Neil Newbon Joins Quiet Little Feet's Voice Acting Team for Where Birds Sleep!

Pécs - Hungary, June 7th 2026 | Slovakian and Hungarian husband-and-wife studio Quiet Little Feet announced today at IGN Live 2026 that their first project, the intriguing narrative adventure Where Birds Sleep, is getting a new name (formerly Where Birds Go To Sleep), a new trailer and are announcing British award-winning actor Neil Newbon will be voicing the game’s main character. The Baldur’s Gate 3, Resident Evil Village, and DETROIT: BECOME HUMAN actor will lead the voice cast and bring the game’s main character, Cormo, to life. Cormo is a villainous, selfish pirate, taking on a secret mission within a prison island. Newbon also joins the project as a producer under his Performance Captured Productions banner.

Where Birds Sleep mixes tabletop roleplaying games, point & click adventures and mystery puzzles in a unique proposition where players influence but don’t fully control Cormo’s actions. As the pirate struggles to get a hold of his own mind he will show divergence of opinions with the player choices, as well as go into exploration of the island, delve into mature topics and moral dilemmas. Players will have to solve puzzles, and uncover secrets hidden around every corner of the island, using tools both mundane and cosmic while they guide the mind of Cormo in the direction they think it should go.

 

But Cormo is his own man - he’ll argue, resist and act in ways never intended and every choice will leave a mark on his psyche, shaping how Cormo thinks, speaks, and sees the world, altering his emotions, his sanity, his very self in the future. Their choices will affect things big and small and will challenge Cormo to see things in new ways, shaping a stronger identity that might become even harder to tame.

“What I love about Where Birds Sleep is that Cormo doesn’t behave like a traditional protagonist — he’s defiant. As an actor, that tension is really exciting to work with," says Neil Newbon, voice of Cormo. "Veronika and Martin are creating something bold. There’s real ambition in how they’re exploring agency, identity, and the conflict between player and character.”

“Having Neil portray Cormo is a dream collaboration. He's been very supportive from the first time we spoke and his willingness to take on such a daring role really shows his love and respect for video games and the arts”, says Veronika Šuchterová, developer of Quiet Little Feet.

On their journey, players will meet complex characters and delve into difficult topics and taboos as they immerse themselves in a richly detailed, one-of-a-kind fictional world. The setting is inspired by a mystical Middle East, set at the turn of the 16th century, where exotic fantasy and harsh reality meet. Players will be able to piece together the esoteric lore of the world as they explore an island colony shrouded by a deadly fog of dreams, half-truths and secrets.

Players can already show their support by adding Where Birds Sleep to their Steam wishlist and following Quiet Little Feet on social media (X, YouTube, Discord) to stay up to date with the latest news.

 

About Quiet Little Feet

Quiet Little Feet is a husband-and-wife team who are fascinated by player-driven narratives and the consequences powerful choices and stories can have on people. Their goal is to revolutionise video-game storytelling by bringing player agency into the narrative.

About Performance Captured Productions

Performance Captured Productions, co-founded by acclaimed actor and performance capture artist Neil Newbon, delivers end-to-end services for performance capture projects across film, television, and video games. Combining expertise across all stages of production, from pre-production and casting to performance consultation and on-set coordination, the company assembles highly skilled teams tailored to each project, ensuring creative excellence and efficient delivery. With extensive experience across both the film and games industries, Performance Captured Productions is committed to a high-value client experience, operating with transparency, integrity, and a passion for performance and storytelling. https://www.performancecapturedproductions.com/

Article by: Susan N.

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Shuten Order - Nintendo Switch Review

Shuten Order by developer DMM Games and publisher Spike Chunsoft—Nintendo Switch review written by Richard with a copy provided by the publisher.

 
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

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Do you believe in God? Or do you pray for the end of humanity? Are you part of the Shuten Order, or one of those violent heretics? Well, those aren’t important right now. What is important is finding the murderer of the Founder of the Order and saving humanity!

Shuten Order is an interesting game that slaps five different genres together and actually does it pretty decently. The main premise of Shuten Order is that you awaken in a strange hotel room and are told by two self professed angels you must investigate the death of the founder of the local cult: Shuten. Well, more of a sort of city-state really, and as far as cults go they aren’t that bad. The religious doctrines include no violence and no murder, so crime is surprisingly low. Unfortunately, the founder of Shuten has been brutally dismembered. It is up to you to discover who the murderer is!

Shuten Order is a bit of a quirky game, but not necessarily in a bad way. You get told at the beginning of the game by two characters calling themselves angels that you, despite your recent memory loss, are in fact the dismembered founder. Not only that, but God has issued you a trial to find your own murderer. Luckily for you, you can use the power of God to help. Despite Shuten being an anti-religious religious cult. Hmmm, well, hopefully you can figure out what’s up with that as things progress. You will be given a directive to use the power of God to determine who the murderer is, and then investigate them and force them to confess to their crimes.

It is at this point that the genre of Shuten Order is tossed in a salad spinner. Whoever you select as the culprit will determine what the gameplay style is like. So, when investigating the five ministers who are the most likely culprits behind your death, you must also think of what kind of gameplay you prefer. You do go through all five routes for the full experience, so don’t worry about restarting to choose another route. They do all interrelate to varying degrees as well.

The different gameplay types, from left to right in the options, are: murder mystery/investigation, “extreme escape game”, multi-perspective, romantic (?), and survival escape. Let’s break each of these down a little so you have an idea what’s what with each genre type. In the murder mystery option you will be following the Minister of Justice to a rich family’s private island in order to read a will. Once there, you discover a murder has taken place. You are tasked with investigating the murder. Gameplay is a lot of interacting with objects and asking people questions. You can do a fancy finger snap to try and draw connections to important topics, but too much snapping makes you look dumb and you’ll lose trust. There are also debate segments where you must prove your suspicions. Kind of similar to Phoenix Wright in style, just less courthouse.

