This one’s been in early access for a while, but it’s finally hitting 1.0. If you’re unfamiliar, it’s a procedurally generated murder mystery immersive sim. A murder happens, you scan for evidence, track people by their address in the phone book, and make connections with red string yourself. When I played the demo a while back, someone came home while I was snooping in their apartment, so I escaped in a vent and ended up in the apartment on the floor below them. I waited for that resident to finish preparing their dinner and sit in front of the TV so I could leave through their front door and get out of there. This game is awesome.
This is the first game to truly solve the problem of “criminal investigation” as a game mechanic. There’s no detective vision, and the character doesn’t automatically spout off conclusions when you scan enough clues. When you find a fingerprint on the murder weapon, it’s just that; a fingerprint. It’s up to you to figure out how to connect that to a suspect. You have to actually think about what you’re doing, there’s no handholding. You can peruse security cameras footage, canvas for witnesses, follow leads that will dead end sometimes, stake out a person’s home or job, track down the sales records for a murder weapon, identify a suspect by their footprints… The array of tools at your disposal is incredible. And the murder board is just the best thing ever; you even get to scribble your own notes and make connections with different colours of string, and it’s not some game mechanic, it’s literally just a tool for you to assemble the evidence like a real detective would, so that you can figure out your next move.
I wish talking to people wasn’t all the same canned question/responses. Trying to find witnesses is basically impossible. And security systems turning themself back on after set amount of time. Only two big issues I have with the game
Disclosure: i havent played in a few months so some of these might be out of date.
My biggest complaint was it almost always just devolved into sneaking into buildings to get employee data of the suspect which leads you to a fingerprint. There was no deduction through questioning the suspect, figuring out a motive and then tying it all together. Just find the name of the suspect, then find the fingerprints (by sneaking into buildings) of every single individual they had contact with until you find a match. I felt more like a vigilante thief than a detective. I guess LA Noire (i know, one is rockstar’s baby and the other’s an indie title, but still) remains the best detective game for now.
You hit the nail on the head. This is exactly what intregued me about this game. It’s giving the creative and intellectual freedom to solve the mysteries, with no handholding was very refreshing.