This was a game I adored way back when I played it in 2010 on a DS. This is a game I adored replaying in 2023, remembering the big twists but having forgotten the details of the story. It is Shu Takumi's magnum opus, one of the greatest games to come out of its generation, and would still be even if it came out today. A lot of people will mention the usual detective story stuff about going in blind for maximum impact, so I'll mention something else:

Ghost Trick is a beautifully animated game. You'd expect this from the same team that brought the Ace Attorney series to life, but Takumi and his team poured their heart into each and every single of this game's characters and how they move. And it is everything - from your detective friend wolfing down a whole chicken to a poor rat getting brutalised inside the walls of an exotic apartment. From a well respected investigator's extravagant moves to what's basically known as the Panic Dance - you'll know it when you see it. From deadly contraptions to setting up your own life-saving contraption. And on a more mundane scale, even the way everyone walks, climbs, crawls their way through the game is worthy of praise.

Also you'll meet and fall in love with Missile the Pomeranian, the singular best dog in video games. I'm not spoiling that character in particular.

This game is (still) one of my favourites.