9: The Dark Side of Notre Dame

In ‘9: The Dark Side of Notre Dame’, players step into the shoes of a detective investigating the mysterious disappearance of a nobleman’s daughter during the Paris Festival of Fools. Eyewitnesses report she was abducted by reanimated gargoyles linked to a cursed sapphire stone divided into good and evil fragments. With the corrupting fragment empowering the immortal villain Arkivus, you must explore the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral, solve intricate puzzles, and navigate hidden-object scenes to unravel the dark conspiracy and save the missing girl.

9: The Dark Side of Notre Dame: Review

Introduction

In the crowded landscape of hidden object games, few attempt to intertwine intricate lore with a setting as iconic as Notre Dame Cathedral. 9: The Dark Side of Notre Dame, developed by Play Favorite Games and published by Big Fish Games in 2013, stands as a bold reimagining of Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It plunges players into a shadowy conspiracy where living gargoyles, a cursed sapphire, and a missing noblewoman collide against the backdrop of Paris. This review argues that while the game’s atmospheric charm and ambitious narrative framework offer a compelling detective experience, its execution is often marred by technical flaws and mechanical repetition. Despite these shortcomings, it remains a cult favorite for its niche fusion of gothic mystery and magical realism, carving a unique space in the annals of casual gaming history.

Development History & Context

Emerging from the mid-2010s boom of narrative-driven hidden object adventures, 9: The Dark Side of Notre Dame was conceived by Play Favorite Games, a studio with a portfolio heavily focused on Big Fish Games’ casual market. The project was helmed by Director of Production Isaias Vallejo and Narrative Design Manager Lisa Brunette, whose prior collaborations included titles like Mystery Trackers and Christmas Stories. The game’s development was constrained by the era’s technological limitations—Windows XP/Vista/7 compatibility, DirectX 9 requirements, and a modest 2GB RAM limit—which necessitated a focus on hand-painted 2D assets over 3D rendering. This choice fostered a distinct visual identity but limited environmental dynamism.

Released in March 2013 for Windows via digital download, the game capitalized on the burgeoning trend of “Collector’s Editions,” which bundled extras like bonus chapters, art galleries, and soundtracks. Its development unfolded against a saturated market where games like Mystery Case Files and Hidden Mysteries: Notre Dame – Secrets of Paris (2011) dominated, yet 9: The Dark Side differentiated itself by leaning into a darker, more mythologized narrative. The studio’s vision, as documented in credits, aimed to “reimagine Hugo’s classic through a fantastical lens,” blending detective noir with supernatural elements—a risky departure from the Disney-fueled adaptations of the 1990s.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

The story unfolds during the Festival of Fools, where Fleur-de-Lys, a nobleman’s daughter, vanishes after being abducted by living gargoyles. Players assume the role of an unnamed detective hired by Inspector Charmant to discreetly investigate, avoiding public panic. The narrative rapidly expands beyond a simple missing-person case, weaving in a centuries-old conflict centered on the “Guardian Amulet” and its corrupt counterpart, the “Clan Amulet.” These fragments of a magical sapphire were split by King Vlaudislaus, with the evil half empowering Arkivus—an immortal antagonist seeking to reunite the gem and harness its power.

Characterization is both a strength and a weakness. Arkivus, voiced with a theatrical but poorly executed accent (per Gamezebo’s critique), embodies classic megalomania, while the supporting cast—such as Esme, Quasimodo’s adoptive daughter—introduces tragic nuance. Esme’s demonic possession by Arkivus and her subsequent redemption arc add emotional depth, though the dialogue often suffers from stilted translations and Yoda-esque phrasing (“A sturdy cut of wood, these boards are”). The game’s thematic core explores duality: light versus darkness (through the sapphire fragments), duty versus forbidden power (Quasimodo’s transformation), and the corruption of institutions (police vs. arcane forces). Yet these themes are occasionally undermined by a plot that prioritizes puzzle progression over coherence, with plot holes emerging in the bonus chapter’s flashback to Arkivus’ origins.

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

9: The Dark Side employs a hybrid of traditional hidden object scenes (HOS), inventory-based puzzles, and mini-games, all navigated via a first-person perspective with touch-point movement. Its core loop involves searching for objects in cluttered scenes, many of which require multi-step interactions (e.g., cutting a banner to retrieve hidden items). The Guardian Amulet—a key late-game tool—adds a unique twist by revealing hidden glyphs, rewarding thorough exploration. Puzzles range from logic-based (e.g., aligning landmarks on a tourist board) to mechanically opaque, with some solutions lacking intuitive clarity. For instance, the cash register button puzzle in Chapter 1 demands a nonsensical sequence of button movements, as detailed in the walkthrough.

