Demo Impressions Part 19

Featuring: City Lights Old Flames, Detective Instinct: Farewell My Beloved, of the Devil, Soul Mates, and Spill the Beans

More demo impressions! Any game with a (*) means it still has a demo at the time of posting.

City Lights, Old Flames*

Otome visual novel where at least one love interest (LI) is going to be an office romance? And I like the artwork? I’m already there. City Lights, Old Flames has you follow the life of the lovely protagonist who you can rename. It’s the first summer after you finished college and she had a plan. Rent out an apartment with her friend Emma in the city, do some sightseeing, get a job, and prove to your mom that you can make it in the big city. However, things don’t go as planned. It starts out good, but once you arrive and start unpacking, Emma hasn’t arrived yet and she doesn’t respond to you asking where she is. It isn’t until you call her that she reveals that she’s not moving in with you. She’s moving to a different place in a small town, which I’m assuming is as small as their hometown. She landed a job there, the rent is cheap, and her parents promised to help her out. And then tries to smooth it over by saying you got this cause you’re so organized. Wow. Really doing a Semira from Kim’s Convenience, but worse.

Instead of sightseeing and being able to find a job without worrying for a while, you’re now stress finding a job before your savings run out. Luckily, you do manage to land a job in a couple days, at a game company, for a dream position that your mom wasn’t too confident in. You’re a character designer! It seems like you’re in an intern position, but it’s paid so it’s no big deal. Well, there is a concerning little detail of the last one leaving in a hurry, but hopefully it isn’t anything to do with the workplace itself. It all seems good…until you find out that your ex, Dane, works here as a Producer. And he remembers everything. Oh no. At least your co-workers seem nice, well nice enough, and Dane does prove that he isn’t going to hold you two being exes over your head. Well, in a sense that he’s going to make your work life hell. He is a little bit petty, but he does show that he has grown since you two broke up and does help you out when you have trouble at work early on. From what I can gather, it seems like Dane’s route will involve some office drama as I get a feeling on of your coworkers have a crush and she is suspicious after an incident at work.

There’s also your text penpal who you met when Emma recommended you an app where you can find friends to talk to when you were freshly broken up with Dane. Going by notapizzatopping or just pizzatopping, you do have a couple text conversations with them throughout the course of the demo. You do also have a couple flashbacks to flesh out your backstory, but anyway you’ve been talking to him for a while now. Though, you’ve been trying not to rant to him about your current situation. Though, one day you mention the time and it so happens that you two are in the same timezone. It puts an idea in pizzatopping’s head that you two are in the same town (which doesn’t exactly track as being the only evidence, but whatever) which does freak you out a bit. Especially since it seems you’re using your real name. Though, I have a feeling pizzatopping is Oliver, who was your best friend that you told everything to but have since drifted apart. Not to mention he’s right beside the protagonist and Dane in the cover art and the game gave itself away by mentioning that no one around you looked like Oliver while you were talking to pizzatopping (who you don’t know who it is yet). The demo ends before you can find out though.

I liked this visual novel so far. I like the writing style, the story so far has me interested in checking out the full game, I like the characters, and I didn’t notice any mistakes (well aside from giving away that notapizzatopping is probably Oliver towards the end of the demo). I even one-hand shielded my face when Dane was revealed, embarrassed alongside the protagonist, and did an audible “Nooooo” when I got to the end of the demo as I got pretty invested. The only thing is that I do wish there was a bit more details in the script, but that’s all so far. I’m definitely going to keep my eye on this one and check it out once the full release comes around.

Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved*

I liked this one more than I thought. The demo includes the game’s prologue, which opens with us witnessing a man being pushed out of a window and dying during the night. As the cutscene ends and we go to who our protagonist is, which we get to name ourselves, he’s sleeping soundly. That is, until he hears someone knocking on his door and proclaiming loudly that it’s the police and he will knock down the door if it’s not opened soon. You, of course, open it and it’s revealed that the murder we saw was not only moments ago, but at the very hotel you’re staying at. Though, the officer mixed up the hotel rooms thinking it happened in your room on the first floor rather than in the room on the fifth floor. You do manage to talk down the officer before the detective assigned to the case confirms it, sends the officer away, and talks to you. Detective Daltrey apologizes and even tells you about what happened. While also making fun of you for being a heavy sleeper (honestly, same as I have slept through tornado warning alerts). Once your conversation ends, you decide to check out what’s happening outside and see if the two people you’re with, Emma and Martin, are awake and outside too. Though, that does prompt the Detective to come joking around with you again. Here, we get to learn that you and Emma are English Literature college students from the United States taking a trip with their professor, Professor Martin. Detective Daltrey ends up letting you and Emma check out the crime scene. Totally not protocol, but hey that’s his problem. Plus, we need a tutorial before the real deal happens.

