Jenny LeClue - Detectivu
Note: When I wrote this review, Jenny LeClue had no voice acting, which is why the review doesn’t mention it. The game recently updated with the voice acting. It is extremely good, and on this replay, I can’t imagine going back to no voices. It turned a great game into an exceptional one.
Jenny LeClue is positively adorable. The eponymous hero, yes- exceedingly so- but also the game itself is just overall incredibly charming.
As far as gameplay goes, it’s nothing you haven’t seen before. There’s a lot of conversations between Jenny and the various residents of Arthurton, as she walks about a 2d world, flicking switches and pushing boxes. There’s some neat investigation sections that will feel very familiar to fans of Danganronpa or Phoenix Wright.
– Real player with 22.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Mystery Atmospheric Games.
I first learned about Jenny LeClue a few years ago through Adventuregamers, after it had already been funded on Kickstarter. I followed the progression of the game through the developer’s page and eagerly awaited the arrival of this beautifully animated detective game, led by a young girl no less!
I regret to say that even though the developers obviously put a lot of effort in this game, it’s poorly constructed in terms of gameplay, plot and pace. After spending 21 hours of my life on it, which I’m never getting back, I feel a bit outraged – so forgive my long review and negative rant. I really regret being a completionist since I otherwise would have deserted the game maybe an hour after trying it.
– Real player with 21.7 hrs in game
Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller
When I started playing Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller in 2016 the game’s unusually brutal and violent nature caught me unaware and scared me away (the fact that the pace of the game slowed down after the opening events was also one of the reasons why I stopped playing it). When giving it a second chance more than 2 years later, I was positively disappointed. After having finished it I must say this is the goriest adventure game I have ever seen - many characters ended up getting killed/mutilated by the time the credits started to roll. This unexpectedly serious tone of course has nothing (or at least little) to do with Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller being a great point and click adventure game, if we can overlook some of its shortcomings (and the base concept of the use of psychic abilities).
– Real player with 30.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Mystery Episodic Games.
Introduction
When I first encountered Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller, it was in a bundle -It looked interesting but I put it on the back burner since I was busy with other games. Fast forward a few years, I asked my friends on Steam what game I should play as a break from my usual things, and this title came up. After looking into I realized this seemed like a great idea! I had not played a point-and-click adventure game in a while, the other reviews seemed positive and it was recommended by friends as well. Drawn in by the comic book art style and the opportunity to play a female protagonist I booted the game up and instantly became addicted. This title offers a solid story, good gameplay and hours of fun for any gamer.
– Real player with 26.6 hrs in game
Root Double -Before Crime * After Days- Xtend Edition
Short review:
Having played Root Double, I’d easily recommend this to any visual novel fan, especially those looking for a story filled with mystery, suspense and a strong cast of characters. Not only is the story filled with many heart-pounding and emotional moments from start to finish, but the world, story and characters are all extremely fleshed out and detailed while remaining coherent, and are all tied together by the end to make for one of the most satisfying and ‘complete’ stories I’ve experienced. It’s easily one of my favorite visual novels, and my current favorite game on Steam.
– Real player with 107.7 hrs in game
Read More: Best Mystery Multiple Endings Games.
Root Double: Before Crime * After Days -Xtend Edition (ROOT√DOUBLE) is a mystery/sci-fi visual novel video game developed by Regista and Yeti collaboration. It was first released on 2012. An updated version called Xtend Edition was later released in 2013 and finally 2016 for PC.
ROOT√DOUBLE is a beautiful game. 60-70 hours long of story. Nice visualization and bgm. Fully japanese voiced dialogues with mostly famous voice actors. All-round interesting/likeable casts. Several mysteries and plot twists will thirst a player with curiosity as they want to find out more and more. The great thing about this game is that every single phenomenon that represented here are explained by sciences which are all existed in real life topics. And most of time, plot twists and explanations are worth the wait. It’s well-educated writing that even rare to find in most sci-fi of a same genre or what not.
– Real player with 90.7 hrs in game
A Clockwork Ley-Line: The Borderline of Dusk
A Clockwork Ley-Line is an awesome VN but with serious technical issues!
