The game’s art style is very colorful, even when dealing with a haunted school. Like many titles of its genre, each of its backgrounds are gorgeously detailed and filled with interesting things; they are not only pretty to look at, but they also tell the story of the world. Plenty of items in the world are 2D animated, giving a lot of life to an otherwise static image.
In some cases, objects will react to your clicking and start moving, particularly your titular amulet that you use all through your adventure. Some areas of the game come with an added layer when you dip into the otherworld; the effect is simple, a blue tint filter with some camera shake and spooky noises. Yet it all comes together really well, making you feel like you are reaching between worlds.
The game is fully voice-acted, immersing anyone in its story. Yet not only that, whenever you interact with a character they become a fully animated 3D model. There are even cutscenes where the full 3D renders interact with each other, making it almost like watching a movie. It truly is a captivating experience for both casual and experienced players.
It’s hard to overstate the level of quality in play here. Most of these scenes are unlocked by helping the different ghosts, and their heavy stylization not only sets them apart from the rest of the game but also works at grabbing our attention. The art is visually stunning and will keep you both enthralled and entertained for hours on end without wanting to stop. The designers of the game knew what they wanted to achieve and have done it beautifully. It is definitely one of the best hidden object games that you can play for free.
you are a detective, yet not an ordinary one. You can see and even communicate to otherworldly spirits and even have premonitory visions. The case in particular this time around deals with a ballet school for children (something easily guessed by the game’s title). The school is in complete shambles, mostly to do with strange spirits roaming the place. As you first approach the building you are intercepted by the ghost of a dead child, who will be your main ally in the game. Thanks to her, you learn that while there are plenty of ghosts in need of putting to rest, there are also living children that need rescuing from a dark force. Without needing much convincing, you set out to right this wrong.
Gameplay follows the classic gist of the genre. You travel from area to area looking for objects, and investigate interactable zones to get even more objects. Some zones require objects themselves, others are puzzles that award useful items. These puzzles are very varied from one another, and they are where most of the fantastical things in the game happen. This makes it so you never truly know the reward for completing a puzzle, therefore you get double the enjoyment from completing them; from the challenge itself, and from the surprising effects that might happen!
As you collect things, you have to use them in order to advance to the newer areas. Plenty of times you will find yourself backtracking in order to solve previous puzzles, since all areas are interconnected like that. The main puzzle for you to solve is the List. You are shown a scene with plenty of cluttered items, and you have to find and click on the ones shown on a list. Sometimes the list is made of words, other times of objects that you need to place on the scene.
These List puzzles are found all throughout the game and sometimes you need to do the same one twice in order to get multiple useful objects. Keep in mind that if you get otherwise stuck, you can always use the hint button to show you were to go next. While it takes a while to recharge, it is always useful in a pinch. You can even use it to skip most puzzles, quite handy!
Black Swan is a chilling mystery adventure that will have you hunger for the truth of what really happened at the dance school. It really keeps you hooked from beginning to end, and even a little spooked with all the ghosts running around, certainly a memorable experience.
If you enjoy these free games, you will love this list of our 10 Best Hidden Object Games!