Combat is notably absent, replaced by environmental traversal and item combination. The Gladriel gargoyle companion—a reanimated stone creature—solves high-up obstacles, introducing light platforming elements. Character progression is linear, tied to puzzle completion, but the game offers three difficulty modes (Casual, Advanced, Hardcore) to mitigate frustration. Inventory management is streamlined, with drag-and-drop mechanics, though the UI’s fixed layout can obscure critical items. The Map function, unlocked early, aids navigation but underscores the game’s reliance on backtracking—a staple of the genre, but here occasionally tedious. Notably, the Collector’s Edition includes 32 achievements, encouraging replay through challenges like solving all puzzles without hints or finding all hidden glyphs.

World-Building, Art & Sound

The game’s greatest triumph lies in its atmospheric world-building. Set primarily in and around Notre Dame, the environment transforms the cathedral into a character in its own right. Cobblestone streets, snow-dusted Parisian squares, and shadowed catacombs evoke Hugo’s gothic grandeur, while the “Window of Inspiration” stained-glass chamber merges mysticism with architectural beauty. The art style—hand-drawn with painterly textures—uses chiaroscuro lighting to heighten tension, especially in HOS scenes where dark corners obscure crucial clues.

Sound design reinforces this ambiance: an accordion-driven soundtrack infuses Parisian charm, though its repetition can grate. Voice acting, however, is divisive. Inspector Charmant’s pompous delivery and Arkivus’ hammy villainy (e.g., “Qwasi-modo” mispronunciations) align with the game’s theatrical tone but lack polish. Environmental audio—church bells, dripping water, distant crowds—enhances immersion, yet lip-syncing is virtually absent, breaking immersion during cutscenes. The Collector’s Edition extras, including concept art and a soundtrack, contextualize the art direction, revealing influences from medieval manuscript illustrations and Art Nouveau motifs.

Reception & Legacy

Upon release, 9: The Dark Side received muted but polarized reviews. Critic Neilie Johnson (Gamezebo) awarded it a 60/100, praising its “Parisian atmosphere” and “well-triggered HOS” but decrying “horrible voice acting” and “confusing puzzles.” Big Fish Games rated it 4.3/5, highlighting its “fantastical reimagining,” while iWin’s 3/5 score noted its niche appeal. Commercially, it benefited from Big Fish’s digital distribution model but struggled to stand out against titans like Mystery Case Files. Its legacy is primarily cult-driven: on TVTropes, it’s remembered for its “Our Gargoyles Rock” trope and “Pyrrhic Victory” narrative, while forums debate its “Amulet of Concentrated Awesome” mechanics.

Influence-wise, the game’s blend of historical fiction and fantasy foreshadowed later titles like Dark Romance: The Collector’s Edition (2014). Its Notre Dame setting also inspired comparisons to Disney’s Animated Storybook (1996), though 9: The Dark Side’s darker tone carved a distinct subgenre. Over time, it gained recognition for its ambitious narrative scope, often cited as an underrated entry in the hidden object canon. The Collector’s Edition’s bonus chapter, which explores Arkivus’ backstory, remains divisive—praised for filling lore gaps yet criticized for feeling rushed and disconnected from the main narrative.

Conclusion

9: The Dark Side of Notre Dame is a flawed but fascinating artifact of the casual gaming renaissance. Its synthesis of Hugo’s gothic legacy with supernatural intrigue offers a rich narrative tapestry, while its atmospheric art and Parisian setting create a compelling world. Yet, technical shortcomings—patchy voice acting, opaque puzzles, and mechanical repetition—prevent it from reaching its potential. As a historical curiosity, it exemplifies the era’s experimentation with hidden object games, pushing boundaries where others played it safe. For genre enthusiasts, its strengths—Gladriel’s charm, the sapphire mythology, and the cathedrally-inspired aesthetics—make it a worthwhile revisit. Ultimately, 9: The Dark Side stands as a testament to ambition over execution: a game that dares to dream darkly, even if its execution is occasionally as fractured as its fabled sapphire.