Intriguing. That’s the word for Blackwell: Deception. For the diehard fans of the Rosa Blackwell series and for newcomers also, this game is a must-have. Rosa is still pushing herself to the limits, without ever even considering dropping a case. Joey gives the game a classical detective look. Hands in his pockets, classic suit and a typical detective hat and a more then healthy dose of humor. What else could you want from a point ‘n’ click game?

Rosangela Blackwell, a presumably mid-aged woman, is a medium that solves cases where ghosts are involved. She’s continuously being stalked by a ghost named Joey, who used to be a detective back in the 1930’s. When he.. well.. still had a life. They find ghosts that don’t realize that they’re dead, and convince them that they are.

Rosa can see connections between things that others wouldn’t be able to see. Accompanied by a friend who can break in everywhere without leaving tracks (that’s very handy too), she is quite the investigator. The game starts off quite hard, when you need to solve a case involving a haunted yacht. A keen eye, a sharp mind and a MyPhone is all you will need to solve cases for Rosangela and Joey. As you advance through a level, you will need to speak with multiple people, all with their own stories and motivations. It’s up to you to determine what you will need to do to get them to tell the truth. Some just need extreme questioning, others want you to get more evidence before releasing anything from their pool of knowledge. And some… well, they just don’t realise they are dead.

Bits and pieces of the solution are spread out everywhere. If you forget to let Joey look over someone’s shoulder onto a piece of paper, you might miss out a clue to where you need to go next. And just for the fun of it, I clicked everything. Multiple times. This way I did waste a lot of time, but also noticed some funny things, like notes with typical know-it-all stuff and hilarious jokes and references. Sometimes you need to let Joey find a password. A note on a door with a historical reference could be the missing link. Again, a keen eye and a sharp mind are definitely necessary for this game. Travelling between locations as you will be fairly often, is managed conveniently. Every time you exit a certain location, you can use your MyPhone to select another location to go to. Every now and then a new location is revealed by questioning the people you meet at other locations, or by combining clues and leads across several different stories.

Something I really like about Blackwell: Deception, is the pixel art. Not only is it really good pixel art with lots of details, but when animated it is smooth and easy on the eye. The ghosts in particular, are beautiful pixel renditions. Skinny, transparent, floating people missing their legs. Sometimes you wonder how they do not notice that they’re dead? But that is ghosts for you I suppose. The backgrounds and locations are also terrific. For example, the background at the location selection screen, the skyline. It really sets the tone for a detective point ‘n’ click game.

The music in Blackwell: Deception suits the theme; smooth and somewhat relaxing piano music. Standard for classical detective movies so fans of them will undoubtedly enjoy the transfer of style in this game. Sometimes I do feel like the music could be a bit more exciting, but would that be necessary? No. Also, all dialogues are fully voiced, which is something a lot of indies don’t have the time, nor the money to do. But Wadjeteye Games have a tendency to capture some of the best voice overs, and that is no different with Blackwell: Deception. Joey’s voice is magnificent, it really fits a ‘30’s detective and Rosangela’s voice is fantastic as always. Although she does seem like too much of a know-it-all when you hear her talk, for some reason. [Your irritation is a sign of a good voiceover - Ed.]

Sometimes the game is somewhat too hard for most people, I think. Not everybody will be able to realize that it is logical that you grab a press card when you pick up some journalist’s notes at a newspaper office, neither did I. But if you are accustomed to playing mystery games with strong puzzle elements, then Blackwell: Deception is sure to grab you in and create another lifetime fan.