I'm not sure why I got my hopes up while playing this game, but maybe it's because I thought it was going to be better or a little different than the other two games that I played previously. The Curse of Blackmoor Manor isn't a bad game, it's just more of the same. So far, every game I've played in the series follows a basic formula, which is Nancy is called in to investigate the mystery, meets a questionable cast of characters that all have various motives, and there is some kind of treasure involved.

I will say that I liked the story a little better than Message in a Haunted House, and I thought the characters were more intriguing. The reveal of the culprit was done better as well in Curse of Blackmoor Manor than the previous games and I was a little surprised about who it was considering that most of the suspects had a decent motive to do the crime. I did think the conclusion was a bit dull and felt a little lazy, but maybe that's just me.

The biggest complaint I have with this series so far, and I doubt it's going to change in the next two games I play after this, is that nothing supernatural actually happens. I mean what's the point of putting Nancy in these situations when there are no ghosts or creatures that are real and by the end of the story there is always a perfectly logical explanation. I'll admit it is interesting to learn how the culprit planned out the crime to make it look that way, but it's mostly ruins the fun. At least in Message in a Haunted House during the ending cut scene it was hinted that the house could be haunted even though it wasn't ghosts doing the actual crime.

As for exploring, I felt that both A message in a Haunted House and the Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake had a little more aesthetic appeal and I just didn't really enjoy searching the environment for clues or puzzles this game. It didn't help that this game also has an extremely annoying maze just like in Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake and just like that game it's poorly designed. I'm not joking when I say that one wrong turn and you could be lost for hours. If you do decide to play this game, make sure to have multiple saves just in case you can't find your way out.

Overall:

Nancy Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor is alright and if you're a fan of the games/books than you're probably going to really enjoy this, but personally speaking I'm already getting a little burnt out with the formula of these games. I've learned so far not to get my hopes too high with this series because every game that I've played up until now has dissapointed me in some way.

Pros:
+ decent voice acting at times
+ games offers hints through phone calls
+ decent mystery

Cons:
- annoying puzzles
- glitch that causes certain items to despawn from inventory
- frustrating controls