New York Mysteries: High Voltage Collector's Edition Demo

Private investigators are not usually tasked with catching serial killers, but they can certainly lend a hand to the police force if they have valuable skills or information. In fiction, such detectives usually have a greater impact on the case than the actual officers, since you only need to remember Sherlock Holmes and how incompetent everyone else seemed. Naturally, those are just stories.

New York Mysteries: High Voltage Collector's Edition is a hidden object adventure game in which you get the chance to single-handedly figure out a series of perplexing murders that take place in the city of New York during the 1950s. However, you’ll mostly investigate scenes for clues and useful items, as well as solve various puzzles that keep you on the killer’s trail.

The story puts you in the role of a journalist by the name of Laura, who is also a member of a secret society that deals with atypical murders. In this case, the victims are reduced to a pile of ash and no evidence is left behind, which leaves the local authorities baffled. Hence, it is left up to you and the resources of the said secret organization to figure out the truth and catch the perpetrator.

Just like in every other HOG out there, each scene contains a variety of items, puzzles and riddles you must figure out. It’s a pretty linear experience as well, in the sense that you must find the items in the established order, otherwise you cannot continue. However, it’s less obvious than that during the gameplay, so it shouldn’t be too much of a bother, especially if you are a fan of the genre.

The graphics rely on hand-drawn landscapes and pre-rendered environments to dazzle you with color and detail, and it really works. Each scene is quite surreal and filled with all sorts of interesting objects, which greatly adds to the general atmosphere. There is even voice acting and cutscenes that help with immersion, and the soundtrack is pretty good as well.

Even if the game is designed for the casual crowds, it can still appeal to slightly more hardcore gamers as well. Hence, as long as you do not mind the simple gameplay mechanics and the repetitive puzzles, you can definitely have a blast with the experience.