[code]This is an Early Access Report. It therefore only comments on the game's state during the time the report was made and whether or not it is enjoyable/who it will appeal to. This EAR will be revised upon the game's full release.[/code]
You’re Jim Grayson and you’ve just stumbled upon one of the strangest cases you’ve ever had. Will this case take the cake as the one that keeps you up at night?
[u]UI[/u]
There is almost no UI. This is as immersive as it gets. The only indication you have on your screen is the small red dot reticle that changes from red to gray on items as you’re able to click on. I like this as it leaves more of the world wide open to explore without the cluster of UIs.
[u]Gameplay/Controls[/u]
You arrive on scene with little to go by and you search. You look at things that might be out of place or that you think might be of use to a detective. I’ve watched enough ID that I went right for items that contained DNA or looked in places where people try to get rid of evidence.
With this being in EA, the only bugs I came across were the ones already listed in the bug menu. This bug menu, in case you come across one during your playthrough, opens in a separate window when you hit Start or ESC. I used both a XBox 360 controller and a keyboard/mouse. Both work fantastically well and are both equally responsive.
Clicking on things will merit a response from Jim, letting you know whether or not what you’ve picked up or poked at is related to the case or the scene or not. Jim will comment on the object/case if you pick up the right object or give an unimpressed/negative response if you handled the wrong one. I think I should mention here that your environment also plays a vital role in your investigation. Pay very close attention to your surroundings! I have to say, this was pulled off flawlessly in the 3rd and final arc of this case.
[spoiler]There was a point where you finally watch the security tape and you have to venture out into the corn fields. At first, I figured it would be daunting to look for one body in a huge field, but I backed up and went back to the station. This is when I heard the birds and I looked up. Birds tend to circle dead or decaying things. Lo and behold, I followed the birds and wouldn’t you know, beneath them as they circled the sky was the body I was looking for. This was pretty stellar I gotta say.[/spoiler]
[u]Visuals[/u]
The game keeps with a primarily monochromatic scale with various points of interest or accents appearing in color. Neat enough, the object you’re to find for your case changes to full color objects. This is a visual cue that let’s you know you’ve found the correct objects. Objects unrelated to the case will turn gray/black. Very nice visual and audio cues. Perfect for a game of this type and style.
[u]Music[/u]
Listed as being by Pedro from YouTube, the music is what you would expect from a detective/noir-esque point-and-click. It does well to make the game feel eerie and not to know what to expect next. Incredibly atmospheric.
[u]Overall[/u]
As it stands, the 3 mission previews took me a little over an hour or so to complete. But there is promise of more content to come and bug fixes as well. If you don't feel like paying the current price for a little over an hour of content, I would wait until more of the story is fleshed out and more cases/episodes become available.
I highly recommend getting into this as Silhouette is a great example of how a detective noir point-and-click should be. It’s definitely atmospheric, the music is somber as you continue to investigate, and the case itself really ups the creep factor to 11 as you find out more about the victim and his demise. I’m definitely going to keep an eye on this as I feel this will be a very promising title.
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