A Case of Distrust

这大概又是一个其实不算推荐的推荐评价… 购入本作是被女性侦探主角和简约复古的画风吸引，游玩后在这两点上确实没有让我失望：在本作所讲的故事中和1920s一战以及第一次女权运动后的背景下，主角的女性身份都有不可替代性；游戏内的画面UI都非常精致，动画和字体的细节也呈现了和背景匹配的类复古剪报质感。（p.s. 虽然标示steamdeck不适配，但我个人全程都能流畅游玩，还内置设置可调节字体大小，可比很多绿标游戏都强） 我个人对于本作的负面感受一方面涉及剧情（会在下面的大片黑条[u]全剧透[/u]说明），另一方面是探案的玩法体验。本作的玩法主要靠调查场景细节和与人物对话后，用调查到的线索继续盘问人物获得新线索。玩法在第一部分的感受还算不错，但是到了第二部分场景和线索都增多的情况下，会触发有效对话的线索在不同场景中却有高度重复。在几十条线索里翻来翻去反复尝试对话的体验感也着实不算好，这个缺点在整体的解谜引导指向也不算清晰的前提下更是突出。 [spoiler]之前提到在本作之中主角的女性身份不可替代，其实这也意味着如果是玩家以女性的身份代入主角，可能会收获在1920s的美国成为一名女性职业侦探的窒息感。女主Phyllis一开始成为警探是需要叔叔引荐担保的，叔叔去世后是无法继续在警局待下去的，自立门户当私家侦探后是接不到正经案子穷得揭不开锅的，好不容易接到一个案子但客户是只拿她当假死计划的棋子的，出门调查线索是要面对一堆老白㽖的不屑蔑视的，最后发现故事里她最信任的朋友Frankie也是一个不相信她的能力“为了保护她”而作案的杀人犯。真是好点题，a case of distrust是指从社会到个人只因Phyllis是女性就对她能力的不信任。玩完第一幕时到第二幕的过场剧情中，Phyllis遭遇了车祸，昏迷后看见的幻觉是去世叔叔的遗物风衣变化成了蒙蒙大雨的灰色天空罩下来包裹住她，让她喘不过气来直到窒息。窒息感确实也是我作为玩家在这时的体会。 以上看起来可能很像夸，但接下来确实要吐槽了…整个流程中从各个方面算是很直白（有些地方真的有引用知名的口号）又带点黑色幽默地写了Phyllis无解的女性困境。但是恰恰是这个点题的结尾后，却出现了抓捕/放过Frankie的选项，似乎想让看完这个讽刺故事的玩家在此时陷入道德困境。我个人是对于Frankie没看出什么感情来直接选了抓，但想想如果代入Phyllis来说选哪个好像都挺恶心的。再看到后记里Phyllis穿上了叔叔那件曾让她感到窒息的风衣继续她的事业，弹出的成就叫a new look，我心情挺五味杂陈的。 （关于配角的故事线也有点微妙的小不适，但太长了懒得继续写了就到这吧）[/spoiler]

The dialogue is dry, the visuals are stylized and subdued, and the music plays only as much as needed. Yet the emotions run deep. Its playtime is short, but it lingers in the mind.

What a fun, little detective game this was! A case of distrust follows a Sherlock Holmes style game as you interact with many clues, and interact with people in different places. The layout of the game is quite unique, with it's sliding animations and zooming in/out effects, that makes it very smooth and flows nicely to the eyes. The colour scheme is so simplistic and monotone, yet works nicely in highlighting which items (i.e Door, bar shaker, ice box, person) can be interacted with. There's settings to adjust the mouse sensitivity and graphics - it's just missing the ability to adjust the audio settings. But by no means was the music bad. It's simple and fitting to the genre of the game, but just too repetitive for me that I wanted to mute it to play my own music. The notes are one of the other unique aspects of this game, where you must use your evidence to contradict people and suspects. And without giving away too much of the story, it does come to a fulfilling conclusion on who left the threatening note to our MC. This game deserves all the Indie awards it has won, and I am happy to recommend A case of Distrust to my friends!

