Mystery Case Files: The Harbinger > iPad, iPhone, Android, Mac & PC Game

Overall rating

5 / 5

34 of 35 found this review helpful

Grandma excels herself, these puzzlepages are as good as the RTRavenhearst ones.

PostedSeptember 29, 2020

netnanna

fromNew Zealand

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This "Key Contributor" plays, rates, and reviews a lot of games. We think you'll trust their thoughts and opinions about games.
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Skill Level:Expert

Favorite Genre(s):Brain Teaser, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Word

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

I haven't finished the game yet, but just had to stop to write this. For once I ignored the usual critics, and I'm so glad I did, I'm totally hooked on this. Great background music, great NEW puzzles as well as old favourites, good voice-overs, great art, what's not to like ? and yes, the HO scenes are also varied, try, I'm sure you'll love it. Yes, there's no Rube Golberg puzzles, but by golly, ...Show more

I haven't finished the game yet, but just had to stop to write this. For once I ignored the usual critics, and I'm so glad I did, I'm totally hooked on this. Great background music, great NEW puzzles as well as old favourites, good voice-overs, great art, what's not to like ? and yes, the HO scenes are also varied, try, I'm sure you'll love it. Yes, there's no Rube Golberg puzzles, but by golly, some of the ones in here rival his !! Show less

I recommend this game!

+33points

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Overall rating

5 / 5

3 of 4 found this review helpful

Great Game

PostedNovember 30, 2020

sdemers

fromOregon

Skill Level:Intermediate

Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object

Fun Factor

5 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

5 / 5

Storyline

5 / 5

I wish I bought the CE game. I played all the way thru I lost myself on the game I can not wait to play Crossroads I am guessing is a part 2 to this game.

I recommend this game!

+2points

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Overall rating

4 / 5

35 of 40 found this review helpful

~~MCF EDITION #21 GETS A FRESH APPROACH WITH GRANDMA STUDIOS~~

PostedSeptember 19, 2020

skullfun

fromGrandMA Studios' magical touch helps solidify Mystery Case Files: The Harbinger as another strong addition to the iconic franchise, despite the fact that it is "simpler" than most.

Key Contributor
This "Key Contributor" plays, rates, and reviews a lot of games. We think you'll trust their thoughts and opinions about games.
Key Contributor

Skill Level:Expert

Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle

Current Favorite:

Edge of Reality: Call of the Hills Collector's Edition

(46)

Fun Factor

4 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

4 / 5

Level of Challenge

4 / 5

Storyline

4 / 5

After Eipix was acquired by Playrix, the mother of hidden object games, the Mystery Case Files series has finally landed in GrandMA Studios’ palms. In Mystery Case Files: The Harbinger, Master Detective was called to Darkmoor to investigate the death of a young man. Interview witnesses, explore the crime scene, and discover what lurks behind the shadows of Darkmoor in this twenty-first Mystery ...Show more

After Eipix was acquired by Playrix, the mother of hidden object games, the Mystery Case Files series has finally landed in GrandMA Studios’ palms. In Mystery Case Files: The Harbinger, Master Detective was called to Darkmoor to investigate the death of a young man. Interview witnesses, explore the crime scene, and discover what lurks behind the shadows of Darkmoor in this twenty-first Mystery Case Files adventure!
With the change in the developer, it is impossible for the look and feel of this new sequel to be the same as the other Mystery Case Files games. In terms of its theme, Mystery Case Files: The Harbinger most closely aligns with Fate’s Carnival – a little suspense, a little fantasy. Despite its slightly more whimsical theme, this sequel does not sacrifice its fair share of thrills and mysteries. Thanks to its interesting characters and superb storytelling, the game is engaging and absolutely intriguing from beginning to end. Long-time fans of the series can still look forward to clues and callbacks to past games along the way.
Grandma Studios‘ signature style and creativity are written all over this game. Although Mystery Case Files: The Harbinger might not be extremely complex when it comes to the gameplay, it is crafted with such precision and sophistication that are hard to deny. The hidden object scenes are layered and highly interactive, while the puzzles are entertaining and the “super puzzles” are delightful as always. In addition, the game equips you with two gadgets. Some might find them “gimmicky”, but at least they are not one of those overly-cute talking animals that are so prevalent in today’s hidden object games.
Mystery Case Files: The Harbinger’s production values are indeed impressive. All the scenes are rich in detail and lush in colors. However, when compared to Eipix’s previous works in the series or Mystery Case Files: Shadow Lake that utilized real-life actors, this sequel looks a tad cartoonish. Visually, this game might fit more in GrandMA’s own paranormal murder mystery series The Unseen Fears than in the Mystery Case Files series that typically goes for more serious and dreary visuals. Regarding the audio, the music is nothing short of excellent and the sound effects really help drive the game. On the other hand, the voice-overs are more questionable. They are great when assessing each character individually, but the variety of accents and intonations is certainly a headache to keep track.
Despite some arguable production decisions, Mystery Case Files: The Harbinger is able to maintain its momentum all the way through its long playtime.

