The title “Magic Encyclopedia” doesn’t really describe anything about this hidden object game. If it were up to us, we’d have called it: “Fun mystery solving while teleporting around the world, with some cool mini-games along the way.” Okay, that might be too long. But the word “encyclopedia” is hardly exciting, when this game is actually a whole lot of fun.

Magic Encyclopedia is one of the few hidden object games that really makes you feel like you’re solving a mystery. The basic gameplay of the genre is there: you have a visual list of things to find, and they are hidden in a scene. The catch: things are broken into “pieces”, all of which you need to collect to repair the broken item. Once repaired, you can use them to unlock, move, or smash other interactive objects in the level. The mystery comes in figuring out the secret order of things, such as which object unlocks which. Sometimes you will trigger puzzles as well, and these mini-games are REALLY NEAT, and not repetitive or boring like in other games. (In the first hour, prepare for rotating jigsaw puzzles, a Pipe Dream-type game, an inlay game, and a clever connect-the-dots one where you create constellations.) All the mini-games and hidden-object searching are intriguing but not difficult. Objects aren’t rotated or hiding behind other objects, so they are usually easy to spot. Interactive objects are labeled with text. Hints are also numerous, and you can always earn some more hints by playing a quick mini-game.

Your fictional journey as Catherine, a magic student searching for her brother, will take you to Egypt, Africa, the Mayan ruins, and more. These locations are depicted in a hand-painted art style that is not over the top; it’s just right, and quite pretty. (Plus, everything is thematic, so there’s no random collection of junk strewn across a street - thank God!) Even with the global goose-chase, there is no “epic” or “grand” pretense in Magic Encyclopedia - instead, everything works toward a subtle mystery-solving experience. Though there’s really nothing new here, there’s also nothing really bad about this game; in fact, we really enjoyed playing it. More companies should make titles like this one: not too difficult, not too easy… it’s just right.

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