Черно-белые картинки, джаз, все дела. Ищешь улики, допрашиваешь подозреваемых, ловишь на противоречиях. Проходится часа за 3-4, но я на опыте прошёл быстрее. Досталась благодаря Humble Bundle. В целом норм, если хочется детектив на вечер. При прохождении нужен высокого уровня английский язык

AVOID | LACKING | MAYBE | [b][u]WORTHWHILE[/u][/b] | COMPELLING | UNMISSABLE A Case of Distrust is a narrative-based detective visual novel game. In it, you play as Phyllis, a private investigator who is hired to solve a mystery surrounding a threatening note sent from an anonymous source. The stylized nature of the game is very nice, the music perfectly captures the atmosphere, and the narrative itself is interesting. The game doesn't overstay its welcome, but also manages to tell a complete and comprehensive story. Really, the only thing I didn't quite like about this game is how you go about getting information from characters. You basically look around your environment and write down items of note, and then ask characters about them. As they state things, you also write down statements of note and then you can ask other characters about those statements. That's all fine and good, but you have to ask specific characters about specific items and/or statements to progress the story. Sometimes it is relatively obvious what you need to ask someone about, but sometimes it is obscure. There were a few times where I didn't seem to be getting anywhere with my questioning, so I went down the list one by one, which isn't the most engaging or fun. It also felt like it should have been a slightly smoother process in terms of UI. While this isn't necessarily a huge issue in itself, it had a relatively high negative impact on the overall gameplay given it's a core part of how you proceed through the game. I think the game is too expensive for its length, as I completed it in exactly two hours. Although replayability is technically there (as there are certain dialogue options you can choose from, but you would already know the solution to the mystery), it's definitely on the lower side. I think additional length is mostly going to come from people getting stuck with progressing the story (i.e., not asking the right person about the right thing) as opposed to actual content. That said, it's a nicely put together game with interesting characters, story, and art design and worth it on a ~50% off sale,

流程非常短的一个探案小故事，没什么推理难度，只需要认真点击每一件物品，以及一些基础的推理。 剧情用女性侦探的视角，以及非常有特色的美术，探索一起发生在美国禁酒令时期的一桩杀人案。npc的对话和物品描述侧面或正面体现了很多当年美国的细节，包括当时的禁酒令以及女权运动，很有趣。 在玩的时候我一直在思考标题里的“distrust”到底是什么，是游戏开头 [spoiler] 不相信公寓里确实没吃的的猫 [/spoiler] ，还是游戏中间 [spoiler] 不信任丈夫的妻子 [/spoiler] ，玩到最后，当看到 [spoiler] 调酒师一句“I did this for you”的那一刻，我突然明白了，是整个男权社会对女性能力的不信任 [/spoiler] 。很明显作者从头到尾都在为这盘醋包饺子，但玩到最后实在有种恍然大悟的感觉。这句话浮现在屏幕上时，我第一反应是反胃，以为又要处理成经典“骑士精神”：主角感动，领悟对面的良苦用心，然后抱头痛哭。很感激作者精准识别并点出了这种行为背后的微妙的轻蔑意味。 同时也很感激作者没有把剧情里的人物动机 [spoiler] 处理成单纯的为爱情驱动，Fanny是为了自由，调酒师是为了复仇（以及恶心的所谓“骑士精神”） [/spoiler] ，带来了比较舒适的游玩体验。

Интересная визуальная новелла, немного скучная и пресная для меня, но тем не менее заслуживает внимания. Неспешное прохождение и исследование обстоятельств дела (а вернее, нескольких дел) на пару часов позволят расслабиться и получить удовольствие, как от неплохого детектива. Интересные повороты сюжета ждут. Я бы только побольше раскрасила и прорисовала персонажей и убрала возможность задавать всем героям вопросы про все доказательства и заявления друг друга, поскольку очень надоедает. А так приятное неспешное расследование с возможностью атмосферно окунуться в одну из прошлых эпох...10 рыжих котиков из 10, как и 10 пальто дядюшки из 10))) P.S. Почему все без глаз кроме кота?!?!? Это обстоятельство осталось нераскрытым...

[h3]Classic and stylish.[/h3] I had a good time with this game, the art, style and music goes a long way. The actual case didn't dissapoint me, maybe it isn't as amazing and complexe as others would want it to be, but then again, it is a [b]short[/b] game, so don't expect the suspense to drag on for ages: it took less than 4 hours to finish. Base price is harsh but it can be found cheap. An enjoyable detective story presented with real class : 7/10

Wont rate the game bad cause its a small indie game, but not my cup of tea... Tried something new and didnt like it, so coffee is on me have fun with the cash xD

Great short detective game, though not with an insane impact, just a delightful short story in my opinion. What really sparkles is the beautiful design, reminiscent of the good old Hotel Dusk games, and the well-written dialogue and, at least from what I can tell, well-researched and authentic-feeling 1930s setting. Caveats: 1. The game is kinda annoying to play with the standard steam deck control scheme and I have not found a better control scheme. Which is a shame, this was very cozy for reading in bed. You're forced to use the trackpad, and while that works well enough, but it could be better. 2. Lotta travelling back and forth between places just to confirm one or two more statements. But again, that is not so bad, the travelling is accompanied by unique taxicab chats and it's really well written and interesting to read. All in all, for a couple bucks and about 2-3 hours of entertainment, I think it's solid.