices you make for Gitta Barbot.  The game was developed by Capricia Productions and Published by All in! Games and was released on May 20th, 2021.  I want to thank All in! Games for this amazing opportunity they gave me to play and review this game.  So let's get started!

Monthly Wrap Up: May 2021

This last month has basically been chaos with all the has been happening.  First I get two weeks off where I can do basically anything that I want and then I get to foster some feral kittens that were found in my backyard.  I was still trying to solve the mystery of why I couldn't put my blog link in my Instagram bio, and then my college classes started which means trying to complete what would normally be two 16-week classes in 6-weeks.  So you could say that I've been super busy.  But then thats what planning in advance helps and its also another reason why my post for this week is early!  So shall we get started!

Human Fall Flat Review

I'm always on the lookout for new multiplayer games to play and one game that I picked up a while back was Human Fall Flat.  I was first introduce to the game after some of the YouTubers I watch played the game.  After watching it, I knew I need to try out the game with a few of my friends.  Human Fall Flat was released on June 22nd, 2016.  So let's get started!

Sherlock Holmes Versus Jack the Ripper Review

Out of all the Sherlock Holmes games Frogwares has created, Sherlock Holmes Versus Jack the Ripper has to be one of the most gripping cases I have ever played.  This was the second Sherlock Holmes game that Daniella and I were playing and after finishing it, I thought it would be fun to review it!  Sherlock Holmes Versus Jack the Ripper was released by Frogwares in North America on May 26, 2009.  This was the fifth game is the Sherlock Holmes Adventure game series.  So let's get started!

Of Bird and Cage Demo Review

I am a huge fan of heavy metal music and I'm always on the look out for new music to listen too.  About 2 years ago now, I came across the heavy metal video game Of Bird and Cage.  This project featured artist from some of my most favorite metal bands (Epica, Within Temptation, ex-Kamelot, & ex-Evanescence and more). I knew with out a doubt I need to play this game.  This week, I was notified that the demo was released and I immediately played it and since I finished I knew I needed to write a review on it.  Of Bird and Cage is set to release on May 20th, 2021.  So let get started!

Monthly Wrap Up: April 2021

Wait no!  April come back!  Well it seems time decided to fly by again without my permission and it just seems to be a super fun and chaotic month.  Especially with my college classes ending on the last day of April.  But I'm just happy to be done for a little bit before my final two classes starting later this month.  This month has been an absolute blast since I've been able to do so much this month.  However, I think it's now time to share what I've been up to and what games I played last month.  So let's get started!

How Nancy Drew Has Inspired Me

To end my month of Nancy Drew posts, I thought it would be fun to share how Nancy Drew, or should I say that Nancy Drew game series inspired me to start my own blog.  Before I started writing this post, I actually had a few other ideas for what I wanted my last ND post for my blog this month.  I had it all written and prepared but I felt that it was too much of a filler post and decided to kind of get back to my roots of how HeR's Nancy Drew encouraged me to start blogging. So let get started!

The Complete List of All The Nancy Drew Easter Egg's

I’ve always wanted to expand upon some of my collection of Nancy Drew themed posts and with the possibility of a new game coming in the future (fingers crossed), I thought it would be fun to put together my own collection list of all the Easter Eggs, phone charms, and fun tidbits in all the Nancy Drew games, whether they are fun little surprise in the game or if there are physical Easter eggs you can earn as well as a few glitches or fun bugs in the game as well that you can trigger. If a new game is released, I will also try my best to update my list here.  I also want to give special thanks to Daniella (The Little Book Spy) for helping with this list as she collected so much information over the years!  So let’s get started!

My Top 10 Hardest Nancy Drew Puzzles

I seem to be in a Nancy Drew mood, where basically everything I think about is Nancy Drew related! Well this month, I think I’m going to indulge myself by having all my posts this April focus on the Nancy Drew games. I have always wanted write a post sharing what I think are some of the most difficult puzzles to solve, however, it wasn’t until I happened to see HeR mentioning that post idea when I decided to dust off my old collection of drafts to share what my top 10 hardest Nancy Drew puzzles. So let’s get started!

