Secret Files 3 Reviews

While I loved Secret Files 1 and 2, the series took a nosedive with part 3 and I will never understand why. It was made by the same people and had two really good predecessors so the foundation was there. But the second sequel just can't reach the high bar the other two games had set. While the graphics have improved again, the locations we visit this time aren't as pretty as the last times anymore. No European places or pretty nature spots, we mostly spend time in jail cells, labs or underground. Two new features were added: you can pick the difficulty level for a few puzzles and there are two points in the game where you have to make a decision that "influences" the ending (there are 4 endings in total). The first one is a nice idea, the second completely superfluous since the ending is nothing more than a loveless slideshow. The submarine labyrinth puzzle was the most outrageous puzzle by the way. As if a submarine couldn't move up and down... The biggest problem this game has is its story, it's all over the place. I do appreciate that part 3 tries to wrap up things from part 1 but it makes everything unnecessarily complicated by adding dream sequences that weirdly enough influence the plot and retconning developments we saw in the first two games. Eventually, I completely lost the thread and had no idea what was going on anymore or how anything was connected. If you're a completionist, get this game on sale. But if you were happy with the ending of SF2, don't bother playing this.