[i]Clash: Robot Detective - Complete Edition[/i] is a mystery, sci-fi visual novel developed and published by Drone Garden Studios. You take on the role of an unnamed human MC, whose name can be customized. (The default name is Moira if you choose not to have a name, and the MC's silhouette hints that the MC is female.) Having won a vacation on a high-tech cruise ship, you're relaxing on the ship, being served by robotic staff. Suddenly, one of the robotic lifeguard staff randomly starts chasing and attacking human guests, and you're next on the list. Fortunately, at that moment, a sentient robot detective named Clash comes to your rescue and throws the lifeguard overboard. Clash then informs you that something weird is happening on the ship where robotic staff are being hacked and turning violent. Understanding that the human perspective is needed, Clash asks that you be his assistant on the case (although you really don't have a choice). Together, the two of you interrogate witnesses and such, all in the hopes of finding the perpetrator. In addition to the main story, there is a bonus story/epilogue where you take on the role of a different unnamed MC, whose name can be customized. (The default name is Henry if you choose not to have a name, and the silhouette hints that the MC is male.) I'll stop my story synopsis here to avoid spoilers and all that.
As for the gameplay, [i]Clash: Robot Detective - Complete Edition[/i] is a visual novel with multiple endings, so there are only options that affect which endings you obtain as well as other Steam/in-game achievements. While a few of these options don't have any effect, other options affect the personality traits that the MC develops, such as being friendly or downright hostile. Also, some of the options have Good Cop versus Bad Cop points, which determine how the MC comes off when interrogating witnesses and how Clash will play off the MC. The same goes for the bonus story, except that there are no Good Cop versus Bad Cop points. In addition, there is behind-the scenes trivia where you can learn about the concept of the game and such. As mentioned earlier, there are Steam achievements, but they won't count towards a user's global total until the game is out of "Steam is learning about this game".
Now that I've gone over the story and gameplay, I'll move onto my critique. I enjoy a good mystery (probably one of my favorite VN genres), and [i]Clash: Robot Detective - Complete Edition[/i] definitely delivers that. I like how the story starts off, and it doesn't waste time getting right into the action. Then I got to experience what it's like to be a detective assistant for Clash. Speaking of Clash, I thought he was a great character. He may be a robot that was originally intended to assist the police, but he's finding sentience and thus, he wants to become more. Of course, there are some humans who are prejudiced against robots, and I got to witness it as Clash and the MC would interview certain witnesses. I couldn't help but adore Clash. He wants equal rights for robots, but at the same time, he wants to help and protect people. The other cast of characters, mainly the witnesses in the case, helps to move the story forward. Each character has their own personality with their own thoughts, prejudices, etc. As for the story, there are a few slower moments, but it never gets boring. There are plenty of action-packed events, and I really liked how the perpetrator would be different, depending on what personality traits I'd have the MC focus on. For example, [spoiler]if the MC was mostly friendly, then the perpetrator would be the researcher because she wants recognition for her work[/spoiler]. I liked this feature, and I liked how the Good Cop versus Bad Cop points would determine how the MC and Clash would behave. Also, they ultimately determine whether [spoiler]Clash offers the MC a full-time position as his assistant or Clash chooses to fire her[/spoiler]. Also, I really enjoyed the bonus story/epilogue. I won't go too much into spoiler territory for it, but I really liked the twist when [spoiler]Clash, who now has his own detective agency, figures out who the perpetrator behind the murder of the robotic barista is[/spoiler].
As for the writing, I felt that it was very well-paced, and as I mentioned earlier, there was plenty of action, so I didn't feel bored. I noticed a couple of typos, but they aren't to the point where they take away the reader's enjoyment. As for the technical aspects, I had no trouble unlocking most of the achievements. However, I had trouble unlocking the Persuasive achievement, and for quite a while, I couldn't figure out why. However, after looking at the Ren'Py script, I noticed typos in the naming of this particular achievement, so after I fixed them, the achievement unlocked for me without a problem.
In regards to the art, I like that the developer uses a photographic style. I know that this may not be the most popular or common style when it comes to visual novels, but I think it works for this story. Admittedly, I would have liked to have seen CGs since they tend to be one of my favorite aspects of visual novels, but this is more of a minor nitpick than anything. Regarding the music, I liked the tracks that were present. They give off that investigative theme as well as the thrill of having to run away from danger and such. There's enough variety, and not once did I ever notice the music not run while I was playing the main story or the bonus story.
Overall, would I recommend [i]Clash: Robot Detective - Complete Edition[/i]? If you like mystery visual novels with that detective noir theme going on, then this is worth taking a look. I enjoyed the stories that were presented, and Clash is a wonderful character. I couldn't help but hope that his dream of being recognized as fully sentient and such would come true. For the asking price, I would recommend holding off for a bit of a sale. One playthrough took me about 1 hour and 15 minutes, and I used the skip function for already read text. Even with the bonus story, going through multiple playthroughs, and getting all of the achievements, it took me around 5.5 hours to 100% complete the game. In addition to the lack of CGs, there's no voice acting, either. Nevertheless, I enjoyed [i]Clash: Robot Detective - Complete Edition[/i] for the story, and I liked getting to solve the mystery along with Clash.
Finally, I want to say thank you to Drone Garden Studios for the curator copy. I hope to see more future visual novels from this developer. ^^
[quote]Flying free and writing reviews solely for [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44702020/]The Introverted Gamer[/url].[/quote]
