Game Review: The Secret of Shadow Ranch
Aka, the Ballad of Dirk Valentine and Frances Humbert. I am all about this Wild Wild West Treasure Hunt. Dirk Valentine (may he rest in peace) would have been my dream man: he steals from the rich and gives to the needy, charmingly observes cute details about his girlfriend, and creates an awesome puzzle for said girlfriend to solve which will ultimately culminate in treasure. Talk about keeping a relationship exciting.
Dirk and Frances lived 100+ years before Nancy shows up at Shadow Ranch, but ultimately you’re solving the mystery of their long-lost (and painfully tragic) love story. You meet these two characters via secret letters and puzzles you find along your way (which, I might add, have held up very well in the wear-and-tear department over the last 100+ years). In addition to Dirk and Frances, SHA does the damn thing when it comes to setting. Gimme that rugged Arizona landscape any day. Dry Creek, which resembles a completely abandoned Virginia City, might be the coolest Nancy Drew location. Ever. That I’ve seen.
As far as your suspects/cast of characters go, I could take ‘em or leave ‘em. Shorty is basically the Wild West Perez Hilton, Mary Yazzie is dull, and Tex is a dick. The bit with Nancy getting hit on by what’s-his-face is pretty entertaining, though. The game loses some points for the incessant vegetable picking (I got kicked off the ranch 10+ times for picking unripe tomatoes, jfc let me live) and a few other unnecessary ranch chores. There’s also one puzzle with magnets and some damn elements that’s really tedious. Otherwise, SHA goes by at a quick pace with an awesome backstory.
