"Are you ready for your catchphrase lessons?"

Conan Doyle gulps

Terry Pratchett breathes heavily

Mercedes Lackey nods nervously

Eoin Colfer sighs

They all say in unison: "Yes Darya Noghani, author of the iconic line 'You are bourgeois of the worst kind' "

I'm a huge fan of Ace Attorney, so if this game was just Ace Attorney with birds (and so many taxonomy puns to sate a nerd like me), that would be good enough for me. Fortunately, by the end of the first case, this game pretty clearly tells you that it is not just Ace Attorney with birds, and it's going to put its own spin on things. Unlike Ace Attorney, there's no game over. The game works with your failures, and your decisions have real consequences. If this feature wasn't present, the game's time mechanic where it is entirely possible to get to the trial without getting all the evidence you need would be extremely frustrating, but it doesn't bother me very much seeing as the game will continue in some form no matter what.

I thought going in that the decision to set the game in 19th century France was just another gimmick to go with the bird one, but no, the entire plot of the game hinges on it. I enjoyed this very much. DGS had some historical context in it, but this game takes it to another level.

One thing that disappoints me, however, is the art. It looks lovely, but it's just public domain art by J.J. Grandville. I really wish they went with using his works as inspiration for original artwork. That would make the instances where they do have to use original artwork stick out less, they wouldn't have to contend with as many awkward poses, and there could potentially be room for more expression. However, the soundtrack of public domain classical music was the perfect fit for this game. It was lovely and sorted the game nicely.

I'd recommend this game to Ace Attorney fans, but bear in mind you're getting a different experience. The trials are very easy, but the freedom you have to fuck up during investigations and see the consequences of it makes this quite distinct. Get the game on sale though.

Pep's Detective Deep Dive - Game 4
The bourgeois are not human (literally)

Well, this was a pleasure. Calling Aviary Attorney "Ace Attorney but with birds" feels like it does a disservice to just how funny, well-written and surprisingly deep this game is. I haven't played Ace Attorney yet (watch this space) but if it's anything like this I'm very much looking forward to it.

The art is gorgeous, with every character and background beautifully illustrated. The writing is sharp and funny, and the socio-political commentary is very clever, even down to the choices of which animal would portray what character.

It's funny, it's profound, and what's more - it's all based on real art, real people and real events. Highly recommended.

The mysteries themselves are quite simple and the unique mechanics behind them (notably the time limit and the fact that the game continues even if you fail your cases) don't get much usage as a result. And while they can be fun in the moment-to-moment experience you probably won't be scratching your head at any point while thinking of a solution.

Normally I would care a lot about that lack of depth and mechanical complexity, but I can set it aside in this case because the game does a great job of compensating in other areas. The old-fashioned visuals, music, and dialogue all mesh with the setting and story in such a strong way that it feels oddly immersive despite being a bunch of animals in Restoration-era France. The core story was far more political than I was expecting given its silly initial premise and the game did a surprisingly good job of handling the topics it brought up with nuance and compassion.

So even though Aviary Attorney was quite weak in the aspects I initially played it for, I still enjoyed my time with it overall because of its strengths in the areas I normally wouldn't focus as much on in a mystery game. So you may want to adjust your expectations accordingly before you start playing, but it should still be a good time regardless.