Name: It’s All About Masks
Item: It’s All About Masks
Author: Retro Replay

It’s All About Masks

It’s All About Masks gets moving quickly: you are Crown agent Cunning, trapped aboard the yacht Victoria after secret papers vanish en route to Venice. That old-fashioned espionage setup gives the hunt for scattered objects a little more purpose than usual, even when you are still combing a Victorian scene for a long list of odds and ends.

This is a straightforward hidden-object mystery with occasional hands-on mini-games and a small inventory layer. It is easy to settle into, especially if you enjoy clearing busy screens methodically, but the familiar item-list structure does not have much room to surprise you. A decent fit for a relaxed evening of clue-chasing rather than a demanding detective adventure.

Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

The first hour has a clean, comfortable rhythm. A theft on the Victoria sends Cunning searching for evidence, and you spend most of your time scanning densely stocked Victorian locations for objects named in a list at the side of the screen. If you like the quiet satisfaction of spotting one last stubborn item amid piles of unrelated clutter, this delivers that loop without much fuss.

The inventory case gives the search a little more shape. Certain collected objects must be dragged onto sensible parts of a scene to trigger an action or finish a task, so you are not only clicking through lists. These moments are modest, but they help break up the more mechanical searches and encourage you to look at each location as a place with problems to solve.

Hints are practical rather than limitless: the statue button points out a required object, then needs time to recharge. That makes it a useful escape valve when a tiny item blends into the scenery, while still asking you to do most of the looking yourself. Mini-games arrive after particular hotspots and shift you to self-contained puzzles based on manipulating pieces or mechanisms; they provide welcome interruptions, though the core experience remains firmly rooted in object hunting.

Frustration will depend on your tolerance for item lists. The scattered paraphernalia is exactly what hidden-object fans come for, but it can make progress feel like a visual sweep rather than deduction. Go in wanting a traditional, low-pressure search game, and its simple structure is easy to enjoy.

Graphics

The game puts you in Victorian locations crowded with assorted objects, and those busy scenes are the main visual draw. The yacht setting and period clutter suit the 19th-century mystery nicely, even if the density of each screen is deliberately designed to make individual items harder to pick out.

Story

The mystery begins with a strong enough hook: Teodor Milos is carrying secret government documents to Venice, Cunning is assigned to protect him, and the papers disappear during their voyage on the Victoria. It is a classic spy setup, direct and easy to follow, with an immediate reason to start investigating.

The story mainly serves to guide you from one search to the next, but that is not a criticism in a game built around hidden-object scenes. The missing-documents case gives every search an investigative frame, so you are at least gathering your way through a proper mystery rather than searching rooms for no reason at all.

Do not expect the format to turn into a deeply involved detective simulation. The strongest part of the narrative is its compact period premise: Crown secrets, a voyage to Venice, and a thief somewhere close at hand. It is enough to keep the puzzle-solving connected, even when the moment-to-moment work is familiar.

Overall Experience

It’s All About Masks is a competent, conventional hidden-object mystery that understands the value of a clear setup and a steady pace. Searching lists, using a few inventory items in the right places, and stopping for occasional manipulation puzzles makes for an undemanding routine that is easy to pick up.

Its limits are also plain. Most of your time is spent locating named objects in crowded scenery, so the experience rises or falls on whether that activity relaxes you or wears you down. The adventure elements add variety, but they do not displace the central hunt.

Give it a chance if you want a Victorian detective theme wrapped around familiar hidden-object play and do not need the mystery to be especially elaborate. Veteran genre fans may find it agreeable rather than memorable, while newcomers get a clear example of the format’s basic pleasures: patient observation, small bursts of problem-solving, and a case that moves forward one found item at a time.