Crime O’Clock test – The criminal’s clock has struck

Gone are the days when hidden object games were only the favorite sport of bored, middle-aged housewives. The genre has grown nicely, and quite a variety of titles (sometimes hybrids) appear under this label. There is, for example, the super-admirable Hidden Through Time, operating with ákombákom characters, the sequel of which is coming soon, but we could also mention the beautifully and atmosphericly drawn Labyrinth City: Pierre the Maze Detective, with its strong French/Belgian atmosphere.

Crime O’Clock is like a love child of two mentioned games, at least visually. We get stylish and meticulously designed courses, made in black and white cartoonist style, with an incredible amount of small details. And the twist is that you don’t just have to look for objects to be found, but you get a well-developed story that is divided not only in space, but also in time. We will have to participate in various investigations at a total of five locations, which then come together nicely into a round whole.

First of all, you always have to find the crime scene (which could be a murder, a burglary, but also an innocent-looking accident), but we are not left to our own devices, because a great, multi-level hint system helps if we are not skilled enough. After that, it is usually either the murder weapon, the incriminating sign, or the crime itself, or perhaps a fleeing figure, that moves the investigation forward. There can be 8-10 objects and people to be found in one round, but mini-games also add color to the gameplay (think of simple matching or memory tasks here). We will jump around the locations based on a pre-written script, and in the meantime we can see what percentage of them are being processed, and how the main story thread is coming together.

There is no lack of humor either, but this can perhaps be filtered based on the graphics. Still, when there are cases where the frontman of a Guns N’ Roses band is killed by a stray stage light, it’s hard to stop smiling. In addition to the present, the locations guide you to the recent and distant past as well as the future, but in addition to the timeline, the mystic also appears.

The only problem with Crime O’Clock is that it becomes a bit monotonous after a while, despite the exciting story and excellently conceived crimes. Unfortunately, the gameplay remains repetitive and sometimes too simple despite the fact that there are a nice dose of new, colorful game elements. If you like the hidden object style, you should definitely go for it, because you will not only be dealing with a high-quality, well-made piece, but you may also get something that is not so much available elsewhere.

The test copy was provided by the game publisher.