Ranking All the Nancy Drew PC Games from WORST to BEST!! | Nancy Drew Analysis Five Years Later 

I completely agree with you on some choices (LIE, KEY, MED) but completely disagree on others (SCK, CRE, CLK)! So interesting to see how your tastes have evolved over time. Also you're so right that a lot of the newer games (but not all) are a bit lacking on the atmosphere front. I think part of the reason I also have a deep love for the classic games is that they really committed to atmosphere.

Can’t believe it’s been 5 years since that video

Your comment about LIE is spot on- I do not enjoy this game simply because of the difficult puzzles and how random they are in context with the setting and story. What a missed opportunity for a game set in Greece.

I love WAC still being your favorite. It's mine, too. And I don't foresee it ever changing! My top 3, in order, are: Warnings at Waverly Sea of Darkness Danger on Deception Island

Never clicked so quickly on a Nancy Drew discussion video! Great stuff :) I would love a “How to improve upgrade every Nancy Drew game” video, like, is there a game that would have been so much better with another act, or simply another room to explore etc.

Wow, five years? So much has happened in that time for sure! Hugs to Queen Mel and Mr. WizardKitten! I'd say my top 5, in no particular order, are Last Train, Old Clock, Shadow Ranch, Waverly, and Ghost Dogs.

I love that you included the changes in your list at the end of the video. I was tempted to leave a comment doing that exact thing before I saw you already did it! Thank you for continuing to make these videos. My best friend and I are still making our way through the games for the first time and listening to your review afterwards is always a treat for me. We had started in 2021 and we’re at the Deadly Device now.

I've been super sick and in the hospital, I needed this video 😭❤️ greatful to have you back. Bonus I'm wearing my WK merch!

Completely agree up until Silent Spy. Lol. LOVE that game! Haunted Carousel was my 1st game!

On a somewhat unrelated note, it would be so fun if you did a Q&A video! Maybe some Nancy related questions, like how old you were when you played a game for the first time, if you’d read the books before playing the games, things like that. And then some non-Nancy topics too, like if you would ever want to do RU-vid/streaming in general as a career, what are you doing for your doctorate program, do you have any pets? It was cool to hear a tiny bit about your life and channel growth in the beginning of this video :)

101 analysis videos?? Wow! I know what playlist I'll be listening to in the coming week, lol look for my random comments on the videos I know I've probably missed over the years! I can't believe it's been 5 years already. I remember finding your channel during the pandemic when I was in grad school but I've since received my degree, been at my job for 2 years and just found out today that my first non-grad school paper is going to be published! I'm so happy to see your channel grow and appreciate how you always take the time to respond to everyone's comments ❤ It's so interesting to see how your ranking has changed and how you gravitate more toward the cozy games. It makes total sense that when we play the same games over and over we know what to expect and so the enjoyment comes from getting to escape into the environment for a while, unlike when we first played a game and were getting jumpscared or using our full brain power to try and figure out what is going to happen next. I tend to gravitate toward the cozy games too although what that means to me tends to vary with the seasons, and I think my ranking list would change depending on the month. For example I gravitate toward VEN and ICE during the summer and winter respectfully. I can feel like I'm a spy in Italy eating as much gelato as I want or that I'm in a cozy lodge playing board games with a stranger by a fire, both games to me are comfortable environments. Im excited to see the community rankings soon! (Also I totally didn't gasp out loud dramatically when I heard how low VEN was on your list, nope definitely not 😉)

I literally was just watching my last game review by you after spending the last 6 month watching every game play through and thinking how come you didn’t make a total ranking video ranking yet and voila! This popped up on my subscriptions. Thanks for your work 💘

I am in orlando right now, escaping Milton. This video is exactly what I need today. :)

My top 5: 1. WAC 2. SAW 3. VEN 4. TRN 5. FIN + honorable mention to CRY - it’s soooo hard to pick just 5! Lately I’ve found myself replaying the “classic” era games for the comfort & amazing atmosphere (and some of Nancys dialogue in those early games, I feel like her character had more sass early on!) Great video! (:

My top five are definitely my cozy,nostalgia games. Games I can play in one sitting are also my favorites. My top 5 is treasure, haunted carousel, scarlet hand, train and Blackmore. And my bottom 5 are the games I just don’t like or can’t beat without hints. Mid, med, ransom, deadly device Thornton hall. I haven’t decided officially where to put keys yet. Haha thanks for the video!!!

My top five games are Legend of the Crystal Skull, Ghost of Thornton Hall, Warnings At Waverly Academy, Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon, and Shadow at the Waters Edge. I tend to prioritize games with an excellent story, interesting characters, a good sense of place and atmosphere, and creative puzzles throughout. Curse of Blackmoor Manor is one that as a kid I did not like because I thought it was too hard, but as I’ve gotten older and upon replay it has crept up my rankings significantly

I am replaying the games right now! I am really looking forward to seeing how my ranking compares to my last marathon back in 2020!

