System: Swap
Launch Date: Might 12, 2022
Developer: h.a.n.d.
Writer: Sq. Enix
Say what you’ll about Sq. Enix, however it’s unattainable to disclaim that they’ve acquired a knack for publishing offbeat experiences that few different main publishers would contact. Their newest oddity, the lengthily named The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story, is an formidable interactive detective story framed nearly solely by means of full-motion video (or FMV) – a mode of presentation that actually thrived within the 90’s however is just now experiencing a small resurgence in recognition. Regardless of its area of interest presentation, the sport delivers an intimate and clever thriller that’s nicely value seeing by means of to the top, if gamers can endure its gradual pacing and solely reasonably fascinating characters.
The story of The Centennial Case follows the exploits of Haruka Kagami, a plucky thriller author with a well-known sequence of detective novels below her belt working in modern-day Japan. Throughout a ebook signing, she’s approached by a molecular scientist named Eiji Shijima, whose household has spent a very long time researching the best way to cease cells from growing older. A once-in-a-century ceremony to nominate a brand new head of family can be taking place quickly, he tells Haruka, however he believes the ceremony additionally has connections to an area legend: a mysterious Fruit of Youth known as the Tokijiku that grants agelessness to whoever eats it. That’s sufficient by itself to get the author’s consideration, however on high of all that, a skeleton was just lately found on the property that Eiji believes may very well be linked to a protracted string of murders that has plagued his household for many years. Sensing a thriller to be solved, Haruka accompanies him to his household’s property on the base of Mount Fuji to watch the ceremony and try to join the disparate items.
After all, being an FMV sport, all the narrative is delivered by means of actual, human actors on real-world units. It’s right here the place you’ll watch Haruka work together with the residents of the Shijima family, seek for clues and (inevitably for this style of sport), witness the occasional homicide over the course of six substantial chapters. These are largely passive experiences, and though you’ll often be prompted to make a dialogue selection for Haruka, these are largely inconsequential as there may be precisely one strategy to attain the ending of The Centennial Case. It’s after these segments, although, that the “sport” a part of The Centennial Case begins.
As soon as Haruka has collected sufficient clues, the participant can be whisked away into the Cognitive Reasoning House, which is principally a illustration of her mind. Right here, you’ll be chargeable for bodily connecting the proper clues with numerous mysteries to type completely different hypotheses about what might have occurred. You do that by sifting by means of dozen of “clue tiles” and putting them on a hexagonal grid subsequent to “thriller tiles” – every time you do, you’ll unlock a brand new concept that may very well be an important a part of fixing the thriller. It’s vital to be thorough right here, as a result of when the time involves level a finger at a suspect in no matter thriller the present chapter is centered on, you’ll depend on the conclusions you fashioned within the Cognitive Reasoning House to again up your arguments.
On one hand, that is all pretty simple – clue tiles are organized within the chronological order during which they first appeared within the story, and you’ll even rewatch the FMV scenes that accompany them to try to make it simpler to determine the place every clue tile may match. Additionally, every of the clue tiles has a sample on one aspect of it that matches with one of many edges of a thriller tile, so this could additionally make it simpler to determine the place the clue tiles and thriller tiles might join. The draw back to this method, although, is that there’s little or no puzzle-solving within the Cognitive Reasoning House and a variety of trial and error. Every clue tile has precisely one place on the board the place it may go, and with so lots of the clue tiles having related names or descriptions, it may often really feel tedious and repetitive to put all of them. You’re not more likely to actually ever get caught, simply bored – though there’s a trace system right here in the event you’re feeling impatient and wish the sport that will help you place some tiles.
When you’re achieved working with clues within the Cognitive Reasoning House, the sport will return you to no matter scene you have been in earlier than, and will probably be as much as you to not solely determine the suspect, however help your accusation with chilly, laborious proof. The Centennial Case does an excellent job making these sections really feel vital – make an incorrect accusation or an illogical declare even as soon as, and a game-over scene will play that principally depicts the opposite characters within the sport primarily calling you a dumbass and telling you why you’re unsuitable. From there, the sport will boot you again to the Cognitive Reasoning House so to evaluation the hypotheses you fashioned earlier earlier than attempting once more. I actually discovered myself having to suppose laborious to determine what the answer to every thriller was, despite the fact that I felt like I had been paying consideration – however each time I made a mistake, it was all the time as a result of I had ignored an vital element. It made it really feel much more empowering once I did ultimately nail a tough interrogation sequence on my first strive.
