The Monster Inside
This review was written in English and Russian in purpose to save your money and time.
_“I don’t believe in coincidences."
“Neither do I. That’s a coincidence, isn’t it?”
― Jasper Fforde, The Eyre Affair_
The Monster Inside is a short visual novel made in noir style.
In the game you play as a detective Jack (I’m not surprised he’s named like this), so you’re going to investigate crime scenes (three) searching for clues (two in each scene). But keep it in mind The Monster Inside is more a narrative than а game.
– Real player with 1.0 hrs in game
Read More: Best Detective Indie Games.
Another supernaturally-themed detective thriller. Given that my last review was for Adam Wolfe, I wouldn’t blame you for thinking I’m on some sort of binge here…but it’s all just coincidence yer honour, I swear. And while this is definitely the inferior of the two, it’s also the more inexpensive of the two (i.e. free!), so I’m gonna go easy on it. But only this one time. Capeesh?
There’s three main things people tend to expect from “visual novels”. The first is a nice visual style, and this game most certainly has that (with nice sound design and dandy music, to boot). The second is a good story, and while there’s the hint of something potentially noteworthy here, it’s all too brief and half-baked to carry much weight (the narrative feels like it wraps up just as it starts to get going).
– Real player with 0.6 hrs in game
Adventure Escape Mysteries
This is a set of well-done puzzle games in the adventure genre.
Pay attention to subtle clues – lots of the puzzles depend on solving combination locks where the clues are hidden in the background. Few of them are really hard, most just require good observation, as well as figuring out whether the objects you are counting go from top to bottom, bottom to top, left to right.
It’s got a system where you only get to play a certain number of chapters in two hours… but if you are antsy, buy some credits and go to the next one.
– Real player with 258.0 hrs in game
Read More: Best Detective Puzzle Games.
i highly recommend this game!! Am totally enjoying the numerous creative puzzles. Many of them seem rather difficult yet after u figure out the answer many really are right in front of u & just require “thinking outside the box” & click on everything. i personally don’t like using hints & due to that i haven’t had to order any keys or stars. Even the story is interesting! The fact that i got the game “free” is a bonus. I also looked at many of their other games & found that most of them are very well done & again, very creative especially their escape games. So if u love games with many innovative puzzles then try one, i don’t think u will be disappointed…..the makers deserve a BIG THUMBS UP!!!!
– Real player with 42.4 hrs in game
Burn Me Twice
This game was absolutely stunning. Some mention the “glitchy” graphics. That part did not bother me in the slightest. The story kept me interested the entire time, and when I wasn’t playing the game, my mind was turning about how I could get to the next milestone, in the game. The atmosphere of the game is stunning. The music was my favorite part. I would purchase a soundtrack, to this game, for sure! The sound effects were also impeccable. I did have to wait for a bug to get fixed: I was unable to complete the last part of the game; I won’t go into detail, but it was an issue with the “bone zone”.
– Real player with 5.3 hrs in game
Read More: Best Detective Puzzle Games.
Nice little game that left me wanting more.
It seems to be heavily inspired by the Phoenix Wright series, similarly splitting gameplay into investigation phase, where you hunt for clues and evidence, and trial phase where you present what you’ve found in court. The major difference is that the trials are rather simplistic in comparison - unlike PW, there’s no witness interrogation, and the evidence pool is much smaller. On the other hand, investigations seem more involved - it has Zelda-style gameplay (sans combat for the most part), where you explore an open world from a top-down perspective and solve puzzles. There are unfortunately only two cases to solve (plus the actiony final sequence), and the first serves as a sort of tutorial, so it’s easy and straightforward. The second one, however, is pretty good, with a few somewhat challenging puzzles to solve.
– Real player with 4.5 hrs in game
The True Tales of Bloodstreet 13 - Chapter 1
Partially based on truth, partially based on myth, Bloodstreet 13 takes place in the Amsterdam of old. The game plays like a first-person point and clicker, with a dialog / action system reminiscent of modern-day RPGS. Mixing a 3D world with 2D characters leads to a distinct visual style.
The story of the game is non-linear, players are free to jump into a characters storyline and play around, actions in one characters story will have consequences in that of another. Players are left to figure out which actions lead to which consequences and will need to discover which combination progresses the story and unlocks new characters. An interesting system, which leads to you going back in time to revisit previous characters, changing their actions to open up new paths in your playthrough.