We are so back

3:50 I had so much high expectations for KEY! While it is so much better than MID, I needed to use the strategy guide a lot and I was hoping not to need too much help 😄

Thanks for an updated list! My tier ranking of these games also changes over time. My top 2 are always The Final Scene and Danger on Deception Island. Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon and Shadow Ranch are in a constant battle for 3rd, and Ghost Dogs and Treasure in the Royal Tower are definitely top 5 contenders at all times. I positively love those games. Like you, most of my favorites are from the classic era. I'm sorry, I just think... they're better stories? 🤷‍♀️ It could be nostalgia talking, but I really do think the most fun, repayable games in the series are 3-13. There were some really good ones after that, though I feel that HER was making good games with the most consistency during that time frame.

My Top Five: 5. Curse of Blackmoor Manor 4. Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake 3. Warnings at Waverly Academy 2. Legend of the Crystal Skull 1. Secret of Shadow Ranch

I am shocked you demoted FIN, GTH and SEA because I know you always loved those! (although I can't help but be a little pleased about FIN and GTH as you know they are not my faves!). Our top six are now almost the same (swap MHM for ICE), but they are just in a slightly different order! Generally speaking I think games where the mystery is spy or national security related feel ridiculous to me that an 18 yr old kid from another country would be dealing with them. They challenge my suspension of disbelief too much so I never enjoy them - SPY, VEN, KEY, LIE.

I have played every one of the computer games (yes even stay tuned for danger which is sadly discontinued, seriously HER remake this one), except for the new Prague one I’m saving that one for Christmas

Your number 2 is my number 1! I agree on the cozy vibes as I get older too.

It’s pretty crazy to see how your list has changed over 5 years! Your original ranking video was one of the first I ever watched on your channel, and it’s been amazing to watch all the progress you’ve made since! I did not expect KEY to be in your bottom 5… but honestly, I understand. The worst part of that game is the cringy dialogue🤢

My top 5 as strictly an observer: 1) MID - the memes are never ending 2) WAC - no explanation needed, 3) GoTH - spoopy and Harper

Some of your picks are so different from mine BUT our number 1 is the same (as always), my personal top 5 are .Waverly .Blackmoor manor .Danger on Deception Island .Last Train .White wolf

Ghost Dogs was my first game, so I'm heavily biased towards it. Games 3-5 and 7 always draw me in. Captive Curse is so underrated, I really enjoy it. Haven't played Seven Keys yet, but if it's worse than Creature of Kapu Cave, then I'm in no rush to have my computer blow up trying to play it.

I remember the green make one it scared me so I didn’t play much only saw the game grumps play it

My top three surprisingly hasn’t changed over the past while Last Train Thornton Hall Deception Island

Here's my top 10! 1. Danger on deception island 2. Legend of the crystal skull 3. Haunting of castle Malloy 4. White wolf of icicle creek 5. Ghost dogs of moon lake 6. Curse of blackmoor manor 7. Shadow at the waters edge 8. Treasure in the royal tower 9. Secret of shadow ranch 10. Secret of the scarlet hand I am in agreement with you that Tomb has also grown on me lately. I used to dislike it and now I can't remember why aside from the ending. I quite enjoy the puzzles and the characters, especially Jamilla. I also enjoy Message in a Haunted Mansion although I don't love it. Nostalgia plays a big role for that one for me but it's not as captivating as others. And I also agree that Captive Curse has also grown on me! I used to despise it for the monster plot. I really like the idea of viewing it as a metaphor though! I still have Silent Spy at the very bottom below even Midnight in Salem. There are a handful of games that I consider to be bad games in the series but Spy is the only one that feels offensive to me lol! I just love the original books so much and I hate how far away they strayed with Nancy's mom. Also to me it diminishes Nancy's sleuthing skills! It takes away from how amazing she is and turns it into "oh well it's in her DNA so she's destined to be a sleuth just like her mom."

This video inspired me to make my own ranking! Mines a bit different from yours but I think that’s neat because we all have different opinions on the games and that’s okay! Here’s my ranking: :1. CUR 2. TRT 3. DDI 4. CLK 5. ICE 6. SEA 7. CRE 8. DOG 9. SSH 10. SHA 11. SPY 12. DAN 13. CAP 14. WAC 15. CAR 16. SAW 17. MHM 18. TOT 19. TRN 20. ASH 21. DED 22. MID 23. STFD 24. FIN 25. MED 26. GTH 27. VEN 28. HAU 29. CRY 30. TMB 31. LIE 32. KEY 33. RAN 34. SCK

Soooo many thoughts… I will keep it down to fighting you over TOT and VEN being in the bottom 10 and SEA not being in the top 10. The other choices I can look over. 😂😅🤪

My top 5 1. CUR 2. TRN 3. FIN 4. DDI 5. HAU/CRY These games are my go to if i want to feel fully immersed. Conversation flow is so important to me and in LIE the puzzles didn't bother me compare to how awkward the convo flow goes, Melina was the best. I felt that awkwardness in SPY, DED, SAW and MED, the rhythm is just weird. Games I will mostly never play again MID SCK rem and SPY, gives me an itch. 😂

Love watching these videos rankings are really satisfying!!

