Fans of solitary, puzzle-centric adventures can finally prepare themselves for a little bit of utopia next year, as a small European studio called Wax Lyrical Games has announced production on its debut title, Wittard: Nemesis of Ragnarok.

Wittard sends players into a small indoor city called 'The Utopia'. A "pleasure dome" designed by the eccentric architect Baron Wittard, the city was due for its grand opening two years ago, but "that event never happened. A chain of mysterious events has now left the Utopia abandoned and silent. People have gone missing. Electromagnetic disturbances are increasing. These happenings all point to Wittard's desolate Utopia. Armed with only a camera and a torch, you must journey there alone to explore its winding corridors, its secret passageways, and its gloomy halls."

In this first-person "adventure-puzzle" game with 360-degree camera panning, players must explore the lonely remains of the once-impressive city in order to expose a terrible secret the local townsfolk claim was kept by Wittard himself. The developers are promising non-linear gameplay in this "massive and mysterious ruin in the middle of nowhere" that players can explore at leisure.

Though Wax Lyrical has no firm distribution plans in place, they do intend to release the game both on disc and through digital distribution, and are currently targeting completion some time in the first quarter of next year. For more details about the game in the meantime, pop on over to the official website.

It took a little longer than expected, but the third episode of the acclaimed Casebook series has finally arrived, as independent New Zealand developer Areo Games today released Snake in the Grass for online purchase and download.

The third case for Detective James Burton (and the player as the silent partner) sees Burton confronted by an old nemesis. When a murder occurs in the small town of Garden, Burton is sure he knows who is responsible. But all signs point to another culprit entirely, so Burton is left to go "outside the law, following a trail of unsolved crimes to an old haunt."



The Snake in the Grass download is around 1.15 GB in size, and is available exclusively at the developer's website for a cost of $15, where you can also find the first two cases at discounted prices, along with a free standalone demo entitled The Missing Urn.

With so many tantalizing adventures released in Germany these days, the question for English-speaking gamers always becomes: when for us? Today, Mamba Games and dtp have unveiled an all-star lineup of new adventures slated for English release in 2010.

Topping the list is Jane Jensen's Gray Matter, but the rest of the lineup is a further who's who in the genre. Also expected some time during the year are the highly-anticipated supernatural sequel Black Mirror 2 , Autumn Moon's Ghost Pirates of Vooju Island , House of Tales' 15 Days , and the alternate version of So Blonde for Nintendo consoles.

While the name Mamba Games might still be unfamiliar to most people, the fledgling London-based publisher launched its "Odyssia" brand specifically for adventure games last year, debuting with existing titles such as Outcry and The Lost Crown, with plans to release up to 16 different adventures on PC, DS, and Wii by the end of 2010. Today's jaw-dropping lineup is certainly a promising start, though Mamba claims that it will be announcing additional titles in the coming weeks.

There are no specific release dates set for any of these games, but having a publisher is the first important step, and we'll have specific updates as soon as they become available.

With the release of the sixth Carol Reed mystery approaching fast, MDNA Games has now released a playable demo of Black Circle.

Her latest adventure sees the amateur detective tackling another murder mystery in Sweden. This time, her neighbour recounts a story of a dead body he discovered that somehow disappeared while he left to fetch the police. The police don't believe the elderly man's story, so it's up to Carol to get to bottom of this curious development.

The demo includes a short optional tutorial, then starts off at the beginning of the full game, introducing the mystery at hand and getting the adventure underway. To download the 89 MB file, simply head over to the game's official website.

There is no firm release date announced for the game's release, but it's expected to be available later this month.

With last year's Return to Ravenhearst, Big Fish Games moved its popular Mystery Case Files hidden object game series noticeably into the more traditional adventure realm. With the latest installment, Dire Grove, the series seems poised to make the next leap, as hinted in the game's teaser released today.



Little is known about the upcoming sixth PC title in the series, but more information will follow in the coming weeks as the game nears release. In the meantime, the video offers up a tantalizing FMV glimpse into the events that will take players into the "dire grove" this time around, following in the footsteps of four graduate students who travelled to a small township in England and were never heard from again.

For additional details as they become available, and for information about the other Mystery Case Files games, be sure to check out the official series website.