The Mystery Trackers franchise is back with another spectacular collector’s edition game. When problems arise at headquarters, you are called back to help the team. Upon arriving in Silent Hollow, you find agents down and their special pets have gone missing. It’s up to you and Elf, your adorable and always helpful tiny dog, to unravel the mystery of what’s happening to fellow agents and save the Mystery Trackers.

I’m always intrigued by a good old-fashioned whodunit mystery, and I’ve enjoyed many of the Elephant Games I have played. When I stumbled across Mystery Trackers: Silent Hollow, it seemed like a good fit for both.

I haven’t played any of the earlier Mystery Trackers series, but it’s easy enough to fall into the storyline with this one. After a quick video call from the director of the agency, you are asked to return to headquarters and work with your fellow agents to uncover what has been happening around Silent Hollow. 

When you reach your destination you find an agent down and spring to action to administer first aid.  No sooner have you revived him, than a strange gold mask floats out and urges him to “return to the castle.” The mystery deepens as he sets off for a distant fortress in a zombie-like trance, and you discover yet another agent down.

Luckily, you are able to pick up their special powers to help you on your quest. Images of an ancient Mystery Trackers traitor Morpheus begin to surface as you try to unravel the strange events happening around Silent Hollow.

The graphics and animation in Mystery Trackers: Silent Hollow are superb – crisp and clear with remarkably life-like animation in the cut scenes. Appropriate background music supports building the mystery and drawn out suspense.

I usually adjust the volumes very low because I find them distracting to the gameplay and I appreciated the demonstration of the volume as you adjust. You can also customize 4 levels of gameplay from casual to detective – no active cursor, hints, skips or sparkles – if you’re really up for a challenge.

The hidden object scenes fit well into the story of Mystery Trackers: Silent Hollow and are not overly cluttered. Most objects are hidden in plain sight with a few requiring interaction to uncover them.

As usual, each scene generates a useful item for inventory and incentives pop up for completing scenes without hints. I didn’t find the scenes particularly challenging but hints are readily available in casual mode and a strategy guide also offers additional help.

I’ve noticed recently I enjoy the mini-games more than the HOS and that held true for Mystery Trackers: Silent Hollow as well. The variety and originality made them far more interesting to me. While many were a different twist on traditional puzzles, some were completely new to me.

I particularly enjoyed a simple game that involved matching heads, eyes, and mouths to form the faces of the agents – it was unique and reminded me of something similar I played as a kid. It was also particularly helpful as each completed picture revealed details about the character to help throughout the game.

The latest installation of the Mystery Trackers franchise delivers a fun, challenging mystery with plenty of extras for every level of player to enjoy.