(Quite The Calling Card) Of The Devil
You know, this game might be free, the prologue that is, but I'm still giving a real good scrutiny over it just like every F2P out there. While that's out of the way, holy crap, what a strong start. Ok, the next episode is a paid-for DLC. I'm so convinced now, I'll probably get it.
Cyberpunk detective games aren't rare finds, majority of them dabble in the post-capitalist, nihilism with dark gritty atmosphere, and occasional good writing that deconstructs many social norms. of the Devil takes a good slice of that pie, and introduces a witty yuri defense lawyer, who I definitely love being the fact that she's a sardonic Ace Attorney shoo-in.
Not even super complex or requires a neurodivergent level of brain activity to play through the intricate, dopamine hitting sections of mini-games. Embracing its neon lit world with information hunting that grounds the game as a detective game before the lawyer stuff happens.
It's the year 2086, and no I'm not going to feed a synapsis about the grim social climate. Here's Morgan, a defense lawyer who recently passed the bar. Making passive commentary on her situation, and foreboding mess that is modern society in the future.
I already like her getup, definitely has the yuri vibe, with the gothic clothing, three color palette. Her hyper awareness and commentary on the scene helps to delineate a lot of what's going on. But I needed to still rely on my understanding of the provided information, while being more active on rummaging through things, you know, you need to interact with your environment and such.
Pretty basic Ace Attorney stuff, but where it gets interesting is the build-up, the light bulb takes, crescendos, the "I got you hook and sinker" moments. It's invigorating while having a smart protagonist that has amazing aptitude for literally ripping people to shreds.
When it comes to being lawyer, of course. It doesn't help that the camera is a little jarring while looking around certain rooms, but when the smallest detail is attainable, it adds so much to the mystery. As well as jargon talk which provides some world-building, it's not much to go with since it attaches real world socioeconomical situations, and state of civilization.
And yeah, they make fun of A.I., that's another big plus for me as well. It gets sillier and rambunctious later on, and more so thanks to the colorful characters. I had the slight pleasure of meeting both London and Reyes. A veteran and rookie cops late at 3AM in the morning after apprehending a suspect. Pretty much just gives me the info dump, but seemingly a lot of things feel off. The way their bold statements about how guilty the suspect is, and their assurances.
Also, I have a funny feeling Reyes is too eager to get a conviction from a society that has 98% conviction rate, the absolute totality of it. In fact, serious crimes like these are low, due to heavy, mass surveillance and cutting edge data tracking. Wait, is this Japan but grimmer?
Yet, when I canvassed the scene of the crime, it seems like a Minority Report sort of convenient drop of evidence and recreated situation. I didn't think too much of it, while still hanging doubts about how this murder mystery happened. Later on, I realized I did miss out on a number of things. Because when the confrontation got real slick and intense, that's where the game got going.
My client is Flatt. A civil engineer with who gave up his right arm for a prosthetic to be used. His girlfriend was shot to the heart, and blood, as well as his fingerprints, were found on the murder weapon. In fact, his motto matches one of a serial killer that perfectly shoots people in the heart.
Named the Heartkiller. But I met the guy, and he's just this frustrated goofball who had an argument with his childhood girlfriend. But the detectives weren't having it. Ensues the battle of the law, the enforcers vs the litigators. There was clearly a lot wrong with the crime scene, and slowly as Morgan pieces all of it together, the unraveling becomes not only hilarious but exhilarating too.
This game has crazy energy, I already like the brilliant writing, fact that it has a snazy artstyle, game mechanics that leaves room to explore and discover as much as possible before using it in confrontation. Also, you make choices, the right one earns chips, which comes very handy to use after winning a confrontation battle with this novice.
And you know what, beating a cop like Reyes at her pompous, arrogant supposition of the guilty verdict is so satisfying. She's like this part-anime villain becoming a butt of a joke. This is like the prologue, and it really drives the challenge of having to find matching references and materials to prove to opposition that they're wrong. It plays out like a game of cards too.
Look, I'm not making it up as much I can to fill up the word quota here. As short as this prologue is, and since it is also free, the game plays so well like a quintessential Ace Attorney game. The DLC which is episode 1 is already out, episode 2 will be releasing much later
