Samantha Lienhard's Blog, page 23

Celebrating All Things Mysterious: Sherlock Holmes: The Secret of the Silver Earring

What better game for a mystery celebration than one starring the great detective himself?

Frogwares has developed a lot of Sherlock Holmes adventure games over the years, and I ended up with so many of them that the series made #5 on my list of the top 10 longest series in my backlog.

I’d already skipped The Mystery of the Mummy after trying it briefly, but I’d heard that the second game in the series was a big improvement, so I decided it was finally time to play Sherlock Holmes: The Secret of the Silver Earring.

…or possibly Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Silver Earring, or just Sherlock Holmes: The Silver Earring, depending on where you look. As far as I can tell, “The Case of the Silver Earring” is its European title, but why it has two North American titles, I’m not sure. (Both appear on the same Steam page, making matters more confusing.)

Whatever title you want to call it by, it’s a third-person point-and-click adventure game that follows Sherlock Holmes as he investigates the mysterious murder of a man shot at a reception right in front of his guests.

The basic gameplay is fairly simple. You click on a spot to have Holmes walk there and click on interaction points to examine an area or pick up an item. Occasionally you’ll need to use an item from your inventory, as well. Documents you find can be examined from your inventory, which then adds them to your notebook where you can read them in detail.

Unfortunately, even these simple controls can be a bit clunky. Getting Holmes to move in the right direction usually works, but sometimes he would just turn back and forth until I tried clicking somewhere else. He also moves slowly, with a jog available in some locations but a slow walk forced in many others, and several interactions require you to click with the magnifying glass or measuring tape so Holmes can slowly move into position to examine the area in question.

There’s no way to highlight items you can interact with, so it often becomes a pixel hunt – made worse by the fact that the hitbox for interacting with an item doesn’t always match up with its location. At one point I was stuck and consulted a guide, learned the spot I’d missed was something I tried interacting with and couldn’t, and went back to discover the interaction point was the empty space just off to the side.

And why did the developers decide this was the sort of game that should have a stealth segment that requires you to move swiftly and precisely past patrolling enemies?

I’ll admit I ended up playing with a guide open in another window to consult whenever I got too stuck, although in the case of the stealth segment, that required additional interpretation even with a video guide since what was happening on my screen didn’t quite match up with what was happening in the video. (The timing still worked if I acted based on the patrolling dog’s movement instead of location, which makes me think that part is bugged in some way – possibly connected to how the interaction points don’t always line up with the objects you’re interacting with. Occasional other visual oddities like Holmes walking partly on a wall support that as well.)

Despite this being an adventure game, there aren’t a lot of actual puzzles, even inventory-based ones. It’s mainly a matter of talking to everyone, examining everything, and trying your magnifying glass or measuring tape when Holmes indicates that he needs to use an item.

It does have a handful of actual puzzles, though their logic is questionable at times and others are just annoying.

All I’ve really done so far is complain about this game, so let me talk about some positives. The story is divided into days, and at the end of each day, you’re required to take a quiz in your notebook. The quiz asks several questions about the case, which you need to answer with yes or no and then substantiate with clues, documents, or testimony. I thought this was a pretty clever and fun way to make it feel more like a detective game – summarizing new information while making sure you can say which clues provided that information.

It’s also surprisingly funny! A handful of lines were clearly meant to be funny, but I also got more entertainment out of Holmes’s deductions than I probably should have. Maybe The Great Ace Attorney and Herlock Sholmes have ruined my perception, but whenever Holmes started rambling on about a dozen tiny clues and how they led him to an extremely detailed explanation of some minor event, complete with occasional cuts to Watson looking bemused and/or shocked, I couldn’t help but laugh.

(The Great Ace Attorney really has altered my perception; at one point they mentioned Inspector Gregson and I was startled for a half-second before remembering he’s an actual Sherlock Holmes character.)

Now, the overall mystery in this game is… difficult to follow. I picked up bits and pieces as I played, but by the end I still didn’t understand the full picture.

