Midnight Calling: Anabel Collector's Edition

Adventure is calling to everyone at some point in our lives, it’s just that some prepare better than others to deal with their desire to leave everything behind and flee to another continent. Video games capitalize on this all the time, because they provide people with the option to have some fun with no risks involved, and without having to rethink their entire lives in the process.

Midnight Calling: Anabel Collector's Edition is a classic point-and-click adventure game in which you have to deal with hidden object rounds, as well as a variety of simple puzzles. The story and the gameplay are facile enough for everyone to grasp, so you certainly do not need any previous experience with the genre to fall in love with the setting and the addictive puzzle mechanics.

Story-wise, it all revolves around a sweet girl by the name of Anabel, who one day dreams of her missing father asking for help. Naturally, she never questions the validity of her dreams and she quickly escapes from the boarding school, only to head for her old house. Thanks to more visions along the way, it turns out that her father went to investigate a castle nearby, where magical things are supposed to happen.

The puzzles are not complicated at all, not in the true sense of the words. Sure, some of them may require a bit more tinkering than usual, but the underlying idea is quite basic in most cases. The hidden object sequences are far more relaxed than usual, because the screen is not as cluttered. Speaking of which, you have the option to choose the desired difficulty, so you can increase the challenge if you feel like it.

Lastly, the artwork and the general visual presentation is worthy of a mention too, mainly because the graphics are exquisite in most cases. Don’t expect 3D environments to explore at will, but even if almost everything is static, you can really get in the proper atmosphere for an adventure. The voice acting is nice as well, although there’s not too much of it.

In the end, Midnight Calling: Anabel Collector's Edition really comes through on every level, especially when you consider its target audience. The game is pretty, long enough to be entertaining, and full of interesting puzzles to keep the players engaged.