This review contains spoilers
This was an amazing experience overall that had me (and my partner) hooked shortly after starting. Aesthetically and 'vibe'-wise it's very impressive and it communicates it all to you very well up front.
The open world investigation style is refreshing and interesting compared to other games like this where investigations tend to lead you by the nose in specific ways. Being let loose into the world to just form theories as you uncover new mysteries is exciting.
The characters are generally well-designed and interesting, -- Crimson Acid in particular was a favorite -- and getting to know them is itself intriguing. Some are sympathetic enough to make you want to ignore whatever part they may or may not have played in a grand conspiracy, even.
The game has a few weaknesses:
First, there are some minor grammar issues like the use of apostrophes in possessive pronouns that stand out in a game that's generally well-written. Sometimes, the dialogue itself feels a little choppy -- the characters are likable and fun, but the setting-building writing is better than the dialogue writing itself.
Second, while the open world nature of the game is really fun, there are some clues that make themselves a pain to hunt for -- by the end of the game, we had exactly two major clues to find, and they were both hidden in out-of-the-way locations and felt relatively "pixel hunt"-y, especially when compared to the rest of the game having pretty tight design.
Lastly, the game culminates in a trial that you can start at any time, to accuse individuals of the many crimes involved in a grand conspiracy that makes up the overarching plot -- the setup is great, and the presentation of the trial is rather nice. It feels like you're going into a brand new section of the game.
However, the trial is at the same time a bit underwhelming -- gameplay-wise, you're simply presenting whatever evidence already exists in your inventory through dialogue. At no point are you asked to point to a specific piece of evidence -- the game drags them out and displays them as your character does all the talking for you. Aside from picking who you want to finger for each crime, the endgame is surprisingly uninteractive.
And that leads into a final complaint, which is that the ending feels... in some sense, underwhelming. We've hit up a few endings, but very little changes about the dialogue or the expected outcome from the game's end. As an example, we went through one ending where several characters, about 6~ or so characters are left alive, unaccused of being involved in conspiracy. You can have your brief dialogue with each of them, and then leave the island to see the credits roll.
In another ending where we involved almost everybody in the conspiracy accusations, we had two characters left to do dialogue with -- they said the same things, and we had the same options. There was no change to the outcome except for how many characters you get to execute at the end of the trial, and getting less dialogue for accusing more folks.
I really liked the game overall, and I don't think the complaints I have with it scuff it enough to make it a bad experience -- it's still overall fun and enjoyable, though I do have complaints I'd like to see ironed out.
The open world investigation style is refreshing and interesting compared to other games like this where investigations tend to lead you by the nose in specific ways. Being let loose into the world to just form theories as you uncover new mysteries is exciting.
The characters are generally well-designed and interesting, -- Crimson Acid in particular was a favorite -- and getting to know them is itself intriguing. Some are sympathetic enough to make you want to ignore whatever part they may or may not have played in a grand conspiracy, even.
The game has a few weaknesses:
First, there are some minor grammar issues like the use of apostrophes in possessive pronouns that stand out in a game that's generally well-written. Sometimes, the dialogue itself feels a little choppy -- the characters are likable and fun, but the setting-building writing is better than the dialogue writing itself.
Second, while the open world nature of the game is really fun, there are some clues that make themselves a pain to hunt for -- by the end of the game, we had exactly two major clues to find, and they were both hidden in out-of-the-way locations and felt relatively "pixel hunt"-y, especially when compared to the rest of the game having pretty tight design.
Lastly, the game culminates in a trial that you can start at any time, to accuse individuals of the many crimes involved in a grand conspiracy that makes up the overarching plot -- the setup is great, and the presentation of the trial is rather nice. It feels like you're going into a brand new section of the game.
However, the trial is at the same time a bit underwhelming -- gameplay-wise, you're simply presenting whatever evidence already exists in your inventory through dialogue. At no point are you asked to point to a specific piece of evidence -- the game drags them out and displays them as your character does all the talking for you. Aside from picking who you want to finger for each crime, the endgame is surprisingly uninteractive.
And that leads into a final complaint, which is that the ending feels... in some sense, underwhelming. We've hit up a few endings, but very little changes about the dialogue or the expected outcome from the game's end. As an example, we went through one ending where several characters, about 6~ or so characters are left alive, unaccused of being involved in conspiracy. You can have your brief dialogue with each of them, and then leave the island to see the credits roll.
In another ending where we involved almost everybody in the conspiracy accusations, we had two characters left to do dialogue with -- they said the same things, and we had the same options. There was no change to the outcome except for how many characters you get to execute at the end of the trial, and getting less dialogue for accusing more folks.
I really liked the game overall, and I don't think the complaints I have with it scuff it enough to make it a bad experience -- it's still overall fun and enjoyable, though I do have complaints I'd like to see ironed out.