Star Seeker in The Secret of the Sorcerous Standoff
In this short point ‘n’ click adventure, you are Star Seeker – a WIZARD solving a WIZARD crime to not get put in WIZARD jail by the WIZ- I mean, PLAIN OLD cops. With a useless detective, countless red herrings, and unique dialogue for every evidence combination… will this case ever be cracked?
Time Played: 81 minutes
Console: Computer
Recommended For: Fans of Magical Detectives… Or just looking for a light hearted experience!
If you like wizards, criminal cases, 4th wall humour, gender representation, and goats… You’ll love Star Seeker! I mean, what’s not to like? It’s silly and fun, the artwork is bright and colourful, and there’s a twisty crime at the centre of it’s narrative that makes you “woah” out loud.
Star Seeker sets you in a world where magic is illegal. VERY illegal. In fact, the only reason you’re not locked up is that the police rely on your consultation on magical and arcane crimes… Which is how you come to find yourself at 3.20am at a run down wizard apart-I mean, den, staring down at two bodies.
The gameplay that follows is quite simple. Star Seeker takes place over just one room: You may move around, click objects to investigate them, then make your accusations to the Chief Investigator, Leo Fleini. To help you out, you also may access your Lightningbolt Mind- a sort of “Mind Palace” a la Sherlock Holmes, where you can review all the evidence you’ve seen so far.
As a consultant brought in from parole, there’s definitely a question of whether or not you’re qualified! A question with hilarious consequences. The game rolls with the punches and given the hodge-podge of magical evidence you can dig up, the theories you can confidently declare range from the “ah yeah that makes sense” to “I have no idea where that came from but lets go with it.”
It’s wonderfully absurdist and I love it! Murder mysteries are already one of my favourite genre of escape room, so why not a videogame too? Combine this with the dry humour and world of witchcraft and wizardry and I’m sold! Move over Ms. Marple and Morse, there’s a new detective in town. It’s me. I came here to cast spells and solve crimes, and I just solved this crime.
In terms of puzzles, it follows a very typical logic flow of a murder mystery game. There aren’t puzzles per se, but connecting the dots in the right order is no small feat. Certain wizards at certain levels can cast, well, certain spells. Then there’s the GOAT! Where does the goat come in, eh? This crime scene is bursting with traces of magic but putting it all in the right order is a tricky task. However, with no consequences to guessing wrong a couple of times, you may as well have fun and test out all the speech options for a laugh.
Overall, good fun! A game that doesn’t take itself too seriously, full of light hearted gags and a very strong narrative to boot. If you’re a fan of the mystery genre, or heck just want a laugh, give Star Seeker: The Secret of the Sorcerous Standoff a go.
Star Seeker can be purchased for £3.99 on Steam.
