If you couldn’t get enough of Duck Detective but wanted someone to represent hoomans as opposed to breadcrumb scoffers, you might be in luck with Case Closed: The London Files. However, you might be wishful for the next instalment, as this is also just as brief.
Without looking at the clock, I demolished Minimol Games’ effort in one sitting, unlike their other title Chessarama, which took considerable more time. A short play through isn’t necessarily a negative, as I for one embrace being able to finish a game or two in a reasonable time, especially when the review is due. But another thing to add to this would be the level of difficulty. It’s so casual, you could be a remote detective.
Now, I may be missing an incredibly large clue as to the name of our private eye, but what I can share with you is Case Solved: The London Files is indeed set in London during the 1960s, without any sign of a Mini or some speccy twat shouting, “Yeah, baby!”. In fact, it’s so far from cliche, it’s refreshing.
There are three cases to solve in the game, each broken down into five stages. Though the numbers may insinuate some complexity, to some degree, it actually drags out the scenarios while you build a case against the suspects. Much like our duck-billed crime solver, you interact with each suspect, as well as a copper/Bobby/the fuzz who’ll conclude all your clues before continuing to the deduction.
Each suspect will allude to a hidden object in the scene for you to add to your clues, though you can interact with the scene without speaking with them, which is quite peculiar. As long as you speak to your associate and locate the clues, you can progress. The hint system feels entirely redundant as Case Solved: The London Files isn’t remotely difficult in the slightest. If anything, the challenge (and best part) of the game is the deduction process.
Much more accommodating than The Case of the Worst Day Ever, keywords are colour-coded where you link them up to the suspect. Like a sudoku, you can fill in spaces then reverse engineer with anything that shows up incorrectly. i.e. ‘suspect 4 was confused while suspect 3 was angry’ crosses off two clues, allowing for you to determine the outcome before proceeding. Again, there’s a hint system but you won’t use it, and there’s no difficulty settings to make it worthwhile.
Following your deduction, the story will progress with a comic book panel, beautifully illustrated with some often amusing dialogue. To contradict myself, there is an element of cliche with the conversations, but they work well in context and really add to the charm.
From that perspective, the real standout with Case Solved: The London Files is the presentation. Once again, it follows in the shadows of Duck Detective, only I much prefer the characters and backgrounds here, as well as the UI. It’s super crisp and sets the scene well. However, the real reservation here isn’t the length, but how easy the game is.
Without any difficulty settings, and even ignoring the hint system, Case Solved: The London Files is far too easy for a detective title and very much on the rails. While casual crime capers are very viable, there must be some sort of obstacle for the player to overcome. I sincerely hope that the :The London Files would insinuate that there will be new cases in the future, but also hopeful that the devs can inject more of a challenge. As for the presentation? Top notch.
