Review by Katie Taylor

This is one of their learning heavy games, and I really appreciate that. It still manages to be extremely adventurous even though you’re in the downtown of a big city rather than out in a castle, or a haunted mansion. The knowledge gained in this game is interesting, which is what makes the learning worth while. Just make sure you actually have a notebook sitting out to take notes.

My favorite part of this game is it’s ending. It’s hinted at a little bit, but when I first played through this game I never would have guessed at what would happen. As a kid, this ending scared me worse than the Ghost Dogs (of Moon Lake) ever could (I should mention that I got into these games just before this and Ghost Dogs was released, and Message in a Haunted Mansion didn’t scare me because I -correctly- guessed at what was going on rather early, since I’d seen it so often before on Scooby Doo).

I mark it as my fourth favorite (1. Treasure, 2. Blackmoor, 3. Shadow at Water’s Edge, 4. this one, 5. Danger on Deception Island) and I understand why some people might get frustrated and want to put it down. But, unlike many of the games between 11 and 23, at least it doesn’t leave people saying ‘that’s it?’ at the end of it.