Nancy Drew - Shadow at the Water's Edge is a point-and-click adventure and puzzle game, developed by Her Interactive, and loosely based on the novels 'The Thirteenth Pearl' and 'Tour of Danger'. Players take control of the title character, Nancy Drew; an amateur detective who has traveled to Japan. Gameplay is primarily based on puzzle solving, although there are exploration and interrogation elements as well.

Horror Theme

The plot centers on Nancy Drew investigating strange happenings in a traditional Japanese family ryokan, or inn, located in Kyoto. Guests in the ryokan are being scared away and Nancy Drew must uncover the mystery. Shadow at the Water's Edge includes two separate difficulty levels - junior and senior - with the junior difficulty offering easier puzzles and more hints. The game makes effective use of a new setting and the Japanese horror elements provide a freshness to the long-standing detective series.

Engaging, Yet Challenging

The sheer number of puzzles, and the difficulty associated with them, keeps the game challenging from start to finish, but it may be too difficult for some players and the puzzle-based gameplay can also become slightly repetitive after a while. In addition, compared to later entries in the series, the controls can be slightly cumbersome at times. With that being said, the plot is interesting, the setting is refreshing and the game will please certainly long-term fans of the series, as well as most new players too.