Play on: switch
Current goals: Uncover the truth behind a horrifying crime
I’ve never done either of the previous two. Famicom Detective Club It’s a game though Marketing Peripherals Emio – The Smiling Man It was enough to tempt me to finally give the series a try, the first truly new game in decades. Nintendo wisely released a fairly extensive demo for me to try out the first few chapters, and after playing through it, I’m not sure if the game’s classic adventure-oriented visual novel gameplay is to my taste. But I’ve bought the full game, so I’m definitely interested in continuing to play and learn more.
I’ve heard people complain that games like this can feel arbitrary, that they don’t require any real thought, insight, or ingenuity to progress, and that they just encourage you to cycle through menu options until you find the trigger to progress. And I admit I experienced a bit of that during my demo. For example, at one point I had to look at a woman’s face to trigger the next interaction, and it felt like there was no way to actually know. But I’m not ready to criticize the game for those moments yet. This is a different type of gameplay than the adventure games I grew up with, and I want to keep an open mind about what it does.
Perhaps I will find something unique to appreciate about this approach, something that slows me down and lets me dive deeper into the story. Anyway, I like having a game that I can look forward to every night, not because it offers me a chance to get stronger by doing epic action-packed quests or because it feels really relaxing and enjoyable to curl up in bed with a book. Now, excuse me, I have a murder case to solve.—Caroline Petit