Introduction
The story and setting are really interesting, especially for someone like me who plays mostly slice of life-ish VNs. Once you have started with reading you don‘t want to stop.
Each time a new Mist appears, means that something funny will happen.
Playtime
Concerning the playtime, one guy states in his review that he needed only 3h to complete his first playthrough. I can only absolutely disagree to this, since I cleared the true end after around 20h.
– Real player with 26.2 hrs in game
I love this game. Kind of obsessed with it, really. It has good, dynamic characters, and a solid plot without plot holes (with the exception of a small, but still present, plot device at the end).
My only complaint is that Steam registers the launcher as playing the game, and the launcher closes after the game launches, so Steam doesn’t accurately display your total play time. While you can get around this my renaming the actual start app to the launcher app, it comes at the cost of font modifiers and punctuations (quotation marks and dashes, specifically) displaying as the game’s coding markers (specifically, ・ followed by a character)
– Real player with 18.7 hrs in game
Dead Synchronicity: Tomorrow Comes Today
I really enjoyed playing this game. Definately recommended.
Pros:
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No bugs/glitches encountered
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Intuitive, easy yet functional game mechanics
- Very special story: interesting characters, good narrative (!)
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Nice visuals / graphic design
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Decent voice acting*
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Getting stuck (not knowing what to do) is very rare
*I just read a thread in the forums about the “terrible” voice acting of this game. I can definately not confirm that. Its maybe not the very best or special but absoluteley ok (both, the german and also the english voice acting, I played both).
– Real player with 20.9 hrs in game
ESPRESSO SHOT REVIEW
While Dead Synchroncity is not a bad game, it’s just not as intriguing as I was expecting. There is nothing to pull you into the game. While not incredibly difficult, and fairly well done, the game lacks a deep story or inventive puzzles. Score: 4.5/10.
PROS
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hitting the spacebar prevents pixel hunting
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nice art style
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main character is a good voice actor
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some nice soliloquies
CONS
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not an engaging story
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puzzles are weak
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annoying flashbacks
– Real player with 13.8 hrs in game
Resonance
There’s a really good story and some very nice ideas in here, unfortunately wrapped up in a game that trips itself with those same ideas. Definitely a case where less would have been more.
Starts off well enough, the introduction to the four central characters is well done with a couple of mini puzzles to work out and an introduction to the idea of timed segments. Unfortunately the game goes awry shortly after as we meet the most annoying janitor ever and he actively gets in your way with his incompetence.
– Real player with 44.5 hrs in game
I love point-and-click adventures. Usually the only chore with this genre is that sometimes there is no rhyme or reason to the puzzles, and one ends up clicking and combining everything possible in order to proceed.
This game has a similar problem with a twist. Most of the time it is clear WHAT should be done, and the actions make sense as such, but the user interface is so horrid it regularly is nigh impossible to figure out HOW to do it. In general, the game’s UI makes doing anything at all as hard as possible, and not in an entertaining manner.
– Real player with 15.5 hrs in game
Last Labyrinth（ラストラビリンス）
Alright, I just finished every ending, I’ll do my best to edit this into an unbiased review.
First things first, the ‘endings’ are only endings in name. You’ll get your first ‘ending’ only a few hours into the game, having explored only a tiny fraction of the game’s rooms and puzzles, and each ending shows you a piece of the storyline underlying Last Labyrinth.
Pros:
+Katia is adorable, and while the game could have been played on a flat monitor, there’s something about looking a 3d Katia in the eyes and feeling like she’s present in the room with you that makes it 100x more stressful when she’s in danger.
– Real player with 19.3 hrs in game
IT WAS AMAZING!!
It really had the psychological layer of fear and I loved everything the game had to offer!
The feeling so helplessness as well as having command of the situation. Lovely contrasts executed well, together with the irie atmosphere!
Maybe it is a bit pricey but I am really glad I bought it!
I just wished the game was longer! I really want more of this game even if I would have to pay more for more content.