– Real player with 3.9 hrs in game
I like this game because it provided a mental challenge that is multifaceted. I hope Chapter 2 will be made soon and can’t wait to play it. I also like the atmosphere created by music and lighting. The fact that it is almost a “locked room” mystery is a nod to great detective stories in the past. There are a lot of games out there with fancy graphics and gory details, but this game scared me simply because it has a simple setting and the background is sparse. In the end, it leaves you wanting more. I would recommend this to people who have a bit of time on their hand and also good at thinking outside the square. However, it is not a very long game as it is “Chapter 1” in the series.
– Real player with 3.3 hrs in game
Backbone: Prologue
Beautiful game! The art style is something games have attempted time and time again and only this game pulls it off! The controls should be easy and familiar to most pc gamers.
Now on to the cons:
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This game would greatly benefit from voice acting. Maybe the full version will have it.
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The dialogue is severely lacking. These don’t sound, to me, like adult conversations. They sound like people trying to sound like adults.
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Plot hook is entirely predictable.
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Dialogue choices don’t make sense. I never asked the original NPC the SPECIFICS about the situation, because she wanted to be discrete, and I didn’t want to assume anything about her problem. I only asked her professional questions that would help me get the job done and the game steered me into reacting like I asked her very personal and unprofessional information.
– Real player with 16.7 hrs in game
besides being furry bait, backbone is a gorgeous game with a gritty feel, boasting a fairly unique art style and a soundtrack to accompany it; a combo that is sure to leave people awestruck at least once.
the gameplay itself feels very interesting (to me) given that, so far, it’s a mix of admiring the view, stealth, careful talking, and figuring shit out, especially
! the locker room puzzle . in said puzzle, the game trusts you to solve the cryptic mess by yourself with very little hints and no popups, leaving you room to freely think of what you’re supposed to do. just my kind of game!
– Real player with 4.8 hrs in game
The Crimson Diamond: Chapter 1
A faithful-take on the Sierra-style adventure games of the 1980s, The Crimson Diamond takes the player on a Laura Bow-esque mystery adventure providing a text-parser and 4-bit graphics to guide you through the tale.
While the game is decidedly dated, it does a great job emulating the style and mechanics of games from this period and of this genre. It lasts about 4-8 hours and is more fun to solve than it is a chore, but it does require some puzzle-solving. The creator of the game is an illustrator and very much wants you to see their quality work of the pixel art variety and does a good job not to gatekeep content behind unnecessarily difficult challenges. The text-parser is also great and generally does not get in the way of figuring things out. It gives useful feedback if words or actions you are attempting are flatly not possible or going in the wrong direction. If you’ve not played a game using a text-parser, this certainly is a great way of seeing how they were typically implemented in games back in the day.
– Real player with 3.3 hrs in game
Want to go back in time and replay an old Sierra Classic? Well now you won’t need to “use hammer on head” to achieve that result!
In seriousness, The Crimson Diamond has all the hallmarks of the Sierra adventure games of old, and even some helpful extras! The look of the game is spot on as is the feel. With an interesting cast of characters and a plotline sure to devolve into chaos, this demo promises great things for the full version.
If you’ve never played any classic Sierra adventure, this game is a smooth and fun glide into that style of game featuring helpful and unintrusive tutorials into the gameplay.
– Real player with 2.5 hrs in game
Kika & Daigo: A Curious Tale
I played this with my brother, after initial confusion because I forgot to configure the controls before playing. We laughed a lot.
Pros:
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Pee was a viable mechanic.
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Daigo can poop off ledges, though poop has yet to be a viable mechanic.
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I can troll my fellow player.
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Wholesome content.
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Teamwork mechanic is smooth.
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Puzzles are clear.
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Chill music.
Cons:
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Daigo can’t pee all his problems away.
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Camera too close to Daigo’s butt.
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Some things are hard to see due to camera angles.
8/10.
– Real player with 2.6 hrs in game
I am not the one who owns this game but I was playing it with my friend who does. We both really like it, we both find it really cute, simple, and has a lot of potential for something more! However, we ran into some issues and we just wanted you and future players to be aware of. Seeing how we can’t get together right now, we were playing via remote play. This led to some issues that seem to be mostly remote play’s fault but not the game. The game crashed multiple times right after starting remote play until we finally got it to work. Then, connection was rather choppy, and when in other games it it usually is less so, but it could be an internet issue. My friend was also using the keyboard, and was having issues. They would click full screen but it would only stay in windowed. They hit maximize to make it fill the screen, but since it was still windowed, they would click out of the screen when using the mouse. Other than that, we really like the game and just wanted people to be aware. We both highly recommend the game, but it is truly best played locally.
