The manager of a book store is visited by a variety of locals that are struggling with various supernatural issues. With an aloof personality and a physical inability to leave his store, the manager does what he can to help these people in need with the resources he has around him.
Spent a month or so with this on and off and its a difficult beast to really describe. There's a risk in fantasy stories to get bogged down in details and world-building and sometimes this runs the risk of doing that. But the majority of cases ultimately work because the game is more interested in examining the personal struggles of these characters than those magical systems. The first case alone is an excellent tragedy about school bullying and the extreme emotions that drives a person towards.
What also helps is that the structure of the mysteries is entirely reliant on what the players are willing to research. Since the Store Manager can't leave his store, he can only solve cases through combing through books and reading online. The majority of clues depend on remembering which books on the shelves might be relevant to this situation. All other information requires the Store Manager's supporting cast to explore the world. This helps the other characters get show off their internal workings so we can understand where they're coming from.
Still, I think the game's major problems can be demonstrated by tracking the steam achievements. 60% of players completed the first deduction. 35% completed the first case. All remaining cases hover around 15% completion. There's a HUGE drop between all of those numbers. But that consistent 15% is interesting. People that stuck with the game past chapter 1 really committed to it. Its slow, its plodding, it takes a LONG time for the characters to show off their personalities. And this isn't helped by the somewhat flawed translation the game is dealing with. But there's something really charming waiting if you're willing to put in the effort. Me, I'm a maniac who'll commit games for way longer than I should. I can't blame anyone who chooses to bail, particularly a slow-burn like this. But an urban fantasy game dripping with that Persona 5 aesthetic is just exactly my cup of tea.
Also the climax of the final case is maybe one of the funniest ways I've ever seen heroes turn the tables on a villain I've ever seen. I've never laughed so hard at one dipshit's utter confusion.
Spent a month or so with this on and off and its a difficult beast to really describe. There's a risk in fantasy stories to get bogged down in details and world-building and sometimes this runs the risk of doing that. But the majority of cases ultimately work because the game is more interested in examining the personal struggles of these characters than those magical systems. The first case alone is an excellent tragedy about school bullying and the extreme emotions that drives a person towards.
What also helps is that the structure of the mysteries is entirely reliant on what the players are willing to research. Since the Store Manager can't leave his store, he can only solve cases through combing through books and reading online. The majority of clues depend on remembering which books on the shelves might be relevant to this situation. All other information requires the Store Manager's supporting cast to explore the world. This helps the other characters get show off their internal workings so we can understand where they're coming from.
Still, I think the game's major problems can be demonstrated by tracking the steam achievements. 60% of players completed the first deduction. 35% completed the first case. All remaining cases hover around 15% completion. There's a HUGE drop between all of those numbers. But that consistent 15% is interesting. People that stuck with the game past chapter 1 really committed to it. Its slow, its plodding, it takes a LONG time for the characters to show off their personalities. And this isn't helped by the somewhat flawed translation the game is dealing with. But there's something really charming waiting if you're willing to put in the effort. Me, I'm a maniac who'll commit games for way longer than I should. I can't blame anyone who chooses to bail, particularly a slow-burn like this. But an urban fantasy game dripping with that Persona 5 aesthetic is just exactly my cup of tea.
Also the climax of the final case is maybe one of the funniest ways I've ever seen heroes turn the tables on a villain I've ever seen. I've never laughed so hard at one dipshit's utter confusion.