# Shadowplay Harrowstead Mystery — user reviews > 28 indexed App Store user reviews of Shadowplay Harrowstead Mystery by Mad Head Games d.o.o. Novi Sad, rated 4.70/5 from 256 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shadowplay-harrowstead-mystery/id1525332601/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shadowplay-harrowstead-mystery/id1525332601.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 195 · 4★ 50 · 3★ 8 · 2★ 1 · 1★ 2 ## What do users think of Shadowplay Harrowstead Mystery? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 👍 Enjoyable gameplay - 🎨 Good/fun graphics - 💡 Creative and innovative developer - 📖 Great storyline - 🧩 Intriguing puzzles - 🗺️ Easy to use map - ✨ Dazzling special effects - 🎯 Well-thought-out games - 🏃 Fast-paced gameplay - 🌟 Marvelous play - 🎁 Great bonus game - 💯 Top game developer - 🤩 Absolutely delightful retreat - 👍 Well-priced (at times) **Cons** - ⏳ Too short - 🐛 Voice sound glitchy - 🤔 Puzzles make no sense - 🖱️ Skips don't work well - 💰 Not worth the money (at times) - 📉 High pricing (at times) - 🤏 Finicky touchscreen sensitivity - 🤷 Lacks creepiness - 😐 Average game - 😵 Special effects can be overwhelming **Commonly reported bugs** - Voice sound glitchy - Purchase loop for already purchased games - Skips do not work well enough - Too many places without a skip for dialogue scene - Finicky touchscreen sensitivity, difficult to acquire items - Could have been enhanced with better touch sensitivity **Most requested features** - Fix purchase loop for already purchased games - More variety in Hidden Object scenes - More innovative mini-games - More labyrinths and mazes - More objects that can be examined from different perspectives - More sliding zoom zones - A scarier game - Better touch sensitivity - More original mini games ## Newest reviews (8 of 28) ### 5/5 — Terrific but a bit short? *2020-09-29* My real rating is 4 and 1/2 stars since the game seemed short, but it was a marvelous play—with all the bells and whistles. It was a real connection to the games from Mad Head a few years ago—the Nevertales and Rite of Passage. Even the HOGs were innovative and engaging. It all worked, but it was over so quickly. The bonus game was especially great. With Mad Head’s marvelous return to our gaming world with the last two games— both long and challenging, I simply cheered and was cheered! Even with its brevity, I loved it—just creepy enough with great puzzles and great characters. Many thanks to Mad Head for these last 3 creations and to Lynx minx and others for keeping us in the know, especially when we need short escapes good for our brains. Buy it and support this terrific company’s return to the stage. Keep them coming please! Moxieruby **Developer response:** Thank you so much for playing the game, we appreciate the kind words! ### 5/5 — Janny *2020-09-29, version 1.0.0* Was supposed to be half price but wasn’t and for $12.99 was way too short for that price. ### 5/5 — Interesting *2020-09-28, version 1.0.0* Great game and bonus too, both at a very good length of time, plus price of game! Soundtrack was pretty good too 👍🏻 ### 5/5 — 🥰🌟👏 *2020-09-28, version 1.0.0* Loved this game but would love a more scarier one. The scarier the better! Can’t wait for the next game so glad your back!😘 ### 4/5 — Shadowplay: Harrowstead Mystery by LynxMinx *2020-09-28* Congratulations to me! I finally could play Mad Head. The game was fast-paced and enjoyable, but also had some issues. The storyline was one we have seen many times: evil entity stealing souls in return for immortality. That’s basically the domain of Domini, lol! However the gameplay mechanics are totally different with Mad Head. At each location you must collect a morphing object and a Mad Head icon. There are morphing objects in the HO scenes as well. The graphics were decent, but could use a bit more acuity. The special effects were dazzling; however I would say to players with migraines, seizure disorders or motion sickness to be careful. The gimmick is a magic lamp, but I won’t go into details to spoil it for you. The HOP were mainly word lists; I prefer more variety and innovation. The touchscreen sensitivity was finicky and it was difficult at times to acquire items. I actually had to use a hint because I could not pick up an arrow in a HOP and I never use hints! Mad Head needs to make the gameplay interface a bit more sensitive. This can make the difference between night and day while playing a game. As far as the mini-games went, there weren’t that many and most were of the rotational genre. The instructions