MadPea: Cirque du Mystère.

 

Cirque du Mystère: a MadPea Gaming Experience

The premise: It's 1995 and the circus has returned to Squall's End. The circus has been coming through town for as far back as you can remember... and with each appearance, children go missing. The police and everyone else have written these disappearances off as kids that have run away with the circus - that is, until your own kid brother goes missing. It's up to you to find him and uncover the truth about the Cirque du Mystère before they leave town again!

The Details

This is a mystery-solving game, complete with some pretty challenging obstacles and puzzles. You're definitely going to need a few hours, and while MadPea games are always better with friends, the challenges are solo play - but don't let that stop you from bringing the gang out and running around together! Aside from the actual mystery game, there are rides and plenty of shopping.

You'll need a game HUD (available at the main store), which is L$500. Once inside, make sure you have 'shared environment' enabled, and give everything a few minutes to load. And take your time! There are prompts in local, so you'll want to make sure you're paying attention and really exploring your surroundings. Also, you may want to disable your AO while playing the animated parts of the game.

Caution

Certain choices you make can and will kill you. If you die in the circus, your avatar will be sent back to the beginning. Once a puzzle is solved, you don't have to solve it again, so you can quickly return to your last location.

If you don't like jump scares, this might not be the one for you. If you're not a fan of puzzles, again, might not be your cuppa, as these challenges are rated moderate. 

There are circus coins available at the entrance. The coins can be used to skip challenges, purchase health potions (yes, you can - and most likely will - get injured), and buy souvenirs.

To skip challenges, enter the instance, then click the coins on your HUD. You'll get a pop-up, confirming you want to skip, and as soon as you accept, you'll be teleported out of the instance and get completion for the challenge.

When (if?) you make it out alive, there are some pretty cool prizes at the end. Best of luck!

♥