Developer – FURYU Corporation

Publisher – NIS America, Inc.

Platforms –  PC (Reviewed)

Review copy given by Publisher

Scene Investigators, a game set in the near future that promises an immersive experience in the world of detective work, had me intrigued from the get-go. With a strong emphasis on the 70/30 principle, where keen observation, filling in missing gaps, and making assumptions are key, it had the potential to be a gripping and intellectually challenging adventure. However, after diving into the game, I found that the balance between these elements was more like a seesaw that leaned heavily toward obscurity, leaving players with an experience that felt more open-ended than expected.

The game’s description led me to believe that Scene Investigators would provide a unique and authentic detective experience, demanding players to rely on their logic, intuition, and deductive skills. The absence of hints and hand-holding raised the expectation of a challenging and rewarding gameplay experience, but it ended up being frustratingly daunting. There’s a fine line between challenging and overwhelming, and Scene Investigators veered too far into the latter territory.

One of the issues that marred the experience was the excessive reliance on the 70/30 principle. While it’s essential to encourage players to make assumptions and think critically, the game often felt more like a guessing game than a deductive reasoning challenge. The missing information and vague clues made it difficult to connect the dots logically. Instead of feeling like a true detective, I found myself making wild guesses in the hope that they might lead to some semblance of progress.

Furthermore, while initially intriguing, the game’s open-ended nature eventually became a source of frustration. The fine balance between presenting a challenging mystery and providing enough information for players to piece together the narrative was skewed. Scene Investigators left too many gaps to fill and motives to conjure up, making it feel more like a trial-and-error exercise than a satisfying puzzle-solving experience.

The environmental clues, though abundant and diverse, often led to more confusion than enlightenment. While some ambiguity can be a positive element in a mystery game, Scene Investigators left me with an overwhelming amount of uncertain details, leaving me grasping at straws and struggling to form a coherent narrative.

Ultimately, Scene Investigators falls short of its potential to offer a truly engaging detective experience. The 70/30 principle, while promising in theory, tips the scale too far towards uncertainty, making the game feel less like a deductive challenge and more like an exercise in wild conjecture. Despite its immersive murder mystery setting, the game’s execution leaves much to be desired, resulting in a frustrating and unsatisfying experience for those who seek logical, well-structured puzzles.