Criminal Case: Mysteries of the Past ~ RIEview

Being in the mood for more murder mysteries game, I stumbled upon the Criminal Case series, in particular the Mysteries of the Past title. Being an avid fan of the steampunk genre, plus the beautifully haunting art seen in the trailer, I was naturally drawn and downloaded the game to give it a go. How did this game fare with the others? Let me break it down to you: 

Game Plot

You have just arrived in Concordia to join the Concordian Flying Squad, a department in the police force tasked to solve all cases. Just as you land, there’s a murder at the port! Brace yourself as the cases begin to come in waves, while working hard to keep the peace in Concordia.

Verdict (5/5)

Each case comes with its own backstory. In the beginning it may seem that there is no connection, but you will find that each region has a common thread that will open the next region, and so on. I love how each case is unique, with some honorary references to memorable real life events.

Character Diversity & Personality 

Similar to Call Me Emperor, the protagonist does not have much of a fixed role. Instead the developers encourage players to immerse themselves as the protagonist in the game. Joining the protagonist is Isaac and Madeline, both alternating to work with you on different cases. The rest of the Concordian Flying Squad are colorful in their personalities, each armed with their own skill sets and expertise useful for the squad. The suspects and other characters are also unique and entertaining, bringing with them the suspense needed as the protagonist gets one step closer to the truth:

Who is the murderer?

Verdict (5/5)

Really well written characters, and some of them tend to show up again in future scenes as suspects. Yes, even those in the Concordian Flying Squad to, considering the context of the case. A tip for those who get emotionally attached to characters easily – Don’t. Because sometimes they will die or become murderers! Keyword here is sometimes, but you’ll never know! Sometimes it’s the least suspected person...

Game & CG Art

Beautiful art, the character art on the login and in game is different. The login character art is the same as the scenes, which have the hand drawn feel. The in-game character art and the icons definitely are of the digital medium, though it’s still good.

Verdict (3.5/5)

The reason for the low score is mostly because I feel cheated, as in the Play Store there was no indication that two types of medium were used in game. Understandably, digital art is easier to work with than hand drawn art, in terms of changing movements and also expressions. Still, the developers should make a point of being honest with the change, seeing how I gave pixel-art style games a chance and loved them all the same.

Game Mechanics

The game operates mainly as finding the hidden objects. 3 other modes are also available: Unscrambling the Scene Puzzle, Timed Hidden Object Scene, and Spot the Difference. Players can acquire important evidence by playing the scene as required by the tablet, where collected evidence will be further processed by the experts, which you can check the progress in the laboratory tab below. Based on the findings done on the evidence and the statements given by suspects, players can then arrest the suspect with the matching criteria. 

By a certain point in the region, you can unlock new pets in the Pet Shop. Each pet (once purchased) brings with it a special skill that will be activated once you tasked the pet to be on duty with you. Feed your pet with time (yes, time is the currency here) to increase its loyalty to you. While you can’t customise your pet, you can customise your own avatar at the Avatar Shop.

Verdict (4.5/5)

Easy to pick up, but the hurdle in the game is the energy cost. If you’re a perfectionist like me who wants to get full stars in each region, you will need A LOT of energies to go through the scenes. Note also that upon complete stars in a case will give players a chance to replay the whole case, thus earning a higher tier of rewards and collectible character cards. Character cards will unlock memorable scenes for each case, though some cards can be repetition of already obtained cards.

In-Game Events

N/A

In conclusion, Criminal Case: Mysteries of the Past is a quality murder mystery game that should be given a chance. Solid writing and good character diversity are the 2 main highlights; technically nothing wrong with the art, just that in my personal opinion the developers should be more honest on what players should expect. Nothing wrong with the game play, as merely it is the energy consumption that can leave players at loss once the energy gauge is low. The game is free to play, with energy packs and more available to be purchased should players would like to do so.

Is Criminal Case: Mysteries of the Past the game for you? Comment below if you did download it!

Happy Gaming!

~ RieRie