Next up we have the “extreme escape game”. Notice the quotation marks. While this is generally marketed as an escape game style route while investigating the Minister of Health, it’s largely walking around an empty area doing the occasional puzzle minigame until the end when you get an actual escape room. Just wanted to let you know so you aren’t as disappointed as I was in the gameplay. The story and world building reveals were outstanding, but the gameplay was a bit of a slog.

Multi-perspective is pretty much traditional visual novel fare. You make choices which will change outcomes, which will then open up new paths for different characters. The game doesn’t really tell you this, but after your first dead end you can open the flowchart for the routes yourself instead of at the end of a route to go back and make other choices. Honestly I thought this was going to be the most boring route when I started, but I was pleasantly mistaken.

For the investigation into the ministry of Education you have a romantic (?) adventure. Basically think traditional dating sim, where you need to raise affection with different characters to unlock their ending route. Yes that question mark is there for a reason, no I won’t say why, yes it’s actually in the game itself too. Once again I thought this route would be sort of boring, and if you rush through it it kind of is, but there is SO MUCH in this route that isn’t laid out for you that makes it really great. Over the course of this route, you can learn a bunch of interesting facts about the other routes and characters as they’re progressing. There are allusions to a lot of other interesting details that were really neat to learn. A plus for the subtle world building.

The final entry is survival escape with the Minister of Security. Short story is it’s very much like Corpse Party. Long story, you have to escape from a serial killer by dropping shutters to slow them down, hiding in safety lockers, and solving puzzles while you’re getting chased in a 3D isometric perspective. It isn’t super complicated, but it was a lot more active than any of the other routes.

At the end you can put your knowledge of all the routes together for one final shot at salvation. All routes feature a checkpoint system where you can retry if you get a game over from the nearest “checkpoint”, so you don’t really need to worry about making twenty seven different save files, unless you want to see the differences between different options. Each route has it’s own focus for delving into the world. One route may explain what the power of God actually is, another gives insight into the relationship between God, the heretics, and Shuten, and another sets up some important background about the murder of the Founder as well as how Shuten functions as a whole. Also, at least three of the routes will drop a tactical nuke equivalent of a reveal on you by the end that may have you sitting there gaping for at least five minutes if you haven’t played other routes that hint towards it.

As a whole I’d say Shuten Order is a pretty artistic game in a lot of ways. It divests from the standard genre typing, has a weird introspective on society and religion while lamp-shading a lot of common tropes, and flips a few overused concepts. The art style used is a bit of a mash-up as well, with both 3D and 2D segments, standard visual novel style talking and scenes, but with interactable characters showing as sort of paper cut-outs to interact with before dialogue starts. The music is also kind of all over the place, from tense tones in the extreme escape game and survival segments, to more laidback in the multi-perspective and romantic (?) routes. Really, Shuten Order is a wonky stained-glass style of everything that it does. Gotta give them props for sticking to an overarching theme.

Shuten Order certainly isn’t without it’s faults. There are some text wrapping issues, one soft-lock I found in the Minister of Justice route, and some misplaced text options, but nothing wildly egregious, most of which I’m sure will be patched out on release. Shuten Order also suffers from the same thing most multi-genre style games do: the gameplay isn’t really fully fleshed out. It feels like Shuten Order tried to do too many things at once and couldn’t adequately make all of them feel “full”, for lack of a better word. Does the gameplay work fine? Well, yeah, but it doesn’t feel complete either. Like it could be better but it wasn’t fully fleshed out, or the route ended before it could really take off. Nothing is “incomplete”, but it does all mostly feel like if there was the leeway to afford more effort in certain gameplay areas it would be appreciated.

Shuten Order is a really interesting title. It blends a variety of different genres with some really interesting world building in a high stakes murder mystery. While the individual genre routes may have benefitted from a more single genre focused approach, it is a very unique way of bridging together the overarching storyline. Shuten Order is definitely a title I’d suggest taking an interest in, although it is a very niche title. 

Score: 8 / 10 

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Every Case is a Story and Every Choice Leaves a Scar in Obsidian Moon

24th July, 2025 | Step into the smoke-filled alleys of a city drowning in secrets. Obsidian Moon, a text-based detective adventure set in the 1930s, has just been revealed with an announcement trailer. Created by Lost Cabinet Games, the title promises a psychological descent into a series of murders that tie into a growing, otherworldly conspiracy hidden beneath the city’s surface.

As Carter, a once-respected homicide detective haunted by grief and failure, you’ll be asked to solve a string of interconnected cases through logic, instinct, and the steady collapse of your own sanity. 

Armed with vintage forensics, gritty intuition, and limited time, you’ll follow leads, interrogate suspects, and make costly choices that may bring you closer to the truth, or break you entirely.

“We wanted to build a detective game that gives players true investigative freedom, not just to solve the case, but to lose themselves in the process’’, said Game Director, Yannis Antonakakis

‘’The entire design is built around one question: what if all the clues were laid out in front of you, and the only thing standing between order and chaos was your mind?”

Inspired by Lovecraftian horror, 1930s noir, and Mediterranean chthonic mythologies, Obsidian Moon melds storytelling with genre-bending mechanics that echo titles like Stacklands, Papers, Please, and Cultist Simulator. Every case is a story. Every choice leaves a scar.

Key Gameplay Features:

• 10 sinister murder cases that converge into a wider conspiracy, bound by blood, shadow, and secrets.
• Player-driven investigation – interrogate witnesses, run forensic reports, dig into criminal records… or use your magnum to extract a confession (seriously don't do this)
• A noir descent into madness – choose between stability or spiraling; every lead costs you time, money… and maybe your mind.
• Multiple modes – including a Hardcore permadeath mode and immersive Noir black-and-white filter.
• Three narrative lenses – track the crumbling psyche of Carter, the reactions of Chief O’Hara, and the naive wonder of your partner, “The Kid.”

