So many mixed feelings and thoughts about this game.

Firstly, the positives:

+ KEY is filled with heaps of history about Prague, as well some impressive 3D modeling of the city and the objects found in it. They didn't hold back on the details.

+ The puzzles have definitely improved from Midnight in Salem, this time having quite a few devious ones. My opinion will always be too hard > too easy.

+ While the game offers a "classic" mode where you can move around the environment by clicking from spot to spot as in every previous ND game, KEY introduces a "modern" mode which functions as a free roaming first person perspective. I think this is the best new addition to the series. It feels good, and opens up a new way of taking in the environment that honestly would be cool to see implemented in the older titles as well.

Now, the negatives...

- Though most of the voice actors are fine... the new Nancy VA continues to talk robotically, putting weird emphasis on certain words that make her dialogue sound so... off at times. I constantly questioned if it was somehow AI generated. It's a shame that the wonderful Lani Minella did not receive a worthy successor. On top of the bad voice acting, there is an awkward pause of a few seconds at the end of every character's voiced dialogue which makes it slightly more unbearable to sit through.

- Unlike the usual HerInteractive style, dialogue doesn't have branching options, it just lists all questions from the start. Often, the forced options make it seem like Nancy is oblivious to what private knowledge she lets out. You just choose lines and then let the game continue automatically with a few back and forth follow-up questions spoken by Nancy without any choice involved. It's a far cry from the approaches you could take at questioning suspects in every previous game, and though there was just as much dialogue as usual, it was less engaging than ever.

- The more elaborate the puzzles got, the more convoluted they got as well. It feels to me like they were not tested beyond the creator's preferences, and so what you end up with are puzzles that often take a weird singular perspective that is often hard to grasp, even after solving. There were many puzzles I cracked without really grasping the concept of, and not for lack of trying.

• I also had some issues with text size, but I think this was a result of playing on steam deck ported to a distant TV screen, so I won't knock the game too much for that. It seemed pretty fine when I switched to desktop near the end.

So, I'm torn. On the one hand, I can feel the effort that went into making this game. On the other hand, I am reminded of how the original HerInteractive games felt so effortless, and did a whole lot more with a whole lot less.

The nicest thing to say about this game is that it has a really distinct, beautifully rendered art style, and an interesting world.

The least nice thing to say is that it is buggy, confusing, poorly translated, not that well programmed and not that fun to play because of that.

It really feels like the artist went all-out whilst the programmer/game designer held themselves back and left much unpolished.

I think I missed a few things because I made some choices that couldn't be undone, including a single click that sent me to an ending and ended that playthrough. I never made a save because it's a short game, and so that meant once I was done, it was either start over or call it a day.

Welp. I called it.