The puzzles in this one just straight blow ass. Easily the worst in the series, rivaling the OG with all of it's scuffed stupidity. Over a third of them are just "arrange these objects in the correct way" which gets boring real fast, way too many "get to the end of this maze under X conditions" also. There's only like 8 puzzles in the whole game where you have to write an answer. They're also all super easy! It could just be that I'm a lot smarter than I was when I played the other games (Unlikely) but I only really had to use my brain once every 20 or so puzzles. Kinda inexcusable for a series based entirely on puzzles (In fairness, I can't imagine 87 year old Akira Tago was on his A-Game making these). The side minigames blow too! Normally they're brutal but these ones are baby easy! WHat the heck gives!!!

Plot's weird. Starts out promising in the beginning with it's odd plot hooks but then sags in the middle massively with random side story stuff, leaving the resolution super rushed. Think the hunt for the 7 Needles in Mother 3 but way longer and significantly more disconnected from the main plot. Not wholly uninteresting, but god does it drag and make you forget why you're even doing it in the first place.

I was gonna call the plot absurd, but it's a Layton game. They're all absurd. I don't know if this would even rank among the most absurd in the series.

But, I dunnooo. It's still got that Layton je ne sais quoi to it that kept me through the whole thing. Endlessly charming, still love all the characters and their interplay, art is as good as ever. The heart of the franchise was clearly still here, just the other vital organs were on their last legs.

still hype as fuck for the new one tho, finally gonna be a good switch exclusive

Reviewed on May 14, 2023


2 Comments


6 months ago

Hey Guttertrash! What do you think about Hotel Dusk: Room 215? Have you played it?

6 months ago

@firelance32 nah despite being a big ds puzzle kid i somehow fully missed it. been on the backlog for years