were at times way more confusing than the puzzles. Let’s have some more labyrinths and mazes and variety. I do love that you can examine certain objects from different perspectives by turning them around or rotating them to acquire items, and I love sliding zoom zones. We could have used more of these. As for the strategy guide, it was not an in-game strategy guide; it takes you to a mobile hub, similar to being brought to the BF website many years ago, but it’s easy to look at. This game was not very lengthy, but it was priced well at $3.99 and definitely worth the quirky thrill ride. My true rating is 3.5 stars. I deducted stars for lack of originality in both the storyline, the HO scenes and the mini-games, as well as for length and most of all for poor touchscreen sensitivity. However I did find the game entertaining and am looking forward to more from Mad Head! Happy gaming to everyone! ### 4/5 — Smooth gameplay but not one of their best *2020-09-27* I’m always happy when Mad Head Games releases something new for iOS, although this was not one of their best games. Somehow it lacked the creepiness of the previous Shadowplay games, and whereas their earlier games would wow me with either the story, gameplay, puzzles or HOGs, this was average. However, even an average game from Mad Head is better than some of the other games we get, and although I found (and lost) more cutting tools than I should have, at least some of them I got to use twice (sorry but my pet peeve is when developers waste our time by having us find a knife, sharp rock or shell, piece of glass wrapped with a hankie over and over again ad nauseum). There were no glitches in game play at all, all the way through the bonus game. I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t an “ultimate HOG” game in the extras, but at least we did have morphing objects in each scene as well as their HOGs, and the map was handily located in the main screen, instead of buried in the menu. My true rating is 3.5 stars but bumped up to 4 stars because of fantastic early discount Mad Head is giving to their games. ### 5/5 — Enjoyed this game *2020-09-26* Fun game and very creative. Just the right balance of difficulty for mini games. Keep up the good work! ### 5/5 — LOVE Mad Head Games *2020-09-25* And this is no exception. Feels like Xmas every time there is a new release on the apple play store. Keep them coming!!!! ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — 7.99 - really guys??!! *2020-10-02, version 1.0.0* I’m sorry but I’m just shocked at your new pricing... and that’s with a 50% discount! In a year where people are struggling, you decide to not reduce your game prices, but whack it up! I have bought your games for years... I’m sorry but your greed before people is just unpalatable.... ### 2/5 — Not worth the money *2020-10-03* Game is too short and not well done ### 3/5 — Wow, so short *2021-02-01, version 1.0.3* I feel that £3.99 was too much for a game that was over so quickly, including the bonus, I am in shock, the graphics were good and the few puzzles were alright, but it was over before I had started. ### 3/5 — Meh. *2021-01-02* Too short, too obvious, not very interesting story. I wish I hadn’t spent the money. **Developer response:** Thank you for your review. We are sad to hear that, perhaps you might prefer some of our others games. You can check out https://www.madheadgames.com/games for some other projects. Happy holidays! ### 3/5 — Good graphics but odd puzzles *2020-12-10* A lot of the puzzles make no sense. I don’t know if it’s games played in another country that are known there and just not known in the states. But a lot of them make absolutely no sense what or why you’re doing. There’s no rhyme or reason.Also the skips do not work well enough. You have to click it a million times before it actually allows you to skip a dialogue scene. And then there are too many places where there isn’t a skip for a dialogue scene. **Developer response:** We are sorry that the game wasn't your cup of tea, perhaps you might like some of our other games like Rite of Passage, Wanderlust, Nevertales. We will look into the problem with the responsiveness of the skip button and hope that in the future you will not encounter similar issues. Happy holidays! ### 4/5 — Good game *2024-04-22, version 1.0.4* I enjoyed this game. However it is quite short and the voice sound is a bit glitchy. ### 4/5 — Fun graphics *2023-10-10* Fun graphics but I still can’t figure out all the elements ### 4/5 — Help - where is the morph?! *2022-09-20* Love the game, but I can’t find the morph in the painting over the fireplace in the bonus game!! Help!