Should you chose the SE or CE?

I decided to purchase the CE. The main game took me about six-hours to complete and the bonus chapter adds an additional 70 minutes. There is a lot of features included in the Collector’s Edition, but nothing that is out of the norm. This includes a strategy guide, wallpapers, concept art, soundtracks, videos, replayable hidden object scenes, replayable mini-games, achievements, collectibles, morphing objects, a jigsaw puzzle, and fortune predictions feature.
I highly recommend this excellent edition to add to your MCF collection!!! Cheers! Show less

I recommend this game!

+30points

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Overall rating

4 / 5

One of the better MCF games of late

PostedMarch 13, 2023

SueSleuth

fromSolving mysteries wherever the need arises

Skill Level:Intermediate

Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object

Fun Factor

4 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

4 / 5

Level of Challenge

4 / 5

Storyline

4 / 5

I liked the tying in of the old stories and the more complicated puzzles.

I recommend this game!

0points

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Overall rating

3 / 5

78 of 93 found this review helpful

A RECORD SHATTERING NUMBER OF CE REVIEWS YET IT BARELY MADE IT TO THE "IT WAS OKAY" MARK

PostedSeptember 18, 2020

pennmom36

fromIf you are not searching for clues as to how to solve the next puzzle, it isn't a Rube Goldberg puzzle. If it isn't a Rube Goldberg Puzzle it isn't a Mystery Case Files game!

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Top Reviewer

Skill Level:Expert

Fun Factor

3 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

3 / 5

Level of Challenge

2 / 5

Storyline

3 / 5

Completed Game a little over 5.5 Hours
(including completion of all puzzles & Bonus Chapter)
20 Main Game Scene Locations +7 CE Bonus Chapter
Difficulty Range: Beginner

Reviewers came out of the woodwork in record numbers for the CE version of The Harbinger, GrandMa Studios' first attempt at a Mystery Case Files Game...131 reviews to be exact, and yet the game still failed to get past an ...Show more

Completed Game a little over 5.5 Hours
(including completion of all puzzles & Bonus Chapter)
20 Main Game Scene Locations +7 CE Bonus Chapter
Difficulty Range: Beginner

Reviewers came out of the woodwork in record numbers for the CE version of The Harbinger, GrandMa Studios' first attempt at a Mystery Case Files Game...131 reviews to be exact, and yet the game still failed to get past an average 3.3, "It was Okay" average rating, in fact, it barely made it to the "It was okay" rank as it lingered at the dreaded "Disliked It" rating. Here's the thing, the game was a good game, it really was, but MCF games are games that HOPA fans wait for all year long, they are the one game we know the developer pours everything into, it's a sacred game, it's a game that holds the highest honor to behold the bearer title (and then there's the revenue $$$) So the game HAS to be better than good, it HAS to be better than average, just because you mentioned a few past MCF games as a teaser and used the main character's profile it isn't enough to make it a MCF game. If this game didn't have the Mystery Case Files Title attached to it, would you really know it was part of the series?

There's a new girl in town and she's telling fortunes no one wants to hear, their impending deaths! This Harbinger of Doom and Gloom is either the real McCoy or she's a Serial-killing Sally, a Murdering Mary, a Homicidal Henrietta. Just wait till you find out where she's been, the Master Detective has a lot of dots to connect on this Mystery Case Files!

Collectibles & Morphing Objects (CE version only)
There are 54 Tarot Cards, one of which morphs, and when the entire collection is complete you can receive a Tarot prediction. The cards are blended nicely and morph at a nice rate to make them challenging yet not too frustrating to find eventually. There are also 20 Zoom Zone Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces that allow you to assemble a downloadable picture.

Hidden Object Scenes:
There are 13 Main Hidden Object Scenes, 6 Zoom Zone Mini-HOP's +3 in the CE Bonus Chapter. They are mostly Interactive List Finds, but they have thrown in several variations, such as, Silhouetted Shape Progressive-Interactive Silhouetted Shape Finds (find an item that matches the Silhouette and use within the scene to expose the next object, etc.) Multiples of the Same Object Finds, Find & Replace, Keywords in Sentence Finds, Swatches Finds (find areas shown as a swatch sample) Matching Stencils over flowers & Plants, and Logical Pair Matches, and one that I thoroughly enjoyed where you had to use arrows to scroll through panels to find & replace objects within the scene.

