At the end of each chapter, a brief synopsis of the story so far is presented in a stylish summary screen, from which the player can also rewatch any unlocked flashbacks, replay the standalone puzzles, and most importantly, access the information about your Card Rating. Each Tarot completed is given a score from one to four stars, based on the number of Hints and Misses the player has used to resolve the word association phase connected to that card. Every time you click on a wrong object, you consume one of the “misses” at your disposal. Not only does this lower the Card Rating, but if the misses reach zero, you must restart the process from the beginning of that particular Tarot, thus diminishing the score once again. This effectively discourages you from simply clicking anywhere rather than thinking through the word challenges. Each hint, on the other hand, reveals one of the useful objects on screen but equally contributes to a lower rating. The overall number of Hints and Misses available depends on the difficulty level chosen by the player at the beginning of the game, between “Easy”, “Challenge” and “Gamer”. While the easiest gives plenty of hints and misses and requires fewer objects to find, the latter is really tough, because it allows very few misses, almost no hints and, most importantly, displays a lot more unnecessary objects on screen.

To achieve a perfect four star score, players can’t use any hints or surpass four misses, and it’s necessary to solve the standalone puzzles and finish each memory without restarting. The Card Rating isn’t a simple accessory, however, because it can actually influence the final outcome of the game. Without spoiling anything, it’s enough to say that – before the epilogue – the mysterious man will ask Jess to draw strength from three cards, and the chosen Tarots must have a deep, emotional connection to her story or a significant resonance in her life. During the game, many Tarots will simply reveal minor tidbits about her background, while others will unveil extremely important portions of her memory. The higher the Card Rating of these Tarots, the more powerful they will be. A four star rating on a rather unimportant card will count less than a mediocre two stars associated with a powerful Arcana, but of course you won’t know its importance until you’ve completed each. Since the final choice of the three Tarots is totally up the player – just another sign of how rich a narrative experience 3 Cards to Midnight really is – you must recognize which cards are emotionally or psychologically significant to Jess and select the highest rated ones, thus providing Jess the strongest possible power. This choice will distinctly influence the ending of the game, and so far I’ve already experienced two different but equally astonishing finales.

Visually, the game is somewhat of a mixed bag. The interface is stylish and effective, the Tarots’ design is stunningly beautiful, the screens introducing each memory nicely blend photographic realism with small, surreal touches, and the animated cutscenes – although presented in a very small format, almost 1/3 of the screen – sport a top-notch cinematic direction and captivating atmosphere. Nevertheless, some items in the searchable locations are occasionally a bit muddled, making it pretty hard to recognize them. For instance, when I clicked – pretty randomly, I must admit – on a round, pale object, I was astounded to see that it was an onion. The locations themselves, including a decrepit old mansion, a mental facility and an ultra-modern hi-tech tower in Las Vegas, to name just a few, are a bit pixellated and suffer from a lack of high resolution, but they are nicely designed and full of little details capable of sending a shiver down your spine, like strange shadows looming outside the windows or car flashes suddenly illuminating a dark, deserted house.

The musical score is even more powerful and magnetic: subtle during the playing phases, it explodes eerily and menacingly during the cutscenes. The main theme is appropriately dark, and the occasional clashing notes confer a really disturbing mood on the noir-inspired orchestation, full of trumpets and ominous drums. The voice acting is equally well done: every character is perfectly voiced, and particular praise is owed the actors portraying Jess, the mysterious man and Merryman, a P.I. played by none other than Chris Jones himself. I really missed a subtitle option, though, because some voices are intentionally muffled or whispered and sometimes the words are quite unclear, especially during a key cinematic near the end of the game.

Speaking of Chris Jones (and Aaron Conners, of course), I’m happy to say that the two of them met even the highest of expectations for the writing, once again delivering a totally engaging script. The dialogues are believable, always interesting and often imbued with dark humor, while Jess’ slowly unfolding story has a dramatic quality that really speaks to the mastery of the two developers. The many labyrinths of the mind – repressed memories and deceitful imaginations, psychological blocks and painful truths – are vividly portrayed, and the writing can be so heartfelt and moving that I developed a real attachment to the characters, particularly Jess and her boyfriend Daniel. Furthermore, the script addresses some delicate themes like child abuse and mental illness, and it does so with rare subtlety and grace.

I’m trying hard not to spoil the plot of the game, because it is without a doubt the strongest point of 3 Cards to Midnight, but a few basics won’t ruin any surprises. When she is about to turn thirty, Jess starts to feel herself changing. She suddenly quits her job and becomes – without any apparent reason – nervous and anxious, much to her parents’ and Daniel’s chagrin. Then, on the night of her birthday, her parents disappear and leave her alone on her father’s yacht. What happened in between this moment and the moment she regains consciousness at the beginning of the game is for the player to discover, and the enthralling beauty of the plot is in this slow process of reconstruction, which is also a quest for identity and an enchanting coming-of-age tale. As Jess slowly discovers her lost memories, the plot, which starts rather simply, grows in scope and becomes a mesmerizing, spellbinding tale of death and power, identity and love, change and loss. It may occasionally feel too entangled and convoluted, but when every piece falls into place, the whole story is revealed in its full glory. The subtle hints here and there at an even wider, overarching narrative are just the perfect icing on the cake that succeeded in whetting my appetite for the sequel.

All in all, it took me almost seven hours to reach the epilogue, and it was a wonderful journey aside from a little repetitiveness during the word association phases. In this regard, there is certainly room for improvement: with just a little more variety these segments would be even more entertaining, and as the planned series progresses, I really hope to see a wider assortment of mechanics used. Some players will surely be driven away by the casual feel of the game, while others will lament the lack of classic inventory puzzles and freedom of exploration, but many more will stay riveted in front of their computer screens to enjoy the masterful story Chris Jones and Aaron Conners have created. Like others, I would have preferred a full-fledged adventure like the old Tex Murphy games and I approached the game a bit skeptically, but before long I was literally blown away by the plot, to the point of being unable to quit playing. If your curiosity is appropriately piqued, it's available now as a download directly from the game's official website. Call it adventure, call it casual, the fact remains that 3 Cards to Midnight is a must-play for fans of story-driven adventures, noir movies and psychological mysteries.

Chris Jones, Aaron Conners: welcome back!