I agree with you on midnight in Salem that one was the most disappointing in the entire series. Plus I am still waiting on Ned and Carson Drew to finally and I do mean FINALLY make an appearance already not just phone calls *face palm

Waverly is my #1 as well my other top ten favourites 2. The Final scene 3. Phantom of Venice 4. The silent spy 5. Ghost of thorton hall 6. Deadly device 7. curse of blackmoor manor 8. Alibi in Ashes 9. shadow at the waters edge 10. Danger by design Honorable mentions Captive curse last train to blue moon canyon sea of darkness message in a haunted mansion Ghost dogs of moon lake Least favs 1. Midnight in salem 2. Secret of the old clock 3. Creature of kapu cave 4. Secret of the scarlet hand 5. Mystery of the seven keys 6. White wolf of icicle creek 7. tomb of the lost queen 8. Secrets can kill 9. shattered medallion 10. labyrinth of lies dishonorable mentions trail of the twister haunting of castle malloy ransom of the seven ships

MHM was my first ever game. I compare all ND games to it. The environment, music, sound effects and details are unmatched. The old ND games will never be beaten by the newer games. I would give anything to have the same quality of games that the classics are. The new voice actress feels flat, and the games feel rushed. I completely agree with the "worst" games on your list. I have played the Shattered Medallion once. I tried to play a second time and I turned it off!

can i ask a question do you think when you have a really good or great installment in a franchise the next one is never as good or bad and also could you think of ransom of the seven ships as an attempt of we know the culprit is and we spend the game trying to catch them those type of mystery series exist

I find myself agreeing with this list more than the original one. But a couple of stray comments. MID: The very best part about this game is still Creepy Deirdre appearing over your shoulder. MED: An awful game, with no definable ending, but I can almost justify the fact that it's a STORY about a game show, rather than an actual game show. If the rest of the game was good, I wouldn't mind that the game show came out the same way no matter what you did. A game show where the results weren't pre-set would be more suited to the Dossier games. RAN: I almost feel like taking this one off the table entirely, as it's gotten so much heat for political rather than gameplaying reasons. This was one of Arglefumph's Top 5 games before he found people might be offended if he didn't hate it, and it dropped to his rock bottom spot. That being said, I agree with pretty much everything you said except for the one suspect part. It's bad writing to think that the culprit in any mystery must be someone standing in plain view the entire game. And it's a testament to how much HER has overused this idea that they couldn't get players to imagine anything different. I still maintain that Bess and George should have been the culprits, the kidnapping a joke, and Johnny a red herring. LIE: A really DULL, linear game, full of puzzles that you discover before you can do anything with them, and which feel disassociated from their environment. Characters are unlikable, maybe because they're all culprits, there's little to do in the museum, and Niobe is in two places at once for half the game. People usually rate this one too high but you've got it just about right. SPY: In addition to what you said, I couldn't get over the idea of a Midwestern Lawyer's wife being an international secret agent. That's like James Bond marrying an auto dealer from Toledo. And of course a culprit who's a culprit just because he can be, oh Murgatroyd... SCK: People tend to roll these into one, but of the two the original Secrets Can Kill is better, especially with the No CD patch, just because it has more unintentional laughs in it (Juvenile Delinquent Nancy, Echo Nancy, et cetera). Also, Daryl and Hulk are much better in the original. VEN: Something you didn't mention is the whole question of whether Nancy operating as a professional detective is really within the scope of the series. CLK: I rate this one much higher, mainly because we live in the 1930's part time, and listen to Jack Benny shows from that era on a regular basis. Driving around Titusville is funnier if you get who all the people Nancy meets are. CAR: Feels very claustrophobic for an amusement park, the Miles Subplot is total padding, and ridiculous to boot (Joy's dad built a sentient robot, using technology that NASA scientists don't have). Best Part: "Nancy, you slipped and broke your neck? You're off the case!" TMB: Game breaking bug: The Egyptians spoke English. Major Annoyance: Shoehorning the Annunaki subplot into another game where it doesn't belong. DED: Like VEN, this game wrestles with questions about whether or not Nancy is a professional. Cause if she's not, Victor calling in an out of state teenage amateur on a MURDER case is insane. Game is even more claustrophic than CAR. ASH: Nancy being actually arrested on the basis of no real evidence is still a game breaker for me. And you complain how unconcerned Nancy is in RAN, but all her friends are the same way in this one, what with their quasi-military banter. "Bess, turning the case over to you!" "Ned, accepting case!" It's like they think this is part of the Clues Challenge, and don't grasp that Nancy is really in jail. No matter how well a game executes, if it's based on a crazy premise, it drags the whole game down. SSH: People complain a lot about this one not having an actual crime for the first hour, but TRN doesn't have one until the endgame, and nobody seems to mind. I thought the delayed mystery angle worked pretty well. ICE: Fox and Geese, a simplified Checkers variant, is not something that should make strong players weep. There's too much of it, to be sure, SAWA: This one would definitely go in my Top 10, in place of DOG, probably. SEA: A good game, but also frequently overrated. I think people were so relieved that the last one was a good one, after three straight lackluster entries, that they tend to rate it a little too high. GTH: Graverobbing Nancy is still a game-breaking bug for me, as is visual hallucinations from CO poisoning (while you're in the open air, no less). I also wish the house itself was bigger. Would definitely put CRY above this one. Oddly enough, the "best" ending isn't the best one. The chirpy Best Ending doesn't fit the mood of the story, while the Middle Ending fits it perfectly. TRT: Only gripe is that the culprit can get into the tower at the end even if you take the precaution of retracting the stairs first. Nancy has to be careless even if the player isn't. FIN: Good game but I don't get why the kidnapee was someone we'd never heard of instead of Bess or George. I guess that's what happened in the book they were adapting. TRN: Slightly implausible that the puzzles would still be solvable after a century, but not a huge problem. SHA: Good game, but I find myself disliking Francis for disowning her dad for daring to arrest a criminal. CUR: Maybe a little too tilted towards puzzles, more than story, but maybe that's because it has so much backstory. MHM: I could honestly see putting this game at #1, it's maybe the one that feels the most like a Stratemeyer book. Rather than Jump Scares it relies on "Did I just see what I thought I saw??" scares. DOG: Without the nostalgia you have, this wouldn't make my Top 10. Top 15, probably. But only 3 suspects. And going out at night was really creepy at first, until it became clear that they only had one dog attack in the animation budget.

