Common Sense Media Review
By Erin Bell
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Learn about Japan while solving a puzzling mystery.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
Nancy Drew: Shadow at the Water's Edge
What's It About?
In NANCY DREW: SHADOW AT THE WATER'S EDGE, the 23rd point-and-click adventure game in Her Interactive's long-running series, teenage detective Nancy Drew travels to Japan to teach English but finds herself staying at an inn that seems to be haunted. The mystery proves too intriguing for Nancy to ignore, and she goes about interviewing the employees of the family-run Inn and the surrounding city, diving into Japanese culture, and solving challenging mini-game puzzles.
Is It Any Good?
Shadows at Water's Edge is one of the less linear entries in the Nancy Drew series. Nancy is free to wander around the Inn and beyond (via a subway system), but she'll miss certain events that only happen at specific times unless she sets her alarm. The exotic and beautiful Japanese setting adds a breath of fresh air to the series, allowing players plenty of opportunities to immerse themselves in Japanese culture and learn a thing or two. Like past Drew games, the puzzles can get quite challenging and can't be skipped which might result in some frustration. A skip option for the dialogue might have been nice as well, since some of the characters tend to talk quite slowly. Overall, though, Shadow at Water's Edge has all the ingredients of another worthy entry to the well-respected series.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what they learned about Japanese culture by playing this game. Did they try to make the origami paper sculpture shown in the diagram? Or draw the Japanese characters featured in Nancy's origami lesson? Would they ever try to create a rock garden in the Japanese style?
Families can also discuss the presence of ghosts in the game. Why do so many different cultures believe in ghosts? Do you think all ghosts are scary?
Game Details
- Platforms : Mac , Windows
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Not available online
- Publisher : Her Interactive
- Release date : October 19, 2010
- Genre : Adventure
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : November 11, 2020
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