Update: I take back that is was short. Found more content if I kept playing after they showed the credits. There seem to be a lot more behind everything than I first thougt and I want to know all of it!
– Real player with 14.5 hrs in game
TOKYO CHRONOS
This is the first Visual Novel I play in VR, because I wanted to know what the experience was, and on that matter.
So I will just leave here the 2 reasons why I recommend this game: VR Visual Novel is really cool, and Monono Yu (The pink haired character).
–—–
Now for the review itself.
My only problem is with the story’s base setting, because I just I found out I’m not really a fan of the “detective”/“mystery murder” format, as I feel it’s just a sad excuse to make an compelling story, not that it isn’t. I mean, Danganronpa is interesting, and surprising, but here… If I were to compare it, I would say it’s a mix of Angel Beats and Steins' Gate, two stories that I really like, however, I feel they were great because they either went full science mode, or full spiritual mode.
– Real player with 25.9 hrs in game
Although the game is visually pretty, and the story is interesting as well, it leaves a lot to be desired on the finishing touches.
TRANSLATION
In the English translation there are a ton of glaring spelling and grammar mistakes, as well as it sometimes outright contradicting what is being shown, such as
! Sota Machikoji clearly running out the hotel room door while the narration says he is jumping out the window. I assume the translator(s) just worked on a scriptbook and haphazardly transcribed it without ever even seeing it in game.
– Real player with 22.2 hrs in game
Lord Winklebottom Investigates
Lord Winklebottom Investigates is a 1920s murder mystery, point and click adventure featuring a dashing giraffe detective coming to Steam this year!
Inspired by Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes, the game is a classic British murder mystery!
It’s the 1920s and the world’s foremost detective is about to embark on his most challenging case yet. A mysterious invitation to an isolated island results in a grisly murder and a race against time to track down the killer. Thankfully, in this world that’s not quite like our own, there’s nobody better to crack the case than the great detective and gentleman giraffe, Lord Winklebottom.
Join Lord Winklebottom and his steadfast companion Dr Frumple as they investigate the murder of their old friend. Uncover clues, interview suspects and solve puzzles to crack the case, capture the killer and uncover the horrifying dark secret at the heart of the Isle of Barghest!
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Animals of all shapes and sizes!
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Unique 2D hand painted artwork.
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Streamlined point and click interface.
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Collection of bizarre characters to interrogate!
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Play as a gentleman giraffe!
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Dozens of puzzles to solve!
Fatal Twelve
This game kicked my heart in the d***. Every. Single. Time.
With that said, let’s break it down.
Visuals:
There’s a good amount of visuals here, given the number of characters in the game. Some stunning, some sad, but all are good.
Voice Acting:
They have a good pool of talent, I thought until they started crying. I’m not entirely convinced that most of the VAs know how to cry, but that’s the only bad thing I have to say about them. Well, that and pain. They’re not good at that either. Apart from that, they’re believable, and play their roles extremely well.
– Real player with 34.4 hrs in game
FATAL TWELVE is a Visual Novel lasting around 20 hours. You basically play as Shishimai Rinka, who gets its fate of being killed altered and lands in a battle between 12 people called “Divine Selection”, in which only 1 will ultimately survive.
tl;dr: A nice round up VN, where you can make a couple of choices leading to 7 different endings in total. The character depth is what this game is about.
Story:
The deadly survival game is explained right at the beginning. Though not all of its mechanics are very clear then, but you get to know them throughout the game. Each of the 12 participants of Divine Selection comes with 3 cards: Name - Cause of Death - Regret. Since only 3 at random are given to each participant and their causes of death undone, they have to learn these 3 cards from others to be able to eliminate them for good. You learn about this game lasting merely 12 weeks, so you always know exactly at which point you are through the entirety of the game. The mindset of our protagonist greatly depends of its relation to others, which will be the main point of making choices. You realise very early where the main story arcs will lead you, so the outcomes aren´t very surprising, though a narration style, beautiful artworks and character depths make up for it. The actual outcome might be known, but the details make this VN very thrilling nonetheless.
– Real player with 29.5 hrs in game