– Real player with 1.6 hrs in game
The Panic Room. House of secrets
I love this game. It is very interesting and there are new events constantly to keep things fresh and new. The storyline is interesting, most of the characters are engaging and I love the fact that you can interact with your friends who play by way of gifts and groups for various tasks. This is one of two games I have played since I started on Steam and I just don’t see giving them up.
That being said, there are a few drawbacks as well. First, while the game is free to play, AND, contrary to what a few will say, you can play and do everything anyone else can do, however, the developers constantly put pop-ups in game trying to sell you stuff. I am even okay with that, they made a good product, they deserve compensation for it, my objection is to the frequency and the way they go about it. You will get a pop-up that advertises items to help you with the game (health potions, luck charms etc…) for a certain price, if you don’t purchase, frequently, another character in the game will pop up and “encourage” you to purchase to help win your freedom. I just think it is a little much. I have spent money on the game, like I said, I love playing, I just prefer not to be manipulated into it. That leads into my 2nd objection; the developers mostly ignore the Steam platform game. Panic Room is also on Facebook, the developers are very active, constantly posting news, apologies and explanations for glitches, etc. Here, we get nothing. Never an explanation and they very rarely respond to anything in the Panic Room group. I feel that if you are going to ask for money, you should be responsive to your players. At Christmas, the game was down for a couple weeks. There was never any explanation and most of us were unable to finish a large event because they didn’t extend the time. A few words would make a difference.
– Real player with 1661.0 hrs in game
As I cdnt reply to Monique’s recent Review, I thought I wd post this to support her views.
I agree totally with everything she has said, so have a read of hers too.
This is a well stuctured and creative game. As a writer, I find the storyline interesting, considering its a Hidden Object Game. It also creates a unique environment with the interactive components among other players, while still being a solo game.
If u choose this u may have a moral dilema with activating “Bad Karma” function.
Most of us did, lol.
– Real player with 213.5 hrs in game
Detective Butler: Maiden Voyage Murder
Nice detective kinetic novel for one or two afternoons I guess (yeah, there are actually no choices at all) and one that is completely FREE at that. It’s full of overused tropes and it doesn’t take itself seriously at times but I certainly wouldn’t call it bad either as it leaves some food for the thought in the end, so it’s probably somewhere in between.
So yeah - it was enjoyable yet also flawed experience for me. Women characters here are mostly likeable and detailed but all man except captain and protagonist father would benefited from more developement. The pacing was actually pretty good but the mystery was maybe way too easy for me as I guessed the culprit and how everything happend right after the murder happened. Which is good and bad at the same time but thankfully the rest of the story was interesting to follow at least. But the main flaws were probably both main characters - detective Butler and main character (Golder’s son) unfortunately.
– Real player with 10.3 hrs in game
Excellent! A free murder mystery visual novel. It’s apparently the first part of Misadventures of Detective Butler series. Originally released in 2013 and then got onto Steam in 2017 with some edits and improvements. I liked this a lot. Has a lot of personal moments and mystery itself is fairly interesting. Albeit I really would like to force detective to grow some beard first. You don’t get to choose anything in a game, which is shame, as I think they could at least test us with picking a suspect at the end of a game. But hey, at least it gives enough clues to solve it fairly before the murderer is revealed.
– Real player with 7.2 hrs in game
PRICE
PRICE uses puzzle and adventure game mechanics to piece together a short story that doesn’t outstay its welcome. This is split into piecing together memories and using items on objects. This short free to play game excels in its gothic, creepy and ominous feel through the artwork, sound and story. You know that that something isn’t quite right….
The artwork is good with an anime influence that looks more handrawn or classically styled. I suggest you take your time with all the information you are given to put together this compelling story. The music and sound is also a very notable The opening theme tune for the game is very catchy and the haunting singing, classical sounding pieces and appropriate sound effects are fitting choices.
– Real player with 4.3 hrs in game
A really interesting horror game
PRICE is a horror game that is mainly based on finding objects and clues to help us solve a mystery. In short, we wake up in our sister’s room and have to find out where she is and why she disappeared. The atmosphere of the game is definitely worth praising, you can feel that it is a horror game and has a hidden mystery in it. Graphically it is also good, I really liked the graphic mode of this game. It is also worth noting that the cutscenes are made in a very interesting and intriguing way. A big problem, at least in my case, although I noticed that some people also had this problem, is the game getting bugged at random moments. For example, I had to start a new game three times to be able to interact with one of the objects.
– Real player with 2.8 hrs in game