And the developers must have known it would be like this, because the final quiz is optional and the ending cutscene includes 20 solid minutes solely of Holmes explaining the case. That feels very fitting for a Sherlock Holmes story, but perhaps not so much for a mystery game where the player is meant to be him.

Playing Sherlock Holmes: The Secret of the Silver Earring was certainly an experience. I’m glad I got it in a bundle instead of buying it on its own, but fans of older adventure games might consider it worth a purchase for what it is. While frustrating at times, it has enough promise that I’m looking forward to moving on to the next one to see how the series evolved from here.

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Tokyo Xanadu eX+ for Switch Will Be Out on July 25

I’ve been looking forward to the Switch port of Tokyo Xanadu eX+ ever since it was announced that it would be coming west this summer.

See, Tokyo Xanadu eX+ is a game I was trying to play but never stuck with, and I think I’d be much more inclined to stick with it if I had it on the Switch instead of PC.

Something about this style of JRPG just feels better to me when I play it on consoles, and I love being able to just pick up the Switch to play whenever I feel like it.

The Switch port is also supposed to have an improved localization, so that’s another reason to potentially wait.

I don’t think we’ve seen any direct comparisons of the localizations yet, but the lead editor responded to a question about it, saying that they focused on consistency, lore accuracy, and characterization.

After previously being announced for June, it has now been confirmed for July 25, with a new release date announcement trailer. I don’t mind the delay, since that will give me more time to play my other in-progress games.

I’m looking forward to restarting Tokyo Xanadu eX+ when it comes to the Switch in July. In the meantime, I’ve got plenty of other games to play (including other Falcom games). Are you planning to play Tokyo Xanadu?

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The Reynatis – TWEWY Collaboration is Real!

Remember the fun April Fools’ Day joke from the Reynatis developers this year, in which they jokingly announced a collaboration with The World Ends With You?

Turns out it’s not just an April Fools’ Day joke after all!

Last week, it was officially announced that Reynatis will include a side story featuring Shoka and other characters from The World Ends With You.

From the details that have been revealed, it looks like the Reynatis cast will become part of the Reapers’ Game in this side story.

I was already planning to get Reynatis, but if I wasn’t, I would be now. Heck, I was excited enough when I thought it was an April Fools’ joke. An actual collaboration isn’t something I thought TWEWY would get.

In addition to the trailer, they also recently tweeted combat footage against Noise enemies.

The combat in that clip also looks a lot smoother than in their previous trailers, so that’s a good sign. On paper, Reynatis sounds like a game meant for me, exactly the sort of thing I’ll love. Not all of FuRyu’s games have been so well-received, however, so I worry it won’t live up to its potential. Still, I’m going to get it.

Reynatis will be out in Japan on July 25 and in the west on September 27. A Limited Edition is also available. Are you planning to pick up Reynatis? How do you feel about the TWEWY collaboration?

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Celebrating All Things Mysterious: Frog Detective 3: Corruption at Cowboy County

In 2022, we discussed The Haunted Island, a Frog Detective Game, a silly little adventure game about a frog detective solving a mystery.

A few months later, our first mystery game celebration included a look at Frog Detective 2: The Case of the Invisible Wizard, which was a bit longer and more grounded, but still another wacky adventure.

Now it’s finally time to talk about Frog Detective 3: Corruption at Cowboy County.

In this third entry in the series, Frog Detective goes to Cowboy County to help Lobster Cop with a new case. Like its predecessors, it’s a simple adventure game where you’ll talk to characters, learn their requests, and then solve other characters’ requests to get what you need to help them. It’s an easy, straightforward formula without too much challenge, but it works.

Oh, and this time you get a scooter to get around town faster.

The humor is quite goofy as always, but there’s actually a bit more of a narrative thread this time. For as silly as these games are, I actually got excited to see how things would progress. This is the longest Frog Detective game so far, taking me an hour and a half to complete.

