Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved

Really enjoyed my time playing this game. Got me more emotional than I would've thought and the world building was a lot more in depth than I thought. I really hope the small team who made this will continue making games. One thing I do wish for with future games is a more in depth gameplay loop like ace Attorney.

I immediately noticed how this game was a homage to Famicom Detective! I loved that. People kept saying it’s like ace attorney- but it really isn’t aside from the sprites. Like famicom detective- this is a pretty linear visual novel. And it has the same interface/UI. as famicom detective as well. I liked this game! But my only suggestion to the developers is that in future games; try to make more suspects with similar backgrounds to keep people guessing whodunnit. And more of a danger factor(for you or the victim) so that there’s urgency and tension to the case. I guessed who the shooting culprit was correctly not long after everyone boarded the train. How? There was only two people on the train who could’ve done it, and only one with the direct motive and background. So I didn’t end up suprised when it was revealed. It’s really common for mystery stories to make this mistake. Even famicom detective: The missing Heir, made that same mistake. The fewer characters there are: the easier it is to deduce who it is. Especially if there is foreshadowing. I also guessed who the true culprit was in famicom detective ridiculously early- because the foreshadowing was just way too great and there wasn’t anyone else left it could’ve been. I just played ‘The last express’ right after I played this game… and it really hits home how important it really is to have tons of people directly and indirectly involved in a crime to hide the culprit. Last express is also on a train, but the writing is very masterful in keeping the case engaging and the culprit hidden. Another thing that was missing was a sense of tension. The only motive to find the missing woman is your friend and the weirdnesss of people’s denial that she existed. But I wish that there was more of a sense of urgency to find her: that she was in active danger or something. You don’t really get a sense of that in this story, which held it back. Especially since there’s several times where even your friend is like ‘Maybe we should give up’ a few times over the course of the story. That being said, I hope there’s a sequel! I do think this a good game- I’m just suggesting improvements so that the next one will be greater! I do see the great potential here.

the art is gorgeous, the gameplay and story on the other hand are nothing special. you don't really "investigate" anything and the side character gives you a summary every chapter (that you can't skip and is extremely repetitive), and everything is basically handed to you.

Decent mystery visual novel Good: + Short story without fluff + Overall a decently written mystery with a few twists + Unique settings and world building Bad: - Not much interactive elements - Forgettable OST Rating: 3/5 Dial soap bars

I wanted to like this game. I really did. Story, meh. Did a decent job like a play from the 90s about a murder drama. Fine, though not paced in a way that garnered interest. I enjoy slow starts, but little of investment was offered in that start. By the end I didn't really care about the mystery or the characters' relation to it. Those mandatory recap sections were awful though. Cut the pacing and pointless. Make them optional. Gameplay, nonexistent. Walked around and clicked. It'd be one thing for a more mystery centric game where paying attention is crucial to solving the mysteries going forward, but rarely did you have to think about the mystery and it often continued anyway when I made a mistake because I'm bad with names. There was also little indication as to whether you'd have to select certain options a second or third time for story progression. And since those prompts were often just proper nouns, a situation that involved multiple people, multiple places or both meant you just picked one and hoped that it was the plot progressing one. Characters: Fine enough. I respect not wanting to get too gimmicky like in a more bombastic game, but with engagement only being about plot progression, it left many feeling rather shallow. I'd even argue that the lead wasn't necessary, the few things he did independent of Emma could've been done by Emma, and if she needed someone to bounce off of, have a section of the notes be to a boyfriend in college. If the lead must be a character, reduce him to flashbacks, or even imaginary. Art direction: I liked it. Neat art style and the characters were kinda expressive. I could understand what the characters felt without a heavy guiding hand from the narrative, and the light animations helped make the setting feel more lived in. World building: Fine, especially as it was necessary for the main plot. Unfortunately, it took away from the lead characters and their college lives, leaving them wholly separate stake-wise from the plot. Overall, it's just rather half baked. Didn't grip me. After playing Tyrion Cuthbert, I was curious how fan games could add unique touches to older personality-rich games. And I'm disappointed.

I played and completed this game shortly after it'd come out late last year and I figure I'd like to leave a review. I can see the passion the developer has for the genre and the games in that lineage shining through with each sequence. The dialog is excellent with a great sense of humor and sentimentality, the pixel graphics are exceptional, and the music is so good I'd swear the game itself existed as much as a vehicle for its delivery as much as it does a game for its own sake. Great, great soundtrack. I think that it's hard to beat the Ace Attorney formula with its punchy courtroom dramas and high stakes, and if there's a sequel to Detective Instinct-and I certainly hope there is-I'd like to see the developer attempt to punch up its "gameplay" sequences with a little more back and forth. As-is it mostly amounts to the main character being questioned about his recollection of the case at hand which is just fine, but I think the formula could stand to capture some of the energy of its contemporaries. There's a lot of potential-especially as a first attempt in a new series-just a bit bare bones. Even still it's a very enjoyable, quaint visual novel with a lot of good going for it and I encourage anyone who enjoys the genre as much as I do-and as much as the developer clearly does as well-to pick it up.

The presentation of this game is absurdly lush, and the quality of it from top to bottom is pretty unusual. It has its own unique fantasy console/handheld vibe that I really dig. The story's pretty decent, with a handful of twists and turns, and the way the music is employed to punctuate each new piece of information is pretty fun and charming. You *should know* that this game does not, as far as i know, contain major story forking in the style of Banshee's Last Cry, and is more or less a straight visual novel where all information is delivered to you piecemeal and the characters do all of the thinking. The UI is pretty great and comfortable to use, like many visual novels it's easy to see all of the dialogue in a single log at once if you've forgotten anything, and the in-game notes makes it convenient for you to, say, take a long break and refamiliarize yourself with the major plot beats before jumping right back in. There's even a text autoplay feature if you'd rather just sit back and let the scenes play out, which is a nice touch. It's a bit of a nitpick but there are sequences where the player is "trapped" and has to find the right piece of dialogue to advance the story, but many dialogue options offer a repeat of what you've already learned...I would have preferred if any option that gave me a repeat would be greyed out or otherwise noted so you don't waste your time hunting for the one dialogue option that allows you to advance. It didn't cost me *that* much time, but it is something to keep in mind, especially early on. Overall it's a pretty charming experience and I recommend it!