Mini-Games:
There are 32 Mini-Games +9 in the CE Bonus Chapter. There are a ton of simplistic matching pairs tasks as well. My biggest complaint is that MCF is special for one reason...the Rube Goldberg Door Puzzles...so if you can't pull this feature off, don't accept the challenge, period! Creating multiple puzzles does NOT constitute a Rube Goldberg puzzle, if you are not searching for clues as to how to solve the next puzzle, it isn't a Rube Goldberg puzzle. It is my strong opinion that BF got this developer switching scenario completely and utterly WRONG! the Hidden E series should have gone to this developer (I take that back...after careful consideration, BG should get the HE series, and GrandMa should get Dreadful Tales & Haunted Manor which btw used to be one of my fav series when TE originally developed it) and this series should have gone back to the giant pachyderms that developed games 10 and 11! (I have NOT waivered on the Big E taking back this series!!!) They have the ability to do the graphics well, to do the creep factor well, the storyline's a given for them, and most of all I know for a fact that they could pull off the Rube Goldberg Door Puzzles...no offense to Granny. I'm not dogging on this developer, they did a fantastic job with the game...but it calls for a Saturday night movie kind of creepy graphics and the game engine they use is more of a Saturday afternoon Matinee movie kind of graphics :(

I'm not even going to list my favorite games, they were so simplistic, move blocks, untangle wires, connect the dots, and let us not forget how much this developer loves their "one affects others" scenario that's in about every other game, not to mention 7 Cheesy Device Gadget mini-games... like any respectable Master Detective working for the Queen of England would be engaging in??

Bonus Chapter: (CE version only)
You will play a supernatural creature trying to regain her powers as the story continues directly where the Main Chapter left off but to tell you anything more would reveal the surprise ending of the main game. This is an average-length chapter that takes place over 7 Scene Locations with an additional 9 Mini-Games, 3 Hidden Object Scenes. You will continue collecting 14 Tarot Cards and the final 5 Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces as well.

Collector's Edition Extra's:
10 Wallpapers, 10 Concept Art Pictures, 16 Movie Cutscene Videos, 8 Music Soundtracks ♪, 13 Replayable Mini-Games♙, 16 Replayable Hidden Object Scenes, 15 Achievements, 54 Tarot Cards (1 Morphing 1 Regular used to get a prediction) 20 Zoom Zone Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces (used to assemble downloadable picture) 4 Main Chapters (The Fated) +Bonus Chapter (Her Path) and a Built-In Strategy Guide.

MYSTERY CASE FILES SERIES LIST
Title***Standard Edition Release Date***Average Rating

1-Huntsville SE only (November 14-2005) 3.6
2-Prime Suspects SE only (April 6-2006) 3.8
3-Ravenhearst SE only (December 15-2006) 3.6
4-Madame Fate SE only (November 7-2007) 4.0
5-Return to Ravenhearst SE only (November 26-2008) 4.2
6-Dire Grove (December 11-2009) 4.6
7-13th Skull (January 7-2011) 4.1
8-Escape From Ravenhearst (December 21-2011) 3.3
9-Shadow Lake (December 25-2012) 2.8
10-Fate's Carnival (December 20-2013) 4.1
11-Dire Grove, Sacred Grove (December 19-2014) 3.7
12-Key to Ravenhearst (December 9-2015) 3.9
13-Ravenhearst Unlocked (December 26-2015) 3.5
14-Broken Hour (December 23-2016) 3.2
15-The Black Veil (April 21-2017) 2.9
16-The Revenant's Hunt (January 19-2018) 3.5
17-Rewind (June 20-2018) 3.2
18-The Countess (December 19-2018) 3.4
19-Moths to a Flame (September 20-2019) 4.3
20-Black Crown (December 27-2019) 3.6
21-The Harbinger (September 18-2020) n/a

by: GrandMa Studios games 21- Show less

I recommend this game!

+63points

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Overall rating

3 / 5

12 of 14 found this review helpful

Good game but it's helter skelter--patience is the key!

PostedOctober 5, 2020

Italia47

fromI wish I could have saved the poor guy! And all that work I did, too!

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This "Key Contributor" plays, rates, and reviews a lot of games. We think you'll trust their thoughts and opinions about games.
Key Contributor

Skill Level:Expert

Fun Factor

3 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

4 / 5

Level of Challenge

4 / 5

Storyline

3 / 5

I won't go into semantics but I liked this game and I finished the SE version. Grandma devs are wonderful and very imaginative and yes, this game has a different feel than its other games in the series. I swear sometimes I feel as though there is a collaboration of EIPIX, Domini, Elephant, you name it on these games lately. They basically have similarities. I always check the credits too and, ...Show more

I won't go into semantics but I liked this game and I finished the SE version. Grandma devs are wonderful and very imaginative and yes, this game has a different feel than its other games in the series. I swear sometimes I feel as though there is a collaboration of EIPIX, Domini, Elephant, you name it on these games lately. They basically have similarities. I always check the credits too and, again, I could almost swear that I've seen some of the same names that I've seen on other games. But I do like Grandma devs and I'm not sorry that I bought this game.