🙃 ### 4/5 — Fine, but a bit short. *2020-09-29, version 1.0.0* I enjoyed this but it didn’t last very long - graphics were good. ### 4/5 — Enjoyable *2020-09-28* This game was enjoyable, but not as good as the Nevertales series, which is a favorite of mine. However, the gameplay was glitch-free but could have been enhanced with better touch sensitivity. Although it was not as annoying as what I experienced in Wanderlust, it was still bothersome. Could have been a 5 if not for that. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Shadow play *2024-02-06, version 1.0.4* Good game, easy to follow, good visuals. All in all quite an enjoyable game to play. ### 5/5 — Game *2023-12-04* Great so far ### 5/5 — Shadow play harrowstead mystery *2023-10-01* I love this game! Storyline great graphic everything! The only thing I purchased this game before. And I’m playing it again and , when I put already purchased it goes in circles! I’m not paying for this game again . Fix this problem please. And thank you, ### 5/5 — Awesome *2023-01-04* Best mystery game that I’ve played in ages ### 5/5 — Absolutely delightful retreat from daily life *2021-10-22* I really enjoyed playing this game over several nights. I took my time playing this game because it was such a wonderful game to “escape” the stress from listening to the news and dealing with 2020-2021 issues. The amount of detail that was put in each scene and hidden object game was astounding, the music was beautiful to listen to, and the map was easy to use. I liked searching for the morphing objects and the special Mad Head symbol. This was my first ‘Mad Head” game and I definitely will be purchasing more. To the creators of this game: thank you for your wonderful work! **Developer response:** Hi! Thank you SO MUCH for your praise - it means the world to us! We are delighted to hear that you like our game and that you had a pleasant experience :) ### 5/5 — Top Game *2021-02-09* This developer is by far the most creative and innovative games maker on the planet. The puzzles are fresh (which then makes some players complain they’re “not from the States - lol) and intriguing. The storylines are new as well (maybe not for people who never leave their houses and play/eat 24 hrs a day) and present a more realistic story than fairy princesses and dragons. Those of you whose only lives are playing these games nonstop, should start reconsidering their whiny reviews or you’ll be left with nothing if you continually provide negative incentive to purchase. **Developer response:** We try to create various games and experiences to suit a large variety of players tastes :) Hopefully a lot of people truly enjoy playing them. We are grateful for your comment, it means a lot and wish you nothing but the best. We hope to hear what you have to say about our other games as well, since players' feedback is always valuable, even when it isn't most flattering. :) ### 5/5 — Excellent 🤪 *2020-11-24, version 1.0.2* Mad head does it again. I truly enjoyed playing there games once again. I had stopped playing for a while because there were no new games. But I see now that the devs are all out on their own. Excellent idea I always said that they should get more credit that a note on the o of a big fish opening😉 If you played the first shadow box game and enjoyed it as I did. Then you will definitely enjoy this one too. Of course it has all the bells and whistles that Mad Head are known for. Good storyline fun cut scenes and original mini games. What can I say its Mad Head 🤪 Oh but they do have a great sale right now. Ive caught up with all their ios games at a very reasonable cost. Give it a go you won’t regret it 👍👍 ### 5/5 — Bravo Mad Head! *2020-11-20* Mad Head is a leader in HO game development and this game rises to that quality. Bravo Mad Head Games! **Developer response:** Thank you very much for your review! Happy holidays! ### 5/5 — Love some Mad head games *2020-10-11* I look forward to seeing your games. Well thought out and fast paced just how I like it. Nice length to. Thank you **Developer response:** Great, thank you so much for an amazing review and we're really glad you liked the latest Shadowplay title! ### 5/5 — Harrowstead Mystery *2020-09-29* Long, fun game with collectible and hidden objects throughout. I enjoyed the pace, scenes, and puzzles. Keep up the work.😀 **Developer response:** Thank you so much for playing, we're thrilled you enjoyed the game! --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-27.*