It’s a fun, lighthearted adventure game with plenty of humor, although it lacks the extreme absurdity of the first game. Still, if you enjoyed the first two, you’ll likely enjoy this one as well. Now, its store description calls it “the third and final game in the Frog Detective series.” That made me a bit disappointed at first, because I’d like to see this series continue. I’d love another Frog Detective game, or even a spin-off.

However, Frog Detective 3: Corruption at Cowboy County brings together loose ends from the previous two games and resolves things in way that feels fitting for a finale. If this is the end of the Frog Detective series, it’s a satisfying one.

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Master Detective Archives: Rain Code+ Coming to PS5, Xbox Series, and PC

Hey, we’ve got some mystery game news to discuss this month, which fits nicely with our theme!

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code, which came out last year for the Switch, has now been announced for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC as Master Detective Archives: Rain Code+.

According to Gematsu, the additional features are 4K resolution, a gallery, and the short episodes that were originally released as DLC.

I never ended up getting the Rain Code DLC, and this isn’t enough to compel me to buy it again. I enjoyed Rain Code, but it has some definite lows despite my overall impression being positive (largely saved by the final two cases).

What I want is a Rain Code sequel that expands on its strengths and fixes its flaws. The premise has so much potential, and I want to see more done with it!

Now, in a perplexing move, Spike Chunsoft confirmed on Steam that the game will launch with only Japanese and Chinese support, while English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish will be patched in on October 1. Since it doesn’t appear that there’s new story content and the game already has an English translation, I don’t understand why it’s not launching with English.

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code+ will be out on July 18 in Japan. I don’t think I’ll be picking it up unless they announce substantial new content after all, but what about you?

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Information from the Kingdom Hearts Missing Link Beta Test is Intriguing

The last time we talked about Kingdom Hearts: Missing Link, the upcoming new Kingdom Hearts mobile game, we still had a lot of questions.

Now details are coming out of the Missing Link closed beta test, and it sounds pretty intriguing.

As someone who is mostly interested in the story, I was eager to check out new footage from the beta now that there’s story content.

The current story introduces us to Nept, Remus, and Freya, who belong to a group called the Baroque Society. We also see two sinister figures dressed in black who seem to have manipulated guards into trying to apprehend the main character and Remus. While it’s a small amount of story, it’s enough to make me want to know more.

Everyone’s speculating about the two silver-haired figures and any potential connection to Xehanort they might have, but I’m also curious about whether there’s a reason Nept and Remus have broken away from the Norse naming conventions used by the Scala ad Caelum characters so far.

Gameplay-wise, I’m impressed that there’s a full 3D city to explore and character customization of the character model. It looks like a huge step up from the previous mobile games.

Unfortunately, it’s still a gacha. When I look at Missing Link, I can’t help but wish it was just a smaller-scale console game instead of a gacha mobile game.

Oh, and we have an answer to our question about how it can be a GPS game that also lets you play without leaving home. It seems that if you play from home, you have to spend AP to do anything. If you play in GPS Mode, however, you earn AP instead of spending it. So it sounds like you’re greatly rewarded for using the GPS features and walking around with the game.

The only recent gacha game I’ve managed to stick with for more than a few minutes is Love and Deepspace, and I don’t go out and about often enough for the GPS feature to appeal to me. On the other hand, Kingdom Hearts has an advantage over many mobile games since I’m already invested in the overall story. KHUX and Dark Road both had great stories (too good to be trapped in now-offline mobile games), and Missing Link’s few story details already have my interest.

Are you looking forward to Kingdom Hearts: Missing Link? Are you planning to play it? What do you think of the new characters introduced so far?

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Celebrating All Things Mysterious: Fatal Twelve

It’s time for our first review of Celebrating All Things Mysterious 2024, and the first game we’ll be looking at is Fatal Twelve.

Fatal Twelve is a visual novel available for Switch, PS4, and PC.

It follows a teenage girl named Rinka who is transported in her dreams to a place called the Court of Fate. There, she learns that she and eleven others died on the same day. Now the twelve of them have a chance to change their fate – by eliminating the others until only one remains.