About Lost Cabinet Games:

Lost Cabinet Games was born out of love for video games. We long for the magic that made the early days of gaming truly special and for the thrills of future technology.

Our vision is to create transcending experiences for all players, by carrying on the essence the 80's and 90's video games and projecting it boldly into the future.

Article by: Susan N.

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Best Served Cold - PC Review

Best Served Cold by developer and publisher Rogueside—PC (Steam) review written by Susan N. with a copy provided by the publisher.

 
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

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Best Served Cold is an investigative visual novel that caught my eye. Although, it is not a style of game I would normally choose to play, I had a lot of fun with it. The game has a ton of interesting dialogue that you will need to read in order to solve crimes committed by your patrons. And if that wasn't harrowing enough, you're a bartender of a speakeasy around the time of prohibition. What a fun concept! Oh, did I mention that in the first scenario you are also a known criminal? No? Well, that fact certainly makes the game a lot more interesting too. Also, there are a couple of different cases to solve giving several hours of gameplay.

Gameplay

In Best Served Cold, you are a bartender who tries to gain information from people while they are intoxicated. At first, you have to guess what sorts of drinks the patron likes before you can gain any information. To make matters more challenging, you only get to serve the patron one drink per day. If you choose a drink that has too much alcohol than they can handle, you will not get any information from them as they will leave immediately. When you discover what a patron's favorite drink is, you will want to serve it on days when they are in a bad mood. Again, part of the challenge is to put them in better spirits (heh.) so that they can unknowingly give you a full picture of the crime committed.  

In order to serve your customers a drink, you will click on the corresponding button and select a drink from your menu. Thankfully, you will not need to memorize anything related to the drinks because there is a handy indicator that tells you what is their favorite drink (That is, once you've learned it, of course.) Also, you do not need to manually mix and pour the drinks for the customers. Instead, all you need to do is a line puzzle. Upon successful completion, you will mix the drink perfectly and the happy customer will be more willing to give you information. While this mechanic is neat at first, it gets tiresome rather quickly. The developers did include a handy button to close the repetitive animation, so you don't need to watch it every time it occurs. 

After gaining any information you can from your patrons, tap the bell on your counter. This indicates that last call has been served and you will be closing for the night. The game will then switch screens to a room in your home where there is a corkboard and a list of clues displayed on the right. You will be able to connect bits of information together by dragging a line between two clues that seem related. If there is a match, you will gain more insight into a suspect or a piece of evidence used in the crime. Any connection you make may be a key to solving the crime. When you next see any of the parties involved, you will be able to use your new insights to get closer to the truth. Then, after you've connected enough clues together, you will get a key piece of information like a motive, means, or potential alibi of a suspect involved in your case. But be careful as you'll have multiple people who might have committed the crime. You must be diligent in accusing the right party or else!  

As you can see, while Best Served Cold is a visual novel, it draws me in by dropping a mystery in my lap. It may not have much other than static scenes and a bunch of dialogue, but it has enthralled me in a big way and I've had a ton of fun playing the game! 

Graphics and UI

One thing that I enjoy about Best Served Cold is that it has a lovely 2D graphics style that's rather nice. Unlike other titles that are set during the prohibition era, this one doesn't try to oversell the ambience. Everything from the character images, to the establishment itself, to the simple animated style of mixing drinks is enough to be convincing without feeling 'fake'. 

The UI itself is simplistic and not overstated. There is just enough information shown on the screen without cluttering it with tons of menu boxes. Even the minigame of dragging your token around an image depicting the drink you make is straightforward and relatively unique. 

Throughout the game you encounter several different characters, each with their own personalities and quirks. Some of the clothing they wear creates an impression of the sort of person you are dealing with. And while all of the dialogue in the game is done through textboxes, you get the sense of each person rather easily. 

Sound and Music

One thing that is lacking in Best Served Cold is music and sound. Unlike other games where developers might try to add extra ambience through randomly timed sound effects and background music, this game is void of much audio. While it does have sound effects for pouring drinks or when you ring the bell to end the day, there is not much else. And when a game lacks background audio as well as voice acting, it can lead to disinterest in the title. Thankfully, that is not the case here, but I'd love for there to be some added life to the game. 

Final Thoughts

I had a fun time playing Best Served Cold. It's certainly not a masterpiece of a game because it is missing some much needed audio and more engagement from the player. What I can say is that there were several aspects that I enjoyed about the game. For one thing, I noticed that if the drinks used in the game were real drinks, I wouldn't be surprised. Many of them seemed like cocktails I could get from the local watering hole. If some of them were created specifically for the game, then I would love to try a couple! 

I also enjoyed getting to know many of the characters. Some developers might try to cheat by using the same characters from one case to another, but I found that the characters were unique and diverse. Their reasons for visiting your speakeasy were sometimes fascinating and intriguing. Though none of these characters are three dimensional in terms of what the player needs to know, there was enough personality shown in their responses to you. 

Overall I found that it is a fun and interesting game that lets you solve several different cases as long as you're paying attention to the clues. I can guarantee that it will suck you into its grasp for a few hours so beware! Best Served Cold is a great title for anyone who likes a little mystery with their cocktails.  

 

Score: 8 out of 10

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Enigma of Fear - PC Review

Enigma of Fear by developer Dumativa and Cellbit and publisher Dumativa and Nuuvem Inc.—PC(Steam) review written by Richard with a copy provided by the publisher.

 
Estimated reading time: 6.5 minutes

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What is your greatest fear? Is it death? Feeling pain? Being forgotten? Or maybe it's something a little more mundane, like spiders or snakes? Well, maybe it's time to take a dive into Enigma of Fear, and find out what the greatest fear really means?

