Cate West - The Velvet Keys -Great HOG

Cate West - The Velvet Keys is the sequel of a nice hidden object game. Developed and published by Gamenauts, the secont edition is just as full of mysteries as the previous game.  

A peculiar string of murders has the police baffled in Cate West: The Velvet Keys.

Though clearly not alive, the bodies show no sign of foul play, and aren't decaying the way three-day-old bodies should. Cate offers to use her unique talent for seeing visions to help find a suspect, and quickly discovers an ancient curse, a hidden crypt, and an old enemy who may not be quite what he appears.

The hidden object sequences are beautifully designed and will challenge even the most seasoned player. It's not just that the items are well-hidden, but also that lists frequently involve a fair bit of clever wordplay that forces you to carefully consider what's being asked of you.

Assembling a Velvet Key allows Cate to communicate with the spirit of the victim, who will usually point her towards a crime scene. Once there, you'll examine the scene by playing a twist on the spot-the-difference game; each image will be missing some elements that are present in the other image.

To solve the level, you must make the scenes identical by returning items to their appropriate locations. It's surprisingly tricky, because objects are missing from both scenes – you're never sure where you need to look next.

To further get in tune with the victim, Cate must examine items that meant something to them, and this is where the game really gets creative.Once Cate has all the information she needs, the victims are taken to the Ossuary – a bizarre machine designed to revive them – which Cate must activate with the approprate Key. The puzzles required to turn on the machine are relatively ordinary, such as match-two or sliding tile games, and you can skip them if you like.

Cate West: The Velvet Keys beautifully shows that players should expect more from hidden object games than just a jumble of junk and a shopping list.

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