Lacey Smithsonian is a fashion reporter that unwillingly becomes a witness to the murder of Amanda Manville, a famous model and fashion designer. She starts to investigate the life of the victim, uncovering several dark secrets and a list of suspects.

Hostile Makeover is a hidden object game based on a crime novel by Ellen Byerrum. There are nine suspects to investigate, each with a number of locations to be visited. The player can select and investigate them in any order. The objective of each location is to find and click on all the items from a list at the left side of the screen, on scenes filled with assorted objects. Blue entries start a cutscene when collected. In some cases, the list is replaced with photographs showing the silhouettes of the objects. In some instances, the screen is split in two similar images, and the objective is to find all the differences between them. A time limit can turned on or off at the start, by choosing between timed or casual modes.

Lacey receives a small amount of cash for each item found, and the accumulated money can be spent on clothes on the shop accessible through the map screen. The help system is upgraded with each outfit purchase. There are three hint buttons positioned over the list. The middle blue button highlights one of the required objects creating a circle of lights around it. The green button at the right side becomes available after purchasing the black casual outfit, activating a night-vision filter that shows several objects at once for a few seconds. The left red button is the female intuition, available after buying the haymarket checkered suit, that shows the silhouettes of objects in the word list, or the names of the objects in the silhouette list. Each hint button takes some time to recharge after use.

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