Enigma of Fear is a really amazing title by Dumativa/Cellbit that's a really cool combination of what feels like Silent Hill and Resident Evil in the style of Yomawari. A nice package that combines some old-school qualities with modern amenities, wrapped in an aesthetically and brain teasing package. A sort of 2.5D-esque art style, good visuals, a solid soundtrack, and some puzzles that I thoroughly enjoyed, I have a lot of praise for the team behind Enigma of Fear.

In the game, you will take control of Mia, a paranormal detective who has come to the site of a great paranormal disturbance in order to find her father. Accompanied by her two friends Agatha and Samuel, as well as her trusty dog companion Lupi, Mia will have to brave the dangers of the Perimeter, a place that "doesn't exist" and is rife with paranormal disturbances and dangers. Can you fight against the blood zombies and specters, solve the mysteries of the Perimeter, and discover the clues and research notes left behind by the team that was researching the Perimeter? Only you can find the truth.

The main premise behind Enigma of Fear is controlling Mia, a 2D character sprite style in a 3D environment where you fight enemies, explore various locations, and solve puzzles. And man, what a journey Enigma of Fear was! With a gun with limited ammo and your trusty crowbar that you totally don't need to steal from the first area you explore, your arsenal of protective gear is limited. Couple this with a combat sense that rewards a stealthier approach, enemies that will chase you pretty hot on your heels, and how aiming the gun can be a little awkward, and you have an in-game scenario that makes you treat combat as something to take care with. Fair warning, you move in an eight directional format, so aiming at things slightly off one of those directional lines will usually result in you missing. You definitely need to make sure enemies are in appropriate spots before you attack them. While the combat may feel a little janky, I honestly thought this actually worked well with the style of game. Direct confrontation should not be your goal here, so it rather works out.

As you explore the Perimeter you will find various tools to help you get around and solve the puzzles and problems you will encounter. One tool that you start with is a UV toggle on your flashlight. This can be used to reveal hidden messages or interact with different mechanics in order to activate mechanisms. Different areas of the Perimeter all have their own themes and overarching mechanics, and require items from other areas of the Perimeter to fully complete. This is a neat interaction because you can choose wherever you'd like to start, but still need to visit other areas to progress all the way through.

In addition to the main exploration and puzzle solving, there is a sort of bonus puzzle solving section where you can engage in some rather lateral problem solving for some cursed objects you can find around the Perimeter. These puzzles require thinking outside the box, and range from fairly straightforward to "good god how do you expect someone to solve that". Out of all these puzzles there were only about four I'd say that were particularly rough, one of which I literally had to guess half of, but they were all really unique and I found them quite enjoyable. Thankfully these are more so bonus puzzles, so if you aren't good at them or are having a tough time, they aren't necessary to complete the game.

You aren't alone though! Your trusty doggo will travel through the Perimeter with you, and he isn't just for show! You can switch to Lupi in order to get through small spaces, hit switches and buttons, follow scents, or bark in order to trigger certain effects! While the dog companion aspect is a little underused, it is really nice to have a companion with you!

Let's talk a bit about the aesthetics. I found that the art style was rather endearing and it grew on me quite a lot over the course of the game. You have a sort of 2D pixel art for character models dropped on a 3D stage, with 2D artboxes popping up during conversations. At first the specific art style of the pop-up character boxes felt a little weird to me, probably just because I'm used to a different style, but after a short while I realized it was actually really fitting for the game style, having a sort of "dark graphic novel" type feel to it. The musical score was also really good. It was all really ambience evoking and fitting for the spooky nature of the Perimeter. Special props to the song from the culmination of the Graveyard, as I really liked it. It also deals with a trope I'm particularly fond of as well, but I won't reveal as it gives away some spoilers. The voice acting was also mostly decent. I realize the original language isn't English, so I understand if sometimes it can be a bit of a struggle to get voices in other languages, but I feel like the team did a really good job here.

As a sort of round up of some miscellaneous points, I would like to point out a few things of note. First up, at the time of writing this, the loading times can be a bit...lengthy. Nothing too egregious, but noticeably longer than what you would normally expect. Considering on release it took me literally five full minutes to even boot the game though, I'd say there have been a lot of improvements in this regard. The load times have been dispersed over transitions instead of front heavy now. Also, there are a lot of updates and bug fixes that the developers have put out. Even right now, I just got a notification saying that Enigma of Fear has received a patch for me to install, so props to the devs for taking such a hard effort at improving their game based on feedback. The only other issue I ran into was that occasionally it could be hard to see something you needed to interact with, but an interactive prompt appears if you're close enough to something, so for the most part it just involves a little more walking around the different areas.

I also really enjoyed how Enigma of Fear provides a help/healing situation. Certain areas have a radio you can use to contact your two friends, as well as a mat for your dog to sit on. You can talk to your friends to get clues about your objectives for the area you are in, and these will change depending on where you contact them from. You can also "discuss" your problems with your dog as a sort of sounding board. He can't really tell you anything, but what Mia says while thinking aloud may help you figure out what to do. You can also hug your dog to restore any sanity damage you've taken! Or just because you want to. No physical healing though, you'll need a medkit for that. 

Overall, I have to say I was immensely pleased with my experience in Enigma of Fear. The storyline was engaging, the mysteries were interesting, the music was fitting, the artstyle worked well with the theme and the puzzles were brain teasing. While the load times may be a little harsh for some players, and the combat controls can be a little janky at times, don't let these small details distract you from what an amazing time Enigma of Fear can be. I highly recommend you give it a shot.

 

Score: 9.5 / 10

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Explore a Dark Mansion and Unravel a Mystery in the New Game 'CLeM'

Haarlem, The Netherlands, February 6th, 2024 - Dive into the unsettling embrace of CLeM, available now on Steam and Nintendo Switch! A strange voice in a dark mansion calls out to you, beckoning you to untangle the many mysteries that await, and the time for answers is now! Published by Iceberg Interactive (Strange Horticulture, Still There) and crafted by Mango Protocol ("Agatha Knife, MechaNika"), CLeM is your gateway to a chilling world of mystery and adventure. As a peculiar ragdoll stitched with secrets, you'll navigate through intricate puzzles to discover the many mysteries contained within the desolate house you find yourself within. Discover CLeM’s sinister world in the brand-new launch trailer!