Their graphics are wonderful, cool, crisp colors--closeup shots are exceptional. I wasn't crazy about the characters' movements at times.

The puzzles and minigames were very--innovative and fun to do. The only thing I wasn't crazy about was the flow. The game flow was unstructured--disorganized and rather chaotic. You're going here n' there and everywhere back to square one. A lot of items to collect--artifacts and regular items. Sometimes it seemed illogical and crazy but I finished the game with no problems. Some of the puzzles were easy, some very tedious and some challenging. The mechanics of the game was odd at times.

The storyline was good; voiceovers were very good; the music was suitable. Great hint button and decent map.

One pet peeve I have is I wish all the devs would program the game so that when a person or animal is injured that we would be able to tend to them right away instead of obtaining all the healthcare needs three or four scenes later. Yeah, I know it's only a game, but it's the principle of the thing! And some of the items we have to retrieve are ridiculous to say the least. But that seems to be with most games anyway. Cookie cutter games--all alike! I'd like to see something different down the road--we are after all in the 21st century!

I had to chuckle at a particular scene when one of the characters is dying in another character's arms. In the meantime, I obtained the items that were needed but he kicks the bucket. But before he dies, he says, "It's too late for me, but thanks for everything!" Then he turns into a mechanical Pinocchio-like figure. LOL, LOL! These devs do have a good sense of humor!

I would recommend this game. Show less

I recommend this game!

+10points

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Overall rating

3 / 5

8 of 11 found this review helpful

Mystery Case Files? NOT

PostedOctober 25, 2020

FragTheLT

Skill Level:Intermediate

Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object

Fun Factor

3 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

4 / 5

Level of Challenge

3 / 5

Storyline

3 / 5

This game had NOTHING to do with Mystery Case Files.
That game series is no longer meaningful. It's been lost.

This game was average. The name Mystery Case Files was only added to the game to sell it. Pitiful on Big Fish's part.

Losing respect ... and interest, for Big Fish Games.

I don't recommend this game.

+5points

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Overall rating

3 / 5

11 of 17 found this review helpful

Disappointing

PostedSeptember 23, 2020

Leelus1

fromFife UK

Skill Level:Intermediate

Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object

Fun Factor

3 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

3 / 5

Level of Challenge

3 / 5

Storyline

2 / 5

Very disappointed not up to the usual MCF standard at all. They seem to have just drawn on all the old cases and put them in a mixer. No purpose to the story and a relatively innocuous ending.

I don't recommend this game.

+5points

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Overall rating

3 / 5

2 of 2 found this review helpful

bring old Mystery case files back

PostedJune 1, 2022

buksjun

Skill Level:Expert

Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object

Current Favorite:

Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove

(354)

Fun Factor

2 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

4 / 5

Storyline

4 / 5

Mystery case files have always been the most fun to play,which I notice from the new ones they start very well and very much so to play the old mystery case files,,then after a while then the game starts to get boring to me,,the Harbinger has very nice music in,,please bring the old type of Mystery case files back to Big fish,, my opinion is ,if you into the old school Mystery case files ,,this is ...Show more

Mystery case files have always been the most fun to play,which I notice from the new ones they start very well and very much so to play the old mystery case files,,then after a while then the game starts to get boring to me,,the Harbinger has very nice music in,,please bring the old type of Mystery case files back to Big fish,, my opinion is ,if you into the old school Mystery case files ,,this is not the one for you.. Show less

I recommend this game!

+2points

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Overall rating

3 / 5

4 of 8 found this review helpful

Brings back the old MCF feel, but very short.

PostedOctober 1, 2020

debwolf

fromElgin, IL

Skill Level:Intermediate

Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object

Fun Factor

4 / 5

Visual/Sound Quality

5 / 5

Level of Challenge

3 / 5

Storyline

3 / 5

This was fun, but not particularly challenging. The worst was not being able to manipulate the mini games and having to resort to skipping.
Overall, I don't regret purchasing this game. It was fun. Short, at times annoying, but fun for the most part.

I recommend this game!

0points

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	, share your thoughts about this game! Mystery Case Files: The Harbinger Tragic endings and new beginnings! Heres what your review will look like once it’s posted. Click Submit if you’re happy. Your review should appear soon. To make changes, use the Edit or Cancel buttons. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about this game! You’ve already shared your thoughts about this game. Thanks for submitting the review below.