Interesting well written sandbox murder mystery with mysteries inside mysteries, in an even more interesting Vaporwave inspired setting involving syndicate and council members living in a pocket dimension called Paradise Island. The island is regenerated after mistakes/tragedies with the coming 25th said to be perfect. Each with adducted enslaved citizens to serve as fuel to resurrect ancient genocidal gods, run by a council that has lived for thousands of years and other chosen who have started to grow bored of their lives, the way things are run, or their place in the island's hierarchy. When the council is discovered to be murdered by what is assumed to be a demon an investigator is called back after over 3,000,000 days of exile to discover the truth.
The look, setting, writing, music, and being rewarded for looking into things and exploring are the strong parts of the game. The actual investigating and case connections are basically done for you when you find new information by exploring the environment or questioning characters. You can't actual get your questioning wrong and even the trial at the end only involves accusing the people that make sense based on the evidence you discovered (you can easily miss things or start the trial early) and clicking every choice to present all of your findings to the judge. The actual running around back and forth, looking for currency in addition to collectibles and evidence to pay for upgrades or fast travel, and platforming to reach those collectibles also ends up being a fairly mediocre part of the game. Though the actual lore based items you find can be interesting and give a clearer picture of the game's unique setting.
Not everyone will be satisfied with the ending as the trial doesn't have the tense, shocking, back and forth moments of games like Phoenix Wright or Donganronpa, you don't have to piece much together like in Return of the Obra Dinn, and it isn't in the game's or your character's job's scope to solve or influence the problems with the setting's society or to delve deeper into real world/gods/demons talked about in the lore. But it does tell a good story in a world that is both unique with a rarely used art style, and searching the island to uncover more of the facts about the case and the island's citizens is different but very satisfying experience.
Screenshots: https://twitter.com/Legolas_Katarn/status/1330782389035966466
The look, setting, writing, music, and being rewarded for looking into things and exploring are the strong parts of the game. The actual investigating and case connections are basically done for you when you find new information by exploring the environment or questioning characters. You can't actual get your questioning wrong and even the trial at the end only involves accusing the people that make sense based on the evidence you discovered (you can easily miss things or start the trial early) and clicking every choice to present all of your findings to the judge. The actual running around back and forth, looking for currency in addition to collectibles and evidence to pay for upgrades or fast travel, and platforming to reach those collectibles also ends up being a fairly mediocre part of the game. Though the actual lore based items you find can be interesting and give a clearer picture of the game's unique setting.
Not everyone will be satisfied with the ending as the trial doesn't have the tense, shocking, back and forth moments of games like Phoenix Wright or Donganronpa, you don't have to piece much together like in Return of the Obra Dinn, and it isn't in the game's or your character's job's scope to solve or influence the problems with the setting's society or to delve deeper into real world/gods/demons talked about in the lore. But it does tell a good story in a world that is both unique with a rarely used art style, and searching the island to uncover more of the facts about the case and the island's citizens is different but very satisfying experience.
Screenshots: https://twitter.com/Legolas_Katarn/status/1330782389035966466