CleM’s dark tale delivers a “puzzlevania” experience that sees players explore and re-explore an everchanging mansion as they solve puzzles and piece together a story that explores themes of manipulation, forgiveness, and redemption. Vital to your progress will be the ability to craft alchemic toys from items you scavenge throughout the house. These magical trinkets will not only allow you to unveil hidden secrets and reclaim items from the past but also grant you the power to access previously inaccessible areas as you retrace your journey through the many rooms within the mansion.

Your journey in CLeM may start in a dark, cold basement, but you’ll soon be exploring environments ranging from vibrant tropical greenhouses to grandiose studies, and each new location is packed with carefully constructed details and interactable elements to uncover. All of this is presented through a distinct hand-drawn art style that offers a distinctly unsettling aesthetic without compromising the player’s ability to recognise on-screen elements they can interact with.

 

Scribbles for your notebook:

• Unmask the chilling secrets that this dark adventure holds

• Overcome puzzles and experience strong narrative elements in this “puzzlevania”

• Craft magical toys and find hidden secrets, uncover items from the past and explore previously inaccessible areas in the mansion

• Decide which of two fates will be yours in this narrative-driven adventure mystery

 

Twists and turns await in every room of CLeM’s mansion, and players on PC and Nintendo Switch can dive into this enigmatic adventure right now! CLeM is now available on Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG, and Nintendo Switch for $15.99/€15.79/£13.49, and a free prologue is also available that allows players to experience the early moments of this adventure. More news on CLeM can be found on X (AKA Twitter), TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube, or visit the official website for more information. Embrace the unknown. Embrace the questions that lie ahead. Embrace CLeM.

 
About Mango Protocol

 

Mango Protocol is an independent video game studio located in Barcelona, Spain. Since 2013 the studio has been crafting a series of narrative-driven, genre-spanning games with dark stories and twisted characters called Psychotic Adventures. CLeM is the fourth game in the series, following the studio’s three previous releases: MechaNika, Agatha Knife and Colossus Down.

About Iceberg Interactive 

​Iceberg Interactive is an independent video game publisher founded in 2009 by an international group of game industry veterans. Located in Haarlem, The Netherlands, and staffed with avid gamers, Iceberg works closely with an assembly of game developers worldwide, both midsize and indie. Known for many hit franchises, including Killing Floor 2, Maneater, and Circle Empires, the company has enjoyed recent success with PC titles such as Strange Horticulture, Blazing Sails, Chivalry 2, Land of the Vikings, Mahokenshi, Lunacy: Saint Rhodes and King of Retail. Iceberg Interactive has many exciting games coming up, including Hellbreach: Vegas (PC), CLeM (PC), and Minicology (PC). To learn more, please visit www.iceberg-games.com

Article by: Susan N.

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Investigate Crime in a New Mystery Game by EQ Studios on Steam!

California - October 24, 2023 - EQ Studios, the creators behind The Painscreek Killings, are excited to launch their newest investigative mystery game, Scene Investigators, available now on Steam for $24.99 USD. This game immerses players into deep investigations across 8.5 unique crime scenes. As budding detectives, players are tasked with deciphering each scenario.

In Scene Investigators, players will navigate meticulously reimagined crime scenes, sift through clues, speculate on motives, and employ logical thinking to piece together the real story. It's a perfect match for aficionados of detective cinema, true crime, escape room challenges, and anyone with a passion for cracking cases.

In a near-future setting, you step into the shoes of an apprentice in pursuit of becoming a certified investigator who has been handed a compilation of intricate and puzzling reconstructed case files. To succeed, you must crack them using only your sharp observational skills, critical thinking, and intellectual prowess. Will you unravel every mystery?

 

Scene Investigators places a strong emphasis on observational acuity and deductive logic, pushing players to fill in elusive details, detect underlying motives, and formulate multiple viable theories to advance in their inquiries. While it shares thematic elements with The Painscreek Killings, this game pivots more towards pure deduction and less on narrative depth.

Features:

• “True Crime” Detective Experience - Players must observe each scene carefully and analyze everything. They will take note of anything that stands out and write down suspicions as they navigate through the crime scenes. There are no hints or hand-holding, so they must use logic and intuition to solve each case.
• Immersive Murder Mystery Puzzles - Piece everything together, not only to understand what happened but also the connection between the perpetrators and their victims. The only tools are keen perception, mental sharpness, and real-life wisdom.
• 70/30 Principle: Hypothesis Testing - Players may find that some evidence is missing, limiting them from making the best conclusion. There might be 70% of the evidence in the case, but the other 30% is nowhere to be found. This is where they have to fill in the missing gaps, trust gut feelings, and make smart, calculated assumptions.
• Uncover Narrative Through the Environment - Notice the pink lipstick on the wine glass? What about the trajectory of the bullet on the wall? How about the faint size-12 boot marks on the windowsill? These are part of the environmental clues that can help piece the story together.
• Collaborate with Friends - While this is a singleplayer game, the deduction gameplay is great for streaming to fans or couch co-op gaming.
• Localized in 10 Languages - Players all over the world can experience the mystery in English, German, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Brazilian Portuguese, French, and Spanish (Spain).

Scene Investigators is now available on Steam for $24.99 USD. Keep an eye on the website and official X / Twitter for news and updates.

About EQ Studios

EQ Studios is an independent game development studio based in Las Vegas, Nevada (USA), creating mystery investigation games with strong and engaging narratives.

