Zula, prophetess and illusionist, has just received a threatening letter! Curses! He needs your razor-sharp detective skills to help him figure out what’s awry.

Dupin has invited you to a private party where Zula is performing so you can both scope things out. A small snag at the door has you searching for your hidden invitation, but kudos to you – you find it and the grumpy doorman has to let you in. Once inside the theater, you discover foul play is at hand, and Zula is struck down during her performance! Her partner, Jacob, seems to be the culprit and he disappears in a cloud of purple smoke. Dive into this intriguing mystery, find the clues and solve the case!

You run after Jacob, but he’s hidden himself in a room where he’s tied another character up. You better hurry, but alas, you have several items to find and codes to clear before you can even open the door! Dupin is at your side, working hard to catch this ruthless killer, but he too gets taken by Jacob, and you have to work hard to help him before it’s too late.

Unfortunately, the game lags a bit as you know Jacob and Dupin are struggling outside, yet you have to solve a puzzle that falls right across the opening they fell out of. It’s no easy task to find the items, solve the puzzle, and get outside. You wonder how Dupin has even survived with all the time it took to get to him.

Deep muted dark colors keep things on the mysterious side. The graphics are nicely done, and there’s a good amount of detail when you magnify an area to find an item. However, in many of the scenes, there is almost a bit of blur. My guess is the developers were trying to add a bit of softness to the look, almost as if you’re in a dream.

Inside lights glow against the dark corners of the room. Flashes of lightning outside add to the sinister feel, along with ravens, skulls, and macabre objects found in some of the scenes. The voiceovers could have used a little more inflection as they were a little monotone when characters were speaking. You, as a detective, don’t speak, but get to pick your dialogue from the side panel, which detracts from the game, and slows things down a bit.

The hidden object puzzles were what one would expect with these games. They vary from interactive lists (figure out how to lure the bird into the birdcage first before you can collect it) to finding the keywords in sentences. Sometimes you need to piece fragments of an object together to get it.

There is also a sound of a harp every time you find something, which was a little much, because you hear it quite a bit. The mini games seemed pretty simple and were fun to play. You need to find 26 morphing objects. These are not extremely challenging as their flickering draws your eye to them. You also need to find nine collectible cards, which give a little information about each character in the game.

Edgar Allen Poe’s The Pit and the Pendulum is delightfully dark and mysterious. The storyline is great, and although the pace is slow at times, the graphics and sinister ambiance assist in making it a fun game to play. If you like a good mystery with a few twists, then try your hand at this one!