If you’re looking for adventure, funny quips or hair-raising tension, this isn’t the right place. What are here are puzzles galore, pure and simple. This game isn’t even trying to disguise its main function with any story elements inside the main game (aside from a few diary pages and other letters scattered around), after the obligatory storyline setup at the beginning of the game. Nope, this game is solely about solving all types of puzzles.

Such as it is, here’s the premise: Duncan Adams, an eccentric who died recently, just happens to have been a very rich man who collected safes. He left a will, but unfortunately it’s hidden inside one of his many safes. His family has hired you, a safecracking expert, to unlock the mysteries in his house and find the will. To complicate matters, Duncan Adams also loved puzzles, and all of his safes and doors in the house have been secured with various types of puzzles.

These puzzles include sliders, codes, number and logical puzzles. Most of the safes require puzzle-solving skills, while others will require objects, such as keys, found inside other puzzle-locked boxes. The puzzles begin easily enough, but soon become more difficult. The main difficulty lies in the lack of clues to decipher some of the puzzles, as players may not have accessed the precise clues needed yet. While the game is mostly linear, many of the puzzles are encountered before all the clues needed for them have been discovered. If so, just be patient and keep looking around until the clues are found.

Play begins on the first floor of the house, and as puzzles unlocking doors are solved, more rooms will open. There are two floors to explore, but actually, there’s not much exploring to do. All of the puzzles are in plain view, and any items that need retrieving will be inside the puzzle containers. There are some papers here and there, but most of them can be bypassed totally, as they’re not needed to solve anything. However, a few pictures are helpful in solving some of the puzzles.

Well, that’s about all there is to say about this game. It’s strictly for the puzzle fans out there, you know who you are. My husband and I like these types of puzzles and have been having fun with the game, but the big drawback to this type of game is the fact that the puzzles aren’t replayable. Once the game is over, it’s over. That said, the puzzles here are very well designed and varied; they run the gamut from easy to difficult and are of many different types. This game is fun to work together with a friend, as many people are better at one type of puzzle over another. Most of the puzzles can be figured out with diligence, but a few are really difficult. There is a helpful walkthrough from GameBoomers if needed.

I recommend Safecracker for any puzzle fan, especially if they can share the fun.

Gameplay: 7.0
The puzzles are designed well and are fun to solve. Players will feel a real sense of accomplishment upon completing each one. However, there isn’t anything else to do in this game, and once the puzzles are solved, there is no going back and replaying.

Graphics: 7.0
The graphics are good enough, but nothing startling.

Sound: 7.0
Ditto for the music.

Difficulty: Medium
The puzzles range in difficulty from easy to difficult. If completely stuck, refer to the walkthrough mentioned in the review.

Concept: 6.0
There isn’t anything new, but the presentation is very good.

Overall: 7.0
A nice diversion for puzzle lovers.