 

The studio’s first game, 'The Painscreek Killings', achieved 91% positive rating on Steam. With its next game ‘Scene Investigators’ set to be released soon, the studio has started development on its next game project. For more information, visit https://eqstudios.com/

Article by: Susan N.

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Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE - Nintendo Switch Review

Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE by developers Spike Chunsoft and Too Kyo Games and publisher Spike Chunsoft—Nintendo Switch review written by Natasha with a copy provided by the publisher.

 
Estimated reading time: 10.5 minutes

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Dear Readers,

You have been chosen to embark on an investigation to uncover the unusual cases that have gone cold in an enclosed city. Outsiders are prohibited, but you have been given special permission to access this deadly dystopia to sift through the infinite downpour of murders. With the dictatorship of a corporate enterprise pulling all the strings in their favour, you'll have to use your super sleuthing skills and forte to dig up the truth.

Sincerely, your reviewer!

P.S. Don't forget to pack your own death god.

~

The Letter

Our mystery begins with our young detective Yuma, who wakes up in a train station storage room with a letter in his hands. Dazed and confused, he can't remember how he got there or who he is, save for a boarding pass with his name on it. Under the pressure of his amnesiac thoughts, he rushes to catch the leaving train, bound to an unknown destination.

Once aboard he comes across a group of individuals who call themselves Master Detectives, however there seems to be a problem: only five people received invitations to board this express and there are six of them. Someone deceptive is among them and everyone seems to be pointing their fingers at Yuma. How is he going to solve this and the many other strange murders that seem to rack up around him...?

Why, with the help of the cutest ghostly apparition, of course! Calling herself, Shinigami, Yuma finds himself contracted to a death god with a thirst for her new master and digging up the truth.

Shall we boom-kill him now? Kyahahaha!

Wait... That wasn't the Main Story?

Nope, gotcha!

Actually, Master Detective Archives: RainCode does a really good job of giving you a really lengthy tutorial. The real investigation happens in Kanai Ward, a secluded city that can only be accessed by train. Yuma was brought in by the WDO (World Detective Organization) to investigate Kanai Ward's Ultimate Secret. With the help of other fellow detectives that survived the trip, they must pool their investigative prowess together and solve the secrets of this city.

However, it won't be easy. Detectives are greatly looked down upon and anyone caught doing any investigation on crime scenes or murders are immediately reported to the Amaterasu Peacekeepers. The enforcement keeps a short leash on everything that goes on in this never-ending rainy community.

Their top priority is to quickly sweep anything under the rug and deem it as 'solved', even if you're innocent. If you happen to be at the scene of the crime when they arrive, you are labelled the culprit. That's it. End of Story. Sign and print your name on the dotted line. This unjust behaviour is probably why this gloomy city keeps its secrets under wraps.

Yuma isn't having any of it. He'll have to play dirty in order to shed light on the truth, and he has just the ghost to do it.

Time to Pull out that Monocle

When the bodies start rolling, Yuma starts probing--- focus people! I meant probing the crime scene. Duh! To be more specific, once a crime starts it's up to us (Yuma and Shinigami) to investigate the situation.

Let's start off by saying this game is heavily influenced by Danganronpa. Long story short, the Ronpa series is all about investigating strange deaths. RainCode takes from Spike Chunsoft's previously successful titles and spices things up in this adventure.

You'll start by investigating several different areas related to the crime scenes, gathering bits of evidence to help you along the way. Shinigami will collect anything that seems important and turn them into 'Solution Keys', which can be used later.

During your investigation you might have the aid of other detectives by your side. And with these high class investigaters lending a hand you'll be able to use their special powers. What? Did you think that everyone, other than Shinigami, was NORMAL? HAH!

Forte Over Your Ability

These peeps ain't your ordinary detectives. The WDO do have a number of members, but some are born with special powers. Those powers are known as Forte's. No two powers are the same, unless you're our boy Yuma, who has the ability to share another person's Forte by holding hands. Oh-la-la!

With the ability to share other Master Detectives Forte's, you'll have access to hidden details that may have been missed or covered up by the Peacekeepers, giving you more clues to pocket. Even with all the help provided for you, Yuma seems to be a magnet for trouble, which can put him in hot water at the best of times.

That Time my Death God Threw me in a Dungeon

When the going gets tough we gotta remember: Magical Death God Transformation is a real thing. Right when you think all hope is lost, Shinigami will reveal her true self, a vivacious, voluptuous, sexy, scythe wielding God of Death... who can stop time and kick your ass into a mystery labyrinth.

Once you step into this dungeon of chaos, you'll finally get to dive into all that evidence you collect to move forward with solving this case. But first, you'll need those 'Solution Keys' your godly companion saved up.

*Rainbow barf all over your Master*

“Master! Don't forget the Solution Blade!” Shinigami snickered as she drew Yuma's hand up her bodice and down her throat. Pulling forth a blade to slice through the truth.

I'm not kidding... This stuff happens. Yuma will need this weapon to move through the labyrinth. Otherwise he'll wander this hell-space for all eternity. Teehee!

I'll Beat the Truth Out of Ya

As you venture through the different levels you'll be faced with several obstacles. One being a fork in the road. These dividing paths will help you move forward, but only one of them is right. You'll have to fish through those key points of evidence you have collected, as well as---

*Pulls out scythe and slices your Master head*

“AHHHHHHH!” Yuma screams!

“Chill, Master! I'm only trying to give you a hint!” Shinigami giggles as she pats your intact neck. “Now, focus!”

Shinigami will lend a hand from time to time in a bloody display of hints.

The second obstacle will be the Mystery Phantoms, A.K.A boss fights. The Mystery Labyrinth is basically the physical manifestation of the crime scene, in a weird and twisted way. Which means if there are people trying to stop you from investigating in the real world, then their phantom form in this maze is also trying to stop you from figuring out the truth.