To eliminate another participant, you must know their name, cause of death, and regret. This, along with other rules of the Court of Fate, brings them into conflict with each other.

While Fatal Twelve is described as a mystery game, and there are certainly elements of mystery in it, I’d say it’s more of a character-driven thriller. It’s often less about investigations and more about reacting to the lengths participants will go to in order to get information about another. It’s filled with plenty of tense, suspenseful moments, and by the time I was on the path to my first ending, I was thoroughly invested.

There are several endings based on your choices throughout the game, although it doesn’t branch as much as you might expect for a game with this premise. That’s probably because the main focus here is really the characters.

Fatal Twelve’s greatest strength is how it shows the stories of the characters in this twisted game of fate. While Rinka is the main character, a few other characters get viewpoint sections as well, and others develop as they interact with them. It does a great job of showing that even characters who might seem deadly and ruthless are as human as anyone.

While there are some romantic elements, especially due to one of the other girls being in love with Rinka, and that’s an important part of the story, it’s not so prevalent that I’d call this a romance game. It’s just one more aspect of the characters’ humanity.

Overall, Fatal Twelve was an enjoyable game with an intriguing premise. I’m still not sure if I should call it a mystery, but it’s unusual take on a death game premise makes it a good choice to kick off this year’s event nevertheless.

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Celebrating All Things Mysterious 2024 Begins (With a Twist!)

May is here, and that means a return of Celebrating All Things Mysterious, our new annual event where we celebrate mysteries.

However, this year it’s going to be a little different.

Much like with the shortened Celebrating All Things Romantic event earlier this year, this event comes at a time when I’m drowning in games to play. Not only that, but February’s contest resulted in a tie for first place in which both winners picked a game for me to review.

As a result, I’m still finishing up those games on top of everything else, and solid mystery games tend to run on the longer side. So! Instead of a new mystery game review with each post like in the past, this year’s Celebrating All Things Mysterious event will feature one mystery game review each week.

This more relaxed pace should make it easier to balance this year’s event while letting me take the time to savor these games as they deserve.

With that important change out of the way, let’s get into the event details!

Promotions

Drops of Death, the murder mystery romance game where any of the love interests can be the killer (it’s randomized at the start of each playthrough) is currently planned for an October 2025 release date! A new trailer will premiere tomorrow, so be sure to check that out!

Meanwhile, don’t forget that two of my pulp fiction stories star The Domino Lady, the masked vigilante from classic pulp fiction. In “The Domino Lady Takes the Case,” part of Domino Lady Volume 3, the Domino Lady embarks on a murder investigation after suspecting the truth of the case is being covered up. Then in “The Domino Lady Deceived,” found in Domino Lady Volume 4, a thwarted heist brings her into conflict with a thief wily and determined enough to be her match.

Contest

And yes, even though new posts will only be weekly, you can still comment on any Celebrating All Things Mysterious post to participate in this month’s contest!

Contest RulesNo purchase is necessary.Only comments made between May 1, 2024 at 12:00 PM EST and May 31, 2024 at 11:59 PM EST will be counted.Each non-spam, non-anonymous comment on any Celebrating All Things Mysterious blog post, including replies to other comments, earns you 1 point.You must use an email address or website URL (or include another way of contacting you) in your comment so I can contact you if you win.The top 3 point earners will win prizes.The person with the most points will get their first pick of the prizes. The person with the second most points will pick second, and the person with the third most points will pick third.In the event of a tie, tied winners will be contacted at the same time. A tie for third place will allow for more than 3 winners. If tied winners choose the same prize, duplicate prizes will be possible.The winner will be contacted by June 3, 2024.PrizesDomino Lady Volume 3 (ebook)Domino Lady Volume 4 (ebook)Phoenix Wright Trilogy (gift sent through Steam)The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles (gift sent through Steam)Apollo Justice Trilogy (gift sent through Steam)$15 sent through PayPalYou pick a game for me to review!…and possibly more prizes to be added throughout May!

