Quarantine Diary

 

Hooray! This year's new Carol Reed mystery has dropped, and I have acquired it! 

It always takes me two days to play these games. This time I wasn't shy about checking the extremely handy in-game hint system, which frankly, I think is extremely necessary at various points in the game. The game is for fun. Don't let it frustrate you to the point where it isn't fun. Use the hint system, which is quite well done.

Quarantine Diary takes place during the Corona Virus pandemic, and Carol complains that her bank account is suffering. (Has she gone through all the money she inherited at the end of Remedy, the first game in the series?) No matter. We have a new mystery that has Carol, early on, investigating the lady who hired her as much as investigating the case she's hired Carol to solve.

As always, gameplay consists of visiting locations found on the map. In those locations we usually find either a clue, or an item. Items are nearly always just lying around somewhere. We'll wind up using them in yet another location. Every time.

Occasionally uses real Swedish signs

Normally inserts English signs

I like these sepia shots of buildings we are entering

A real house in Swedish red

This is just inserted for local color. No entry for us.

The locations often are very pretty, or houses that appear to be real houses and apartments. We meet people who are depicted in still photographs with voiceovers. The actors are firmly amateur and that, I've always thought, fits perfectly with these games. 

We meet several people in every game--Jonas, Carol's boyfriend, Stina, her friend, who is always a fount of local knowledge (and played by the lady who voices Carol), and, for comic relief, Bigge, who always sends Carol off on an errand before he'll help.

Jonas is an always welcome character.

Stina find information (and voices Carol in the game)

Bigge supplies comic relief

This is our client in this game

As simple as these games seem on the surface, actually their puzzles can be quite complex. They always feature numerous puzzle boxes and items needing passwords. Once we find the clues to these they become simple to solve. Or, we have to find an item that will interact with something that will reveal another clue or an important item.

The difficulty (and length) of the game increases because in almost every case, an item needed in one spot will be found in another location, with absolutely no rhyme or reason for it. For example, you need a tool to get into a new area. You'll find it just lying on the ground somewhere across town. If you happen to find it when you're there and pick it up (always, always pick up anything the game identifies), you'll have it in your inventory and will probably recognize it when you need it. If you haven't found the item you will have to use that hint system, or else traverse the entire game looking at every possible node. Use the hint system.

But it's all good fun. I've played every game of this series and look forward to a new one each year. I don't expect anything different from what I've played before, and that's what I want. 

When the year's game comes out, I buy it and settle down for a couple of days of very familiar fun, along with lovely pictures of Sweden.

Always enjoyable!