The Raven: Legacy of a Master Thief opens with a robbery and an explosion. One of the priceless Eyes of the Sphinx, a massive gem worth millions, is stolen from a museum by a mysterious figure in a Raven mask. The other Eye is on a train bound for Cairo, but the shadow of the Raven is never far behind. What follows is an exciting point-and-click adventure title with a story that never lets up. The Raven is an exciting mystery from start to finish that will have you asking, “Who is the Raven?”

The Raven follows a band of characters as they travel to Cairo for the unveiling of the remaining Eye of the Sphinx. The central protagonist, Constable Anton Zellner, is a Swiss police officer caught in the middle of an international incident. He is joined by an eclectic cast of characters, including a world-renowned detective, a haughty baroness and her deadpan butler, an elderly crime novel author and a self-absorbed German doctor, to name a few. Every character feels unique and different, and the solid voice acting brings them all to life. Throughout the story, there are moments where the story will shift to another perspective, and players will control a different character in order to see a different side of the unfolding events. For the most part, however, Zellner remains the primary character, and it is very much his story that players are experiencing.

The threat of the Raven turns each character into a suspect. But The Raven never lets players think they have the whole answer. It continually defies expectation, and the evidence gathered points in every direction until the climactic finale. At one point, I had three separate suspects until I found a new piece of evidence that completely switched my focus to a different character. The mystery is the main hook in The Raven, and it excels.

For a story of a globe-trotting master thief, an appropriately global setting is needed. Luckily, The Raven features a number of exotic locations, from a train traveling through the Swiss Alps to a cruise ship bound for Cairo. The settings have as much character as the characters themselves, and they add a lot to the tension of the story. Each setting has a unique layout and presents its own dangers. To catch the Raven, Zellner may have to risk it all.

The Raven plays like any other typical point-and-click adventure game. Players click on objects in the scene, and Zellner will observe them, take them, or use them in a certain way. In many adventure games, this can lead to very obtuse or confusing puzzles. Luckily, The Raven mostly avoids this, though there are a few puzzles that take a very long time to figure out. The torch puzzle in particular stumped me for a long while and I wasn’t satisfied when I solved it, just relieved to be done. But these puzzles are few and far between. Most of the puzzles are easier to figure out, and are just challenging enough to provide a sense of accomplishment when they are completed.

As players solve puzzles and progress through the story, they gain adventure points that can be used to highlight the objects that Zellner can interact with in a scene. This makes a world of difference, and it speeds up the investigation process dramatically. At the beginning of the game I didn’t know about adventure points, and it took me nearly double the amount of time it took me to beat the other chapters. Knowing what can be clicked really quickens the game, and it keeps the story from feeling too slow. Adventure points also tie into your score, which is calculated at the end of each chapter. This isn’t as useful, but it’s nice to be rewarded for good investigative work.

The fault I have with the gameplay is the walking speed of the characters. Zellner walks fairly slowly, which makes investigations drag on for a bit. It adds a lot of time to the game, and it would have been nice to a see a run button implemented in some way.

The Raven runs very well even on slightly older computers, but there are a few hiccups in the presentation that can be distracting. When traveling to different sections of the environment, players click on either doors or the edges of the screen to send Zellner to a new location. Occasionally, he gets stuck and doesn’t want to continue. This happened to me a few times during the game and I had to click somewhere else to make him move back, and then click again towards my destination. It’s a small thing, but it was a little frustrating when it happened twice in a row.

Apart from the occasional movement glitch, the presentation is well done. The graphics look great, with a distinct art style that makes the characters look a bit more like a cartoon than real life. Everyone has rounded, simple features, and the animation is solid enough that they seem believable. The lip syncing is sometimes off, but for the most part it’s solid. The soundtrack should be noted as well. The music in The Raven is superb and one of my favorite aspects of the game. The Raven‘s theme is catchy and grandiose, while the exploration and investigation themes are appropriately fun and lyrical. The soundtrack has earned a well-deserved spot in my music library.

The Raven: Legacy of a Master Thief is a great addition to the point-and-click adventure genre. The puzzles are well-done, the story is engaging and the mystery keeps you guessing all the way through. The few technical hiccups don’t detract from the enjoyable gameplay, and the game looks very good thanks to a consistent, appealing art style. For fans of adventure games, I highly recommend The Raven: Legacy of a Master Thief. And if you aren’t a fan of typical point-and-click games, I would still recommend it.

+ Engaging story + Varied characters + Solid puzzles          – Some small movement glitches