If you choose the review option, your chosen game must be something I either own or is easily obtainable, which you can discuss with me beforehand. It must be a single game, not a collection (although the chosen game can be part of a collection). I will start playing it in June.

An event like this is an easy way for me to encourage myself to play some of the mystery games I’ve gathered over the years. So let’s find some great new mystery games and discuss them in Celebrating All Things Mysterious 2024!

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It’s the Anniversary of Xenoblade Chronicles X… and I’m Still Hoping for a Port

Xenoblade Chronicles has become incredibly popular since the days of that first niche release we almost didn’t get in North America . These three games are now beloved by JRPG fans…

What, you say there’s four games? Ah yes, because Torna ~ the Golden Country was sold as a standalone release, right?

That’s sadly how it feels sometimes; while the main Xenoblade trilogy has soared in popularity, Xenoblade Chronicles X remains the odd game out, overshadowed by the other three and sometimes even forgotten entirely.

Today is the 9th anniversary of Xenoblade Chronicles X’s release. It came out on April 29, 2015 in Japan and would follow in other regions in December.

Although I had my doubts about it ahead of launch, I ended up loving it despite it being a fully open world game with a lessened emphasis on story. The worldbuilding, humor, characters, and exploration were that good.

Look how optimistic I was back when I wrote that review, ending with the hope that we would see Xenoblade Chronicles X 2 at E3 2016. Here we are 9 years later, and not only do we not have a sequel, but we got two other Xenoblade games and a remaster in the meantime.

Since Xenoblade Chronicles X is still stranded on the Wii U, far fewer people have played it than the others. That’s why it’s overlooked so often. Because of that, the farther we’ve gotten from it, the more I’ve hoped for a port or remaster to be announced. I want a Xenoblade Chronicles X sequel, and I think our best chance of getting that is if X is ported first and reaches a bigger audience.

With how many Wii U games made the jump to the Switch and how popular Xenoblade has become, it’s kind of shocking that Xenoblade Chronicles X is one of the few that’s still a Wii U exclusive.

Back in 2018, director Tetsuya Takahashi said in an interview that bringing X to the Switch would be “really difficult.” He said it was a money issue, because of how massive X is.

In the time since that 2018 interview, the Xenoblade series has become more popular than ever. Now we’re getting near the end of the Switch’s life, and rumors of its successor are on the horizon. Few things would make me happier than if Xenoblade Chronicles X was one of the first titles announced (hopefully to pave the way for a Xenoblade Chronicles X 2). Here’s hoping the series’ success on the switch is enough to make it worth the effort to port Xenoblade Chronicles X and give it a second chance to shine!

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Megaton Musashi W: Wired Is Out Now (You Might Have Missed It)

You’d be forgiven if you forgot Megaton Musashi W: Wired was due out yesterday; we talked about the release date and I still forgot about it.

In fact, you’d be forgiven if you forgot about it entirely, because it feels like Level-5 has been giving it far less attention than their other upcoming games.

Inazuma Eleven, Fantasy Life i, DecaPolice, and of course Professor Layton have seen their share of coverage, but alongside those other announcements was also this mecha action RPG.

I’m not familiar with the Megaton Musashi series, but it seems there’s both an anime and a game that’s been expanded with each new release. From what I understand, Megaton Musashi X was an expanded release of Megaton Musashi, and Megaton Musashi W is an expanded version of that.

Megaton Musashi W: Wired came out a couple days ago to little fanfare, and it has barely any reviews due to them seemingly not sending out review copies.

It’s gotten some reviews on Steam now, and they’re pretty positive. What surprised me was learning that this wasn’t just a mecha action game, but also an RPG with at least a decent focus on story.

Of all of Level-5’s upcoming games, this one was on my radar the least. Nevertheless, now I’m feeling tempted to check it out… maybe when my backlog isn’t quite so overwhelming. In the meantime, I just hope Level-5 steps up their marketing when it comes to the rest (especially Professor Layton)!

Are you interested in Megaton Musashi W: Wired?

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