Cantaim
Shriekbat
The years been jam packed with a lot of action games so I thought it would be fun to move at a different pace from normal with a mystery game. It didn’t take me long to notice that this game had some senior staff from the Dangenrompa series as the thumbprint is all over it. The general design of the game, character design, and the music all feel like it’s in the same vein. It was interesting to notice so my playthrough then took the lens of this being a spiritual successor to that series. But enough rambling I’d like to dive into my thoughts!
Cases
The meat of the game are the cases, and, in this adventure, we get around 6 cases. All of which varied in quality. I don’t know which one I’d say is my favorite, but I think I was most fond of the nail man case as that had a fun premise. In terms of how challenging the mysteries are. I'd say the player will generally figure out who did 1 or 2 of the cases in a playthrough but not have a solid idea on how they pulled it off until the case is well into the solution phase. I don't think that is bad either. If you can crack the killer and the way they, did it. The cases would be a slog on a first playthrough. Oh, and if you are coming in from an Ace Attorney or Dangenrompa perspective. I'd say the game doesn't have any case that's as good as the best cases in those series. But I think what's here is around the same level as everything else.
Story
I think the premise of the game is really solid. You and a few other detectives arrive in an independent district known as “Kanai Ward”. Your job is to uncover mystery’s obscured by corrupt cops and a dystopian mega corp. From there we get our cases that show the many different facets about how life in this city works. This all builds towards the final case and uncovering the hidden secret of the independent district. Overall, I liked it, but the game had a bad habit of not using the other detectives outside of their 1 case. I know why they did that, but it results in long stretches where some don’t talk for hours. A bit of a bummer as some could have really used more screentime.
Unfortunately, I think the writing at times holds back what should be very impactful narrative moments. I’d say the chapter 4 case is a good example. At around the halfway point of the case I had cracked what had happened. This was a little detrimental to the rest of the case as it felt like there was a long 30–45-minute sequences where someone kept going “you won’t be able to handle the truth of this case”. A phrase that got very old very fast when I the player had already figured it out and accepted it!
Aesthetic
Yea this city looks pretty great. An interesting neo-noir setting with lots of mood.
Music
What else is there to say other than it has a pretty good soundtrack? If you liked any of the previous Dangenrompa games music wise congratulations, you just got another game with the same sound.
Final thoughts
If it’s the start of a series, I think it’s a good first step. I’d definitely be willing to try a sequel if one is made. If this is a one-off thing, then I also think this is worth your time if you are a fan of Dangenrompa. It really feels like they tried to make a new series that builds upon what they previously had while avoiding tying themselves down into making it so that every game has to be about killing each other in a locked location. Anyone else here give this game a shot?
Cases
The meat of the game are the cases, and, in this adventure, we get around 6 cases. All of which varied in quality. I don’t know which one I’d say is my favorite, but I think I was most fond of the nail man case as that had a fun premise. In terms of how challenging the mysteries are. I'd say the player will generally figure out who did 1 or 2 of the cases in a playthrough but not have a solid idea on how they pulled it off until the case is well into the solution phase. I don't think that is bad either. If you can crack the killer and the way they, did it. The cases would be a slog on a first playthrough. Oh, and if you are coming in from an Ace Attorney or Dangenrompa perspective. I'd say the game doesn't have any case that's as good as the best cases in those series. But I think what's here is around the same level as everything else.
Story
I think the premise of the game is really solid. You and a few other detectives arrive in an independent district known as “Kanai Ward”. Your job is to uncover mystery’s obscured by corrupt cops and a dystopian mega corp. From there we get our cases that show the many different facets about how life in this city works. This all builds towards the final case and uncovering the hidden secret of the independent district. Overall, I liked it, but the game had a bad habit of not using the other detectives outside of their 1 case. I know why they did that, but it results in long stretches where some don’t talk for hours. A bit of a bummer as some could have really used more screentime.
Unfortunately, I think the writing at times holds back what should be very impactful narrative moments. I’d say the chapter 4 case is a good example. At around the halfway point of the case I had cracked what had happened. This was a little detrimental to the rest of the case as it felt like there was a long 30–45-minute sequences where someone kept going “you won’t be able to handle the truth of this case”. A phrase that got very old very fast when I the player had already figured it out and accepted it!
Aesthetic
Yea this city looks pretty great. An interesting neo-noir setting with lots of mood.
Music
What else is there to say other than it has a pretty good soundtrack? If you liked any of the previous Dangenrompa games music wise congratulations, you just got another game with the same sound.
Final thoughts
If it’s the start of a series, I think it’s a good first step. I’d definitely be willing to try a sequel if one is made. If this is a one-off thing, then I also think this is worth your time if you are a fan of Dangenrompa. It really feels like they tried to make a new series that builds upon what they previously had while avoiding tying themselves down into making it so that every game has to be about killing each other in a locked location. Anyone else here give this game a shot?
. So this is mostly my impressions, once I finish we shall see how much it changed. I am not a fan of Danganronpa, played a bit of the first plus the anime and I was bored, granted that was when I was younger and not into VNs.
