Tag Archives: Murder Mystery

PC Games

The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story

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Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: h.a.n.d.
Year: 2022
Platform: Windows, iOS, Android, PS4, PS5, Switch

Rating: 4

You are reading this because of my father.

When I was six or seven, he brought home a couple of games for our IBM. One had us standing in an open field west of a white house, and one had us standing in an open field east of a gray castle (with hungry moat alligators). I was hooked immediately, and solving adventure games with my dad became one of our favorite bonding experiences. We both love a good mystery.

The latest mystery I solved was The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story, the first adventure game by long-time Japanese developer h.a.n.d. (with Square Enix publishing). An FMV mystery, the game finds players investigating a string of murders that have plagued the Shijima family for the past hundred years. Sadly, the otherwise compelling story stalls due to excessive hand-holding, middling performances, and long stretches of tedium.

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PC Games

The Crimson Diamond

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Publisher: Julia Minamata
Developer: Julia Minamata
Year: 2024
Platform: Windows, Mac

Rating: 8

For those of you who have been eagerly awaiting for years to play The Crimson Diamond: Yes, it’s as amazing as you were hoping. Go get it.

For those who have only more recently become aware, The Crimson Diamond is the labor of love from Julia Minamata, first-time indie designer from Toronto. This murder mystery is an homage to EGA Sierra titles, sporting a 16-color palette, a parser interface, and a design highly reminiscent of Roberta Williams’s classic The Colonel’s Bequest. Taking the best features of those nostalgic 80s adventures and supplementing them with modern conveniences, Julia has successfully created a charming and engaging game that ranks right up there with the best Sierra had to offer.

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