They'll stop you from advancing at different points in the dungeon and when they appear, watch out, cuz they're ready to rock your world upside down, with accusation, refutes and deception, isn't that metal? It's your job as a detective to take all that evidence and slash through their contradictions. It ain't easy though, you'll have to match up the right clues and dodge multiple rebuttals in order to find an opening. Get hit or choose a wrong answer and you'll lose health. So make sure you study those crimes scenes and evidence with a fine tooth comb.

Double Take Mini Games

I never thought I'd ever get the chance to play 'Pop-up Pirate' in my life-time, but MDA:RC somehow manages to squeeze that experience in the game. Besides the Scythe, Shinigami can also give you hints via a quick mini game of Pop-up Pirate, where she pulls out a barrel and magically changes into a bathing suit and transports you to a tropical paradise, all so you can play a word puzzle game. This game continues to blow my expectations on the amount of fan service it throws at it. And I'm A-OK with it! Nothing like a cute little poses to reward your puzzle solving skills.

Did I mention that there's a GOD MODE!?! Let's just say it's a lot of big bouncy FACTS hurled towards your tyrannical size ADVANCES. Plus, you get the best seat in the house, riding atop those sweet luscious LOCKS.

It's All Coming Together

Once Yuma reaches the end of the labyrinth you'll have to sew together the entire outcome of the case and show the Amaterasu Corp. and murderer the whole truth. This section will seem familiar to past Ronpa's fans, but you are tasked by dragging the right scenario into it's proper slot. Imagine a comic book with blank pages and you have panels depicting the entire case, step by step, and it's your job to stick any missing panels in their correct slot to make sense of the story. But don't get it wrong, because, you know... eternal damnation and forever floating in this abyssal maze.

After solving the case you'll have the chance to Moon Prism Power your way back to reality!

Never too Late for a Side Quest

When our cute little sleuth isn't fighting off pesky Peacekeepers and shady murderers he can lend an ear to the plights of other troubled citizens of Kanai Ward. Side Quests are optional, but they are worth going out of your way for. Most of the quests consist of you fetching information, but for every quest you finish you'll earn DP (Detective Points).

Finding available quests is really easy. They'll pop up on your mini map displayed as a green question mark. They will also appear if you open up the whole town map, indicating which district has one active.

It's a Skilled Trade

Let's bring your attention back to DP. These points will be helpful to Yuma if you go out of your way to collect them. You can gather them via quests, but they can also be found with a little exploration of the areas. Talking to people on the streets or interacting with points of interest will slowly build Yuma's level gauge. DP is the equivalent to EXP (Experience Points) in this universe, so levelling up Yuma is strongly advised if you want to traverse the Labyrinth with ease.

For each level Yuma gains, he'll be able to collect SP (Skill Points) which can then be used to unlock Skills. These skills will be extremely helpful in the dungeon from puzzle solving to fighting, giving you the boost you may need to combat harder situations.

I'mma take the Bus

As you explore Kanai Ward, you'll slowly unlock new areas of interest to the story, which can become quite the trek for our petite protagonist. Luckily, the game gives you a saving grace by supplying us a fast travel from the get-go. It is recommended to really scope out a new area on foot once it becomes available, but it will become grueling when you have to backtrack. Thank goodness the local Bus Stop travels are FREE!

This ain't no Cutscene

Oh, boy... I'm getting Resident Evil 4 flashbacks. One of the things that tends to really send me off track is the surprise ATE's (Active Time Events) they like to throw at you. They are random and uncalled for.

When you think everything is chill in a scene and you can lay back and sip on a nice cold beverage. NO! YOU CAN'T! Because you'll have to spit that drink out, fumble back into a sitting position and press A. Whoop! Too slow. You fail.

They don't happen often, almost to the point where you forget that that feature exist and you let your guard down and BOOM, A.T.E.!

I'd like to show my Master where he can stick those shitty events. *Cracks Knuckles*

Lip Sync Whiplash

Another thing that sticks out like a sore thumb is the HD cutscenes. As beautiful as they are the voice lines don't match the lip sync. To me it reminds me of those old exaggerated Chinese dub Kung-Fu movies that purposely made you slap your knees to get a good laugh out of ya. However, these syncs aren't subtle and I'm not sure why it hasn't been addressed?

Ending on some Rainy day Ambience

To conclude, Master Detective Archives: RainCode blew my expectations out of those rainy gutters. The amount of Danganronpa influence and slap-stick humour (which I love) just seems to send me into a giggle fit of enjoyment. The game is not afraid to push the boundaries and freely express the kind of doom and hopelessness it's trying to send. The investigation, story, and characters are memorable and the music hits just right. The satisfaction I get from pointing out the murderer, BEFORE the big reveal, gets my blood pumping and makes me feel just as talented as the rest of the detectives. This game gets my gleeful rating of 9 out of 10.

Now then... Where can I get my own personal Death God? Hopefully they comes in all shapes and sizes!

Score: 9 / 10

 

 

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The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles - Switch Review

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles by developer and publisher Capcom—Nintendo Switch Review written by Richard with a copy provided by the publisher.

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

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HOLD IT! A new Ace Attorney title? Set in Victorian England? Alongside England's greatest detective? YES! I would like to take on the cases presented! Will the adventures of Ryunosuke Naruhodo be comparable to those of Phoenix Wright? Will the trials be as weird, wacky, and intriguing as the previous games? Well, it's time to take Great Ace Attorney Chronicles to trial!

In the Great Ace Attorney chronicles, we are introduced to the student Ryunosuke Naruhodo: a young shifty-eyed and cold-sweating student who is forced to defend himself in the recently instituted court of law of Japan. Since the case was politically charged due to relations with the British Empire, Japan's new political allies, nobody wanted to defend him. So with the help of his friend and law student Asogi, Ryunosuke starts his career by defending himself at trial. From there he will go on to England to join in on more cases, along with the world famous British detective: Herlock Sholmes. With an overarching plot between two titles, and 10 cases to prevail in, The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles details the sometimes funny, sometimes harrowing cases that Ryunosuke finds himself embroiled in.

