Carol Reed mystery tour

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Features by Adventure Game Hotspot staff
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Perhaps the most common reaction by players to MDNA Games' Carol Reed series – besides, "hey, these games are darn good!" – is "I need to go to Norrköping!" (Which totally isn't pronounced like you think, unless you're Scandinavian.) Indeed, indie developer Mikael Nyqvist and his fictional detective creation have probably done more for Swedish tourism than all other advertising combined.

Of course, most of us DON'T go to Norrköping (we only ever have to wait another year for the next annual Carol Reed mystery anyway), but one intrepid explorer recently did. To help commemorate the series' phenomenal 20th(!) anniversary, Adventure Game Geek braved rain, narrow car passageways, and leisurely trams to visit Mikael in person at home...

...which just so happens to be Carol's home in-game! In the first of three – count 'em, THREE – video featurettes, Mikael gives Geek the deluxe tour of an apartment many fans will instantly recognize, from the elegant furniture and hardwood floors to dirty laundry (for looking at but not rummaging through) and the love-it-or-hate-it dining room wallpaper. Not to mention an unusual family pet, and of course that impressive boxed adventure game collection!

During the home tour, Mikael shares lots of juicy insider info as well. Ever wondered what Carol Reed actually looks like? Mikael reveals all! (Well, sorta.) What's Mikael's own favourite Carol Reed game? Watch and learn! What other developer's game does Mikael consider a "masterpiece?" Which popular artist does Mikael refuse to sue for the intellectual property rights to "MDNA?" And just what IS in Carol's fridge, anyway?

Click and watch for all these answers and more! But be sure to stick around for the encores.

Part 1 – Carol's Apartment

For Part 2, Mikael hosts AGG for a scouting tour of some of the locations used in earlier games. Turns out Sweden is NOT littered with abandoned houses; Mikael just has a nose for sniffing them out. Which wasn't hard for Amos Green's house, because the odour in the air was pretty stinky. Still, after surviving a bee apiary and a short hike, Geek ventured into the old, decrepit abode and found it... much like it was in the game! Lots of other iconic locations were visited as well, from the Grand Hotel to the city library Carol thinks is ugly, to Adam & Eva's swingers club, to the Peking House for Chinese food, to the park with the Cactus Display (bring your own trampoline).

Part 2 – Location Hunting

In the final part of Adventure Game Geek's Norrköping visit, he's given an adventure of his own as everyone's favourite janitor Bigge needs five "artistic" photos from around the Industrial Park in the center of town. Why? Who knows! It's a fetch quest and there are goals to complete! And so we follow along to places like the Heating Church (with all four chimneys, obviously) to the falsely advertised "Blood Falls" (turns out it's really water), to the huge granite cylinders, now penis-graffiti-free since Carol first saw them. And no number of fake red herrings would stop Geek from tracking down the real statue of Moa Martinson, whoever she is. (Surely someone important, but the plaques are all in Swedish.)

All in all, you'll be glad you tagged along for the ride. It's not quite the same as being there yourself, but it's the next best thing!

Part 3 – The Industrial Park

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