Feeling scruffy? Then scruff on over to The Scruffs: Return of the Duke. Don't make me grab you by the scruff of your neck, because you're bound to have a scrufftastic time! Okay, I've communicated my hatred of the cheesy scruff-related puns in this game, but beyond that complaint, this hidden object game is quite the charmer, and it's a refreshing change from the darker stuff that the genre is known for.
The Scruffs: Return of the Duke is a sequel to the 2007 game, The Scruffs, and is made by the same company, Sweet Tooth Games. The graphics have been given somewhat of an update, though it's nothing revolutionary. What's more important is what they haven't changed. Return of the Duke features the same top-quality voice acting, cheeky humor, and upbeat atmosphere that made the original a memorable hit.
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In The Scruffs, you helped the eccentric, but lovable, Scruff family save their home from evil bankers by uncovering the forgotten treasure hidden in the house. In the sequel, you're helping Grandpa Scruff save Castle Scrufford from an evil wannabe Duke by finding documents that prove Grandpa is the real Duke of Scrufford. Okay... so the premise is patently ridiculous. But that's part of the fun. This game never takes itself too seriously, whether it's Mr. Scruff delivering a bad impression of Humphrey Bogart or the Scruff children bickering in their cute lisps. As a gamer, you just let the game devs take you on a journey with these characters, and you have a nice time during the ride. So that's cool – comfort gaming at its finest.
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Gameplay-wise, Return of the Duke is more hidden object than puzzle, and the hidden object maps are on the easier side. The puzzles range from trivial and obvious to more time-consuming stuff like solving a Sudoku puzzle. But really, The Scruffs: Return of the Duke is less about challenge and more about its endearing characters, its colorful backdrops, and its “Not-another-Victorian-mansion-full-of-dead-people” counterprogramming. And there's only one word for a game like that: scrufftacular!