If you have any experience with the Ace Attorney series, you'll have a pretty solid idea what you're getting yourself into. albeit with maybe a few changes here and there. GAA Chronicles consists of two titles, but both play the same way and have an overarching plot, all wrapped into one nice little package with a few extra bonuses. The games are split into cases, each of which will generally follow a similar pattern: investigation, then trial. The investigation consists of looking around the crime scene, or any related areas, examining objects, talking with people, and generally just learning more about the case. In the court trial, you will be tasked with listening to witness testimony, pointing out inconsistencies, examining evidence produced for the court, and convincing the jury, if the trial has one, that your defendant is not guilty.

Trials will begin with the prosecutor giving a rundown of the case, as well as presenting any initial evidence they wish to submit. You are free to examine evidence given to you, turning it over, poking at it etc., or read any notes presented, usually a post-mortem report. The prosecutor will then call in a witness, or witnesses, to testify. Normally a witness will give five statements, that you can press them to elaborate on, or present evidence to prove a contradiction between what the witness has stated and how the crime was perpetrated. Be careful though, as the judge will only allow so many mistakes before you get an expedited "guilty" sentence for the person you're trying to defend. Sometimes pressing for more info is the answer, sometimes you need to present evidence. Sometimes you need to go through all the dialogue before your assistant, or someone else in the courtroom, will make a move that will provide you with the answers you need. Yet still at other times, it's the other people in the witness stand that may react to your line of questioning. You can then ask that they say what's on their minds, which may help you out.

If the trial has a jury involved, they may make a decision before the trial has finished. If they do so, you have to pick apart their reasoning for their decisions, pitting the jurors against each other in order to force the trial to continue. As the game progresses, this will gradually get more in-depth, having you present evidence, or pit other jurors against each other before you can get the info required to continue a case. All throughout this, both Ryunosuke and the witnesses will make these grand, exaggerated motions whenever something they say gets picked apart. This is a sort of "core feature" from the Ace Attorney games that was always enjoyable to watch. Each trial is filled both with hilarious hijinks, statements, and reactions, but also contains that element of seriousness that a court case is due. From cross-examining a parrot in the older games, to a witness shooting the judge with a smoke grenade, or Ryunosuke falling against his desk like he just got knocked out, there's a lot of funny interactions.

When not in court, but still on a case, you will be traipsing around the crime scene and areas of interest, collecting evidence and talking to people. Sometimes you will have to present evidence, or discovered items, to people to make them talk here too, much like the court trials. Unlike the court trials though, you don't have a limit to guesses you can make really. Occasionally, Herlock Sholmes will make an appearance, and make a grand reveal about two key points of interest in a brilliant display of "Herlock Sholmes' Logic and Reasoning!"… okay, maybe "brilliant" is pushing it. Most of his "revelations" are way out of line, and it's up to you to fix them. During Sholmes' dramatic reveal, he will be spouting of fanciful lines, while whirling around the area, pointing things out. It then falls to you to pick up on the one word in each of his mini "deduction" segments in order to find out the truth. This is done by looking around the area and selecting an object, item, or clue that would best replace the wrong word in Sholmes' deduction. Using a 3D movable view, you can look around and examine things, which is sometimes required before submitting the new word for replacement.

With the ability to save at almost any point in time, I wouldn't call the cases "difficult" per se. There were a few times I was stumped for a while on how to proceed, and a few times I jumped the gun and presented evidence before I had examined it in-depth or I had pressed the witness enough to make them amend their statement, but overall I found the cases to be quite reasonable. Yes, some of them have some pretty improbable solutions, but they aren't impossible, and the game does a fairly good job of leading you in the right direction. In addition to your court trial and investigations, there are a bunch of little side story type deals you can read, although they may contain spoilers, the game will let you know. There is also a "jukebox", some fancy costumes to change the appearances of Ryunosuke, judicial assistant Susato, and Sholmes, as well as little challenges called "accolades" to interest you as well.

Similar to all the other entries in the series, Great Ace Attorney Chronicles has a really well put together soundtrack. The tunes are more reflective of the time period in question here, with a more Victorian era feel to it. Unlike the original title however, key characters now have 3D models, allowing for a greater range of motion and expression. While the backgrounds are still vibrant 2D landscapes, the people standing on them all have depth, a concept that, interestingly enough, actually comes up if you examine a certain object during one of the cases. Roll all this together and you have a nice package to present itself for your gameplay experience.

There isn't really too much bad to say about Ace Attorney Chronicles. If you're having troubles, there is a "story mode" that turns the game into a pure visual novel instead of a…lawyer? Attorney? Whatever genre this game technically is. The trials, while challenging at times, never have leaps of logic so out of left field you never saw them coming, and the characters are all interesting and unique in their own ways. I liked calling out other witnesses, pitting the jury against each other, and Sholmes' deduction corrections were an interesting way to both deliver info as well as break up the monotony of investigating. That being said, some of Sholmes' deductions are…painful to sit through. They don't really offer enough "options" to be challenging, and replacing a single word is generally pretty simple. We can't forget about the text speed either. Good lord, it's rather slow. Thankfully, if you've already read a line once, you can skip through it a lot faster the next time, regardless of whether it was in story discussion or witness testimony and pressing.

Summary

Overall I can say there definitely isn't any OBJECTION to the Great Ace Attorney Chronicles. The characters are endearing, the cases are interesting and pretty well formed, the music is great, and the 2D backgrounds and 3D characters provide a wealth of visual satisfaction. While the text speed may be a little slow for some, there were no real inherent issues to the game that I could find. The Ace Attorney series may be rather niche, but it's also one that's easily enjoyable.

Score: 8.5 / 10

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