Nancy Drew: 5 Best Games to Introduce You to the Series (2024)

HeR Interactive has been releasingNancy Drew video gamesfor more than two decades, with multiple installments each year duringits hey-day. The games have developed a following for their interesting narratives and complex puzzles, which are perfect for adventure gamers and those looking for a good story, especially those whogrew up on titles like King's Quest or Myst.

Importantly, the Nancy Drew games have always focused on a female protagonist, providingearly representation in an industry thathas primarily focused on male-centric stories. With a complete revamp of the back end and a new title released just last year, the Nancy Drew games are garnering more attention than they have in a long time. Coupled with the recently-renewedCWseries focused on Nancy,there's never been a better time to get into these games.Here are the Nancy Drew series' five best entry pointsfor those looking to add more mystery to their gaming lives.

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Midnight in Salem

The most recent release in the Nancy Drew series is an obvious starting point.Midnight in Salem tells a story of modern and ancient witches and the struggle to push back against sullied reputations. Nancy finds herself in Salem,Massachusettshelping an old friend uncover the truth behind a case of arson. She's joined there by her sometime-collaborators The Hardy Boys and meets a cast of interesting characters whohave compelling stories to tell.

Midnight in Salem has the best graphics and the most seamless movementof any Nancy Drew game, abenefit of its 2019 release date and the complete revamp of the game engine. However, whilethe polish makes it a great entry point for the modern gamer, it also doesn't prepare them for what the rest of the series is like.Midnight in Salemfeels more like an interactive narrative than the more traditional puzzle game players have come to expect from the series. Despite its differences,thisis still a goodNancy Drew gamethat can help bring modern players on board.

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Ghost of Thornton Hall

See Also

Every Nancy Drew Game From Her Interactive In Chronological OrderAll Nancy Drew games in orderNancy Drew PC Adventure SeriesNancy Drew Video Game Series

Nancy Drew is at her best in the old genre standby of the haunted house.Ghost of Thornton Hall takes Nancy back to these roots, letting her investigate the disappearance of local Georgia socialite Jessalyn Thornton, along with the mysterious haunting ofher family house. The game features a number of memorable characters and some spooky moments that keep players on their toes.

Ghosts of Thornton Hall showcases some of the standards of a Nancy Drew game. Nancy must solve a number of interesting puzzles situated within her environment to open new areas to explore and get information out of certain characters.While the movement feels more point-and-click and the graphics are more polygonal, this doesn't detract from the gameplay or the mystery.Ghosts of Thornton Hall is a good example of what most of theNancy Drew series is like, making it prefect for players looking for a something a little spooky.

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Warnings at Waverly Academy

While the ending is a little bizarre,Warnings at Waverly Academy is a great example of standard Nancy Drewgameplay with a setting that feels natural for a teenage detective: a school. Nancy is brought in to help investigate mysterious threats made against valedictorian candidates at a competitive boarding school that have escalated to real harm. Shehas to complete assignments for the school to maintain her secret identity while investigating the candidates to see who might be the culprit.

Warnings at Waverly Academy has all the makings of a classic mystery: relationship troubles, a secret society and hidden passageways leading to a ton of twists and turns. The closed world of the boarding schoollimits where Nancy has to explore for clues, but that's not a bad thing. The closed-universe forces continuous re-examination of places, suspects and clues, whichfurther immerses the player in the environment.Warnings at Waverly Academy is a great low-stakes entrance point to the series, allowing players to acclimate to theNancy Drew gameplay style while getting a taste for her detective skills.

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Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon

An older installment of the Nancy Drew series,Last Train to Blue Moon Canyonis an interesting and high-stakes adventure with nods toold-school Hercule Poirotmysteries. The game brings together a series of detectives, from Nancy and teen-detective friends the Hardy Boys to supernatural detectives and mystery writers to solve the antique mystery of a train that arrived at Blue Moon Canyon conducted by a dead engineer. Once on board, the socialite hostess who invited all these investigators disappears herself, adding a second mystery that the sleuths will have to solve.

Pitting detective against detective makes for a competitive atmosphere that's different from many otherNancy Drew games and certainly makes interrogating fun. This installment may be most memorable, however, for itstruly creepy doll puzzle that reminds players thatNancy Drew games are always, at their heart, a little spooky.The gameopens up to a much larger world later on, but the early train investigations make it feel like a truly old-school mystery. With some well-designed puzzles and great detective-story vibes,Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon is a great starting point, especially for players who are unafraid of the older interface.

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Labyrinth of Lies

Nancy is best on her home turf, and sometimes her explorations of other cultures verge intowhite-saviorhoodterritory, but Labyrinth of Lies mostly steers clear of that. This more recent installment drops Nancy in Greece, where she's helping out a museum curator who's preparing for the opening of a new exhibit, accompanied by the performance of a new play to draw in crowds. As artifacts go missing, Nancy begins to suspect some of the actors are involvedand must investigate their truly widespread operations touncover the truth.

Labyrinth of Lies offers some impressive environments, from the museum itself to the amphitheater for the performance to the Underworld the actors have created for their immersive play. This game offer much morevivid scenery than mostNancy Drew games have making for truly compelling investigations.Add to that interesting puzzles scattered throughout and a more up-to-date interface, and you haveasolid game for any player to start with.

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