Ghost Trick is the best kind of puzzle game. It finds an intuitive, flexible, and satisfying, and even narratively interesting concept to build on, and it elegantly expands on that concept along a smoothly tuned difficulty curve for exactly the right amount of time, all the way to its logical extreme... almost.

If there's any one thing I hold against Ghost Trick, it's the gameplay scenario it leaves on the table. Well... that and the stealth, but it very much feels as though the whole game's design is building toward a finale that never actually arrives. Aside from this one final step, Ghost Trick uses every part of the buffalo and has as much careful thought behind it as, for example, Starcraft 2's campaigns do. Unlike Starcraft 2 however, Ghost Trick has good writing and is something truly unique.

I don't think that Ghost Trick is flawless in how it unfolds its tale. There are some major plot and characterizational elements that aren't communicated as clearly as they probably should be near its end, but importantly, it nails its pacing all the way through. The drip-feed of information and new characters as the game progresses is enough to maintain interest the entire time.

When all is said and done, Ghost Trick is a feat of innovation, game design, and even storytelling, with only a few hairs out of place.