Search for clues in 'Mirrors of Albion,' a free hidden object game for Windows 8 and RT

It has been a while since we saw a new mobile Windows game from European publisher Game Insight. Their last release was city builder Big Business Deluxe. After that, Game Insight has mostly concentrated on updating Cloud Raiders (now available on Windows 8) and working on other phone and tablet games behind the scenes.

Today Game Insight has just unleashed a new Windows 8 and RT game, and in a fresh genre to boot! Mirrors of Albion is a free to play hidden object game. Taking place within a fantasy version of Victorian England, players investigate a series of mysterious disappearances. This involves lots of traveling to new locations and searching for hidden objects. If you like hidden object games, you'll probably dig it. Stay with us to check out our first impressions and hands on video!

Detective in Wonderland

When you first launch the game, a helmet-wearing cat named Cheshire Jr. will inform you that a woman has gone missing in London. You'll soon discover that more mysteries and crimes are afoot. Behind them all is the Queen of Hearts, a lady you don't want to mess with. It's a unique and (mostly) realistic take on the world of Alice in Wonderland.

Players will meet various characters like Cheshire Jr, a sister of the missing woman, and an Inspector, all of whom provide leads to investigate and quests to solve. These quests take you to a variety of locations across the sprawling map. If you haven't been to an area before, you'll first have to buy a key to access it. After that, you can return to it as often as necessary. Many locations will be inaccessible until you reach a specific experience level, as well.

Search for clues in Mirrors of Albion, a free hidden object game for Windows 8 and RT

Once you get to a location, it's time to search around! This is a hidden object game, so of course you have a list of things to find within each impossibly cluttered scene. Sometimes the list contains the names of the items, but other times you'll only have the objects' silhouettes to work from.

Each time you find an object within a scene, your combo meter briefly lights up. If you discover another item before it depletes, you'll earn extra points and increase the combo multiplier. Thus it's best to try to locate a few objects at once before you start tapping and crossing them off your list. The higher your score at the end of the level, the better your star rating and experience earned.

Search for clues in Mirrors of Albion, a free hidden object game for Windows 8 and RT

Detective club

Your quest for clues will go much faster with some help. Add some people to your friends list and you'll find their scores listed whenever you start a new level. Players can also send gifts to each other, though I haven't discovered just how useful or important those gifts are just yet. The friend system doesn't use Facebook; you just have to exchange user IDs.

Want a friend to get you started? Add me! My user ID is svnjduzu . Let's team up and take down the Queen of Hearts together.

Search for clues in Mirrors of Albion, a free hidden object game for Windows 8 and RT

Ready to investigate

As a free to play game, Mirrors of Albion naturally has some IAP mechanics. The main one is an energy system. Each time you play a level, you'll consume some energy. This energy refills over time, or you can buy some food to refill it using crystals, the game's premium currency.

So far, Mirrors of Albion seems like a quality hidden object game. The realistic-with-a-hint-of-fantasy setting and characters are quite appealing, and the artwork is suitably colorful and detailed. As long as you don't mind waiting for your energy to refill every now and then, you're getting a lot of hidden object goodness for free here.

WPCentral can confirm that Mirrors of Albion will eventually come to Windows Phone as well! Let's hope the two games share saves via the cloud.

Paul Acevedo

Paul Acevedo is the Games Editor at Windows Central. A lifelong gamer, he has written about videogames for over 15 years and reviewed over 350 games for our site. Follow him on Twitter @PaulRAcevedo. Don’t hate. Appreciate!

33 Comments
  • cool, but more importantly... 1st.
  • Hahahaha
    Wish I could punch your face
  • These games look boring... Why is there so many of them?
  • Cause there are boring people
  • Preferences. There exist different people in this world. Some like Coke, some like Pepsi, some like... neither. And so, there are people who like things others call boring or a waste of time. And those same people like things the so called boring ones would call bland or uninteresting. Preferences. It makes the world go crazy. That's the best argument I have, other people find them fun. And enough of them exist that it's a popular genre. 
  • These kinds of games involve your brain so understandably they would bore some people.
  • I need a free game that's addicting
  • Weed ;)
  • Doesn't the name violate Microsoft's IP (Albion is a city in Fable)
  • Albion is the oldest known name for the island of Great Britain.
  • Maybe you should change the name of the island then. #notBackingDown
  • Hahahahaha one of the best comments ever
  • LOL! Keep fighting the pointless(?) fight, I guess.
  • When will come the Minecraft ?
  • Yesterday I think
  • I hope it will be free. Double M what are you think about this game? Free or paid ?
  • Minecraft won't be free.
  • Hope it supports 512mb devices
  • It's not for wp
  • No, but I mention in the article that it's coming soon to WP.
  • I love this kind of games
  • Wow good for you
  • Can anyone recommend me a good one on WP?
  • Anything from Artifex Mundi is good, but they're more puzzle- and story-heavy than this one (and not really free).
  • Well, they seem to have more than a few games. I guess I'll be wasting a lot of time these days.
  • I really like Chronology.
  • It seems promising. I'm downloading now. Thanks.
  • Chronology is fantastic, one of the best games this year in my book. But I love HOPA games so when this comes to WP I will look in to it.
  • i stunt 2 my favourite
  • "Free" is such a subjective term when it comes to games anymore.
  • Well, free to play usually means the majority of the game is accessible for free, with various IAP hooks throughout. The Artifex Mundi games I told NightWatch about are listed as free but they're really free demos from which you unlock the full game via a single IAP.
  • Try Hidden Objects: Blackstone mysteries. It's a good and free example of a HOPA game. It's available in WP8 (512mb) RT and W8. Best of all it's a great time waster! :)
  • When will it come for India?