Hi WZ. Since you ranked Keys so low, do you think the soundtrack was as bad as those bottom 3 games?

OMG IT'S HERE THEE RANKING!! Before starting I can only assume the best game, MID, is at the very top, no?

I agree midnight in Salem is SO SO AWFUL! I mean the graphics the animations, but I do like the music

So excited for this update rankings video! Thank you for all your wonderful nancy drew content!

Aside from a few games, I think almost all the ND games are good in their own way. With that said, some initial thoughts. Glad Last Train came into your top 10, and Castle Malloy top 15 now. Sad that Design and Venice both fell into the 20s. Glad Device and Alibi are out of your top 15. I detest most character switching in games. Lost Queen has a terrible ending and deserves the lower rating just for that. Ghost Dogs is a bottom five game for me it just feels too dull overall for my taste 😭. And Haunted Mansion feels a bit too simple and one note and that's in my bottom 10. But again I consider all games good except a few. White Wolf I love the setting but find it sort of lackluster with story, music and characters. I also don't care how restrictive it is with having to be back by certain time to cook meals when you're out exploring although I enjoy the cooking itself. With me games that feel high stakes (busting crime rings Ala Venice and Labyrinth) score high and games with an adventure type feel (Design and Ransom) also rank high. Spy has both of those elements so that also ranks higher with me plus there's the emotional hook with Nancy's mom. Also Twister I love the vibes, characters and puzzles in that one. Waters Edge my issue is the pacing, it feels too long with puzzles that are there not to be fun but to pad out game time.

CUR ftw!! 😊

I loved doing this survey I love helping fellow Nancy Drew lovers like me

I have to admit that after all these videos, I have no idea what Mystique Manor is, and Googling it doesn't reveal much. If they're paying to bring new people in, it might not be working. BTW, what does it even mean to say "all opinions are valid"? Is it a polite nothing, or more than that? If you tell me that a game is good, and can tell me 10 good things about it, and another guy says "Idunno, I just don't like it", then clearly your opinion carries more weight than his. His is based on nothing specific. It might make him feel good to tell him his opinion is valid, but it's barely an opinion at all. One thing I've learned is that a viewpoint, no matter how highly developed it may be in your head, is almost worthless if you can't get it out of your head and actually communicate it to someone else. Case in point. In this hypothetical instance, I can repeat those 10 good things you told me to anyone. But if I try to repeat his viewpoint ("An anonymous guy on the internet said he didn't like the game"), I'd just get laughed at. If by saying his opinion is "valid", you only mean that he's entitled to it, that's true. But that's true of every viewpoint.