The Nightlight Circus arrives in the quaint town of Pondermere. Only open after dark – when it’s “magic time” – this mysterious circus boasts astounding acrobats and dancers, a terrifying mirror maze, and other oddities such as the dragon carousel and the stern but talented fortune teller, Madame Magiya. The circus forbids unaccompanied children, however six local youngsters attended the circus two nights ago, and now all but one has disappeared. James, the only remaining child, is hesitant to talk about anything in fear of angering the Nachtrappe, a huge, raven-like bird that steals children who stay up past their bedtime and devours them limb from limb. Were the missing children captured by the Nachtrappe? Or is something even more sinister afoot with this strange circus that refuses to allow children to enter its darkly mysterious grounds alone?

The Pandora Network: Nightlight Circus, produced by Electric Goldfish (The Pandora Network: Burying the Hatchet), is the second installment in a series of mysteries surrounding the fictional town of Pondermere, UK. This week-long experience is all played online, making it available to anyone in the world with a reliable internet connection. However, most interactive game-play occurs during evenings in the UK, which translates to about noon in the U.S. The majority of the experience takes place on Facebook, and players have some agency around the narrative; they can affect the investigation by influencing and directing the special agents on the case – Beatrice and Felix – but they cannot affect the overall outcome of the plot. Players can also engage in-story with Beatrice and Felix, thus receiving some personalization in the experience, via Facebook direct messages or through comments and posts. Nightlight Circus is reminiscent of a choose-your-own-adventure book; there are finite plot points that must happen and the end is already set in stone, but the way players choose to get there is the exciting part.

Embellishing on the successful elements of Burying the Hatchet, Nightlight Circus ups the ante by providing even more ways to immerse participants despite the limitations of remote experiences. Using the same basic Facebook set-up, Nightlight Circus also uses Chirbit for on-boarding players and relaying information from Benedict Spalding, the head of The Pandora Network. Facebook comments create a conversational tone, and move at such a rapid pace when the mystery gets going that it feels like a real-life 1950s whodunit movie. The use of 1950s-esque detective music in the background of the various media platforms adds to this nostalgic feeling. Other virtual mediums like Facebook Live and YouTube are also incorporated, to differing results. Messenger and Facebook Live are used to their fullest extent, so online agents feel as “in the room” as possible, commenting in real time, directing Beatrice and Felix’s actions. This is especially used well during covert operations led by Felix. Players’ comments direct where he should look and what he should do as he stealthily tries to obtain information. YouTube, however, is used to present clips of interviews with Madame Magiya, the fortune teller, and Alexei the Magician. Although having video clips is a fantastic choice in furthering the experience, the use of certain camera angles, dialogue, and an unclear storyline could potentially take players out of the otherwise fantastic immersion. Nailing down the reasoning behind each character choice and using more straightforward camera angles might have been more believable, even with the incorporation of semi-campiness apparent throughout the clips.

In addition to The Pandora Network’s main returning detectives, Beatrice and Felix, Nightlight Circus also introduces a third character for participants to interact with: the Ringmaster of the ominous circus. An entire website and Facebook page were created for the circus, and players are able to message the Ringmaster on Facebook and receive responses. Player interactions with the Ringmaster lead to interesting facts and clues that help with the case. It also deepens the clandestine feeling of being an investigative agent, as many players during my experience contacted the circus under the guise of a potentially interested customer, conveniently leaving out the information they were also agents assisting The Pandora Network.

The actors are all highly skilled in embodying their characters in a semi-campy, yet realistic way that enhances the feeling of being in a vintage whodunit mystery movie. The circus characters donned entertaining, yet appropriate Russian accents; Andrew Edwards (the Mayor) excels in walking the fine line between being the likeable, “baby-kissing” politician, while also hiding a shameful secret because he wants to get re-elected; and the returning Rosie Woodward (Beatrice) and Lee Conway (Felix) perfectly embody their characters, whether conversing via chat on Facebook or talking on the phone. Of special note is the voice acting of James Holman, who plays multiple circus characters and Benedict Spalding, The Pandora Network’s Chief. Holman skillfully alternates between mysterious, Russian-accented voices and the deep, no-nonsense voice that perfectly encapsulates the role of a leader of a detective agency.

The only criticism is one that is inherent due to time differences. As The Pandora Network is based out of the UK, players from other locations might have difficulty in keeping up with the events of the investigation. For example, participants in the U.S. might miss out on the real-time events (taking place in the evening in the UK) if they have a day job that conflicts with the game-play. It would be a nice touch if Electric Goldfish varied the times live action occurs in order to accommodate players worldwide, but we understand the difficulty in doing so. Despite missing some live-action segments, this experience still provides a great narrative mystery for those outside of Europe; just be aware that you may have to sift through a bevy of posts and comments to catch up.

Overall, The Pandora Network: Nightlight Circus is a fun, week-long, immersive experience which brilliantly uses the confines of limitations to create an engaging narrative. This experience shines in the almost limitless amount of actor-player interaction, and leads with a stellar cast of actors. If the improvements between Nightlight Circus and Burying the Hatchet are an indication of the company’s ability to listen to feedback and grow, I am excited to see what the future brings for Electric Goldfish Productions.

Find out more about The Pandora Network and their upcoming cases on their website and Facebook page. Check out our Event Calendar for more immersive entertainment throughout the year.

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