I’ll say, although, that in the direction of the top of the sport, there’s a fairly main new gameplay factor launched fully out of left area that I actually didn’t take pleasure in. I’m probably not supposed to speak about it intimately, however principally what occurs is that the sport takes a break from the “analyze clues and interrogate suspects” mechanic to a “remedy an obtuse, large-scale puzzle for an hour and a half” sort of deal. It suits inside the context of the narrative, so it’s not essentially an unreasonable addition to the sport, however I discovered it much more irritating than enjoyable. It completely slammed the brakes on a narrative that, up that time, had simply been getting higher and higher because it went on. I acquired by means of it to get to the ending of the sport, and am glad I did, however it actually sucked me out of the expertise.
Apart from that, I actually loved this gameplay loop because it was introduced in The Centennial Case and didn’t discover myself tiring of it even over the course of the sport’s roughly 10-hour runtime. At first, I had a tough time getting considering what was occurring – the sport introduces you to new characters in a short time and is so targeted on establishing the info of the overarching thriller that it permits itself principally no time to determine distinctive identities for its characters. It is a drawback in any narrative-heavy sport, however luckily, The Centennial Case considerably makes up for it by introducing a intelligent narrative gimmick early on. Early within the sport, Haruka learns that the Shijima household has been suffering from a mysterious homicide nearly each ten years or so for nearly a century, and so to assist her determine precisely what’s going on within the modern-day, she digs by means of some outdated books to try to uncover what has occurred prior to now as nicely. When this occurs, the sport jumps its narrative again in time for a chapter or so, and all of the actors enjoying characters within the “current day” scenes abruptly tackle new roles, enjoying youthful variations of the modern-day characters, or generally completely different characters altogether. That is defined in sport as Haruka mission the personalities of individuals she is aware of in her life into her mind’s reimagining of what occurred prior to now, in order that she will be able to try to remedy the thriller as she reads these historic information of the previous.
It’s remarkably artistic presentation, and to me it made The Centennial Case really feel extra akin to a stage play than a tv present or film. Instantly, the marginally hokey writing and exaggerated appearing started making extra sense. The Centennial Case isn’t attempting to be the following Agatha Christie story; it’s attempting to be a homicide thriller dinner theatre manufacturing, with a handful of actors altering costumes backstage between acts. As soon as I noticed that, all the pieces started clicking into place, and the tonal whiplash between the darkest moments of the sport’s story and low-key comedy that performs out shortly after grew to become a lot simpler to understand. Moreover, the masterful manner during which all The Centennial Case’s mysteries started to come back collectively was like turning on a light-weight swap in a darkish room for me. It is a very sensible, well-crafted narrative, however it retains its playing cards near its chest for an excellent whereas. A part of me desires to liken it to a Japanese tackle one thing just like the film Knives Out, though I don’t suppose it succeeds at precisely that degree.
Regardless of its faults, The Centennial Case feels poised greater than some other latest FMV sport to be the one to convey extra individuals into the style. It actually completed that with me, somebody who has by no means actually loved such a sport earlier than. Is it area of interest? Completely. Will this be a sport that develops a cult following over time due to its distinctive concepts? I’d put cash on it. Must you give it a strive? If you happen to’re curious concerning the methods during which movie and gaming can intersect, I can’t consider a greater place to begin.
The Verdict
The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story is a artistic tackle the standard detective story that does an excellent job melding its live-action presentation with reasonably satisfying gameplay; though sifting by means of clues loses its luster over time, presenting your theories and proof is rewarding and difficult, and the thriller on the crux of the story simply will get higher and higher as the sport progresses. That is bolstered by some intelligent technique of framing the sport’s narrative that actually helps set this sport aside tonally from all the pieces else on the market. Are available with endurance and an open thoughts, and The Centennial Case may simply shock you.
The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story copy supplied by the writer for the needs of this evaluation.