My Top 5 Tip For Playing Nancy Drew

Back on March, 8th, I was mentioned in the Press Any Button Podcast!  I'm super honored that my little old blog was mentioned in Episode 6: Nancy Drew The Captive Curse, where they talked about my theory on my blog post, "Nancy Drew Game #34 Teased" or possibly my "What Do We Know about Nancy Drew #34."  Over on the Press Any Button Instagram, they shared their friend Mallory's top 5 tips for Nancy Drew.  With this I was asked by one of the listener, @Lady_Tater over on Instagram about sharing my own top five tips for play Nancy Drew.  So here are my top 5 tips for playing Nancy Drew!

What’s Going on at HeR Interactive 2021 Update

There's been a lot of speculation going around in the Nancy Drew community over the last week or so and with everything that I have learned and seen so far, I thought I'd take the time to share my thoughts on what is happening with HeR Interactive and what could possibly be happening. Originally, I wrote a post last year talking about the changes that we'd been witnessing and this year there seems to be another update on a rumored end of an era for Nancy Drew.  This is all speculation right now since nothing is confirmed, so please be warned.  So let's get started.

Monthly Wrap Up March 2021

What day is it... *Look at calendar*... Oh my goodness how has time flowed by so quickly! Its felt like that March just barley started and now it's April! Well at least I kept track of all the games that I've played this month and oh boy did I have a fun month!  So let's get started.

Return to Zork Review

Out of all the Zork games, this game has to be the one that has ultimately been the trickiest to finish.  Return to Zork was developed and published by Infocom and Activision on August 11th, 1993. Return to Zork was the first fully graphic themed game using the point and click system in the Zork series, followed by two more games released in the series.  So let's get started!

Nancy Drew The Haunting of Castle Malloy Review

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! This week, I though it would be fun to finally write my review for Nancy Drew The Haunting of Castle Malloy, and since Saint Patrick's Day was celebrated earlier this week I thought it would be fun!  The Haunting of Castle Malloy is the 19th game in the Nancy Drew series was released on October 16th, 2008 by Her Interactive.  So let's get started!

Nancy Drew Treasure in the Royal Tower Review

It's getting warm outside and I still want to hold on to winter cool for just a little bit longer, and what better way to do that than to play Nancy Drew Treasure in the Royal Tower! This is the fourth case in the Nancy Drew series and it is also the first and only game that we get to meet Professor Hotchkiss!  Treasure in the Royal Tower was released by Her Interactive in July 24th, 2001.  So let's get started!

Monthly Wrap Up February 2021

It's the beginning of a new month and it seems that there is so much going on that I can't seem to keep it organized.  One thing I ahem been able to keep organized is my gaming list and since its the beginning of a new month its time for my gaming wrap up for February.  So let's get started!

Zork Nemesis The Forbidden Lands Review

 

Out of all the Zork games, I think this game has to be one of the most interesting as the game really revolves around the magic aspect of everything in the Zork universe.  Out of the other three games, this is the their second fully graphic themed game using the point and click system.  Zork Nemesis The Forbidden Lands was released by Infocom in February 29th, 1996.  So let's get started!

Games I'm Looking Forward To In 2021

There are so many fantastic games coming out this year.  Even though I know my gaming backlog is screaming at me to finish it, I will ignore it and continue adding to my over flowing list of games!  Now before my backlog of games comes chasing after me with a pitchfork, I think it would be fun to share some of the games that I'm looking forward to playing once the games are released this year.  So let's get started!

Sherlock Holmes Chapter One Teaser Gameplay Revealed

I'm beaming with excitement right now! On February 11th, Frogwares shared on the official Sherlock Holmes Twitter page a bit of the gameplay footage of what Sherlock Holmes Chapter One will look like! This is the first change we have gotten to see the game in motion since the teaser trailers when they first announce it. So let's dive into what we got to see in the game teaser and analyze it. Let's get started!

Distant Kingdoms Demo Review

There are so many new games coming out this year and it seems impossible to keep up with everything.  However, I will always make time for new sim building games and Distant Kingdoms has to be one of my most anticipated games to be released this year!  Distant Kingdoms is a world building sim and its being developed by Orthrus Studios and published by Kasedo Games.  Distant Kingdoms is expected to be released in the second quarter of 2021.  So let's get started!