Parents' Guide to

Nancy Drew: Legend of the Crystal Skull

By Jinny Gudmundsen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 9+

Fulfilling mystery has spooky sleuthing & puzzles.

Game Windows 2007
Nancy Drew: Legend of the Crystal Skull Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

Community Reviews

age 12+

Based on 1 parent review

age 12+

Extremely Scary, Extremely Difficult, Extremely One to Skip

This game is two of the things to encounter most often with Nancy Drew games -- extremely scary and extremely difficult. However, it seems to put both of those things to an even bigger extreme for this one. Literally less then 3 minutes into the game, you walk into a dark scary house, see a skeleton, everything goes black, and the skeleton appears again -- right up against your face. If this weren't enough for scariness, the whole house is nearly empty during the game and is all dark. It's impossible to find your way around or see any people -- except a creepy man who scared the living daylights out of my 9-year-old daughter. It is also extremely difficult, because though we didn't get far enough to have to solve puzzles, there were ones to be solved, and not only that, but it was impossible to know what to do. My daughter got back on the game at least 4 times to look around, but couldn't find any new places or people that would make the game go on. We hardly got anywhere, because it was impossible to know what to do. Though you do get to play on Nancy's friend, there's not much to do with her at least at the beginning, and even though the place she's at (a store) is lit, it's a sort of eery yellow lighting and it still gives off a scary glow. Though Nancy Drew is a very loveable character, and her games are very fun, this one, like the Ghost Dogs one, is definitely one to skip for any child under about 11. My 9-year-old daughter had trouble sleeping because it terrified her.

This title has:

Too much violence

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (6 ):

The 17th computer mystery in this series adds a new gameplay element to its award-winning formula. Not only do you play as Nancy Drew, but also, at times, you get to become her best friend Bess.

As for the game's spookiness, the music, rain, and periodic lightning help create an eerie mood, but it's never overpowering. And if you make a fatal mistake, the game returns you to the moment before that bad decision and gives you a second chance.

Game Details

  • Platform: Windows
  • Available online?: Not available online
  • Publisher: Her Interactive
  • Release date: October 8, 2007
  • Genre: Role-Playing
  • ESRB rating: E
  • Last updated: November 4, 2015

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