Detective Instinct is pretty easy to get the hang of. Most of it is just the usual visual novel controls, but you do get a set of actions to do when you’re out of the VN cutscenes. There’s Speak To, which lets you start a conversation with someone in the area or leave the conversation; Talk, which gets you to talk to the person in front of you/who you’re already engaged in a conversation with; Check, which lets you check the general area, a specific thing, or will prompt a point-and-click section where you need to click on the location you want to check (which seems it’ll be for investigations as it asks you to pick out suspicious looking areas yourself), and a Discuss, which seems to be the game’s hint system. This demo also includes a deduction, which was a bit confusing on where to submit my answer, but all you had to do was select the person you thought it was in the Talk option.

The prologue, and thus this demo, ends as you fall asleep so you can be fresh for the train ride tomorrow and an ominious cutscene. Little did you three know that the train ride isn’t going to be an uneventful one. I just wonder who’s going to disappear…

So far, I really liked Detective Instinct. It reminds me a lot of Ace Attorney and I really enjoyed the writing style and the art style. I did also like the gameplay. I liked how the investigation and deductions are handled here as you’re given just enough guidance, on top of the assumption that you’ll be checking out spots that look suspicious. At least for the prologue deduction, nothing outright confirmed who it was, rather it pointed to the answer and those paying attention would connect the dots. It’ll be interesting to see how future investigations and deductions will be, but the good thing is that the first one gives a good first impression. Oh, and it seems like Emma will be helping you throughout the whole game, which I like. She was a pretty good helper during the prologue. The only thing is that I didn’t like how some instances do require you to select the same dialogue subject to progress and how the game didn’t auto-progress once you hit the end of the investigation, instead having you select “Check” first before Detective Daltrey tells you that you two need to leave before the cops get tired of his antics.

of the Devil*

Episode 1 Out Now

This demo was one I was drawn to purely by the visuals and it was only later when I went to download it that I learned about the premise. This demo includes the whole first chapter, Episode 0. Here, you dive into the mind of Morgan the defense attorney. It’s the year 2086 and while you’ll learn about the game’s world and technological advantages as you play, the game starts very early in the morning as Morgan is smoking and thinking. It doesn’t take long until Morgan gets a text signaling that it’s time for her job to start. Her destination is Precinct Station 254 where, after looking around some and checking in, she meets the two detectives residing over the investigation: London and Reyes. They both give you the details on the current situation and go over evidence. It turns out that the person they’re currently holding is highly suspected to be the Heartbreak Killer. A serial killer who kills their victim by shooting them in the heart with deadly accuracy and has claimed their sixth victim hours ago. Even more surprising, the killer has been able to evade all the surveillance that cover damn near every corner, leave no evidence, and be able to evade new tech tracking. Either way, the killer is caught now and the suspect is Carlos Flatt, who was not only standing over the victim with her blood on his hands, but his fingerprints are on the gun. However, Morgan isn’t really convinced. The evidence doesn’t exactly point to him and it’s clear that there’s pressure to convict anyone for the killings. So, Morgan goes to talk to Flatt to get his side of things, more context over the evidence, and go against Reyes to prove Flatt innocent. I’m not going to dive much more into it, but there’s also a reveal that was so unexpected and great. Really brings into context on everything before and after as we meet Emma, the District Attorney who Morgan never won against, before the demo closes.

Oh, we also get a sneak peak at the next chapter and see that we’ll be scored on how well we did. Your score will unlock concept art and bonus scenarios. While the chips will be used to by phone case colors and charms in the shop.

There are some gameplay elements here as well. There are areas where you’ll be able to look around and inspect key things in the room or even in a digitally recreation of a crime scene. There even seems like there will be times where there can be an extra thing or two that you can catch if you take another look. Every time you find something, you’ll gain casino chips (or Credits). During conversations, you’ll sometimes get dialogue choices and what you inspected can add a new option that you wouldn’t have had. Some dialogue will even give you chips as well if you pick the option that more represents the situation. Everything leads to the meat and potatoes, where you go up against another character to challenge their theory based on the evidence. Here, it’s framed like you’re in a casino playing cards as your opponent lays out their cards (or the evidence and facts of the case) and you have cards representing the evidence and facts in your hand as well. It’s up to you to figure out which card will help turn the tide in your favor. However, you won’t always have a stronger hand than your opponent and you’ll need to know whether to Hold or Raise when the prompt comes up. To further push the casino theming, if you get something wrong, you’ll be docked casino chips (though there are some instances where you have to, like the moments where you can’t fight your opponent’s statement). As you get further in, you’ll also be able to raise the ante on the hand, which will let you gain more chips if you put in the right card or lose more chips if not. There are some tricky hands, but as long as you pay attention and look at the evidence, you’ll be able to easily win.

I loved of the Devil. I love the art style, I love how much it reminds me of Ace Attorney, I love how everything is framed as Morgan gambling in a casino, I really enjoyed the writing style, the world is interesting, and all the characters are great. I especially love Morgan and how much bite she has. This game also got style and it really came a long way from how it was before (I looked up previous demo playthroughs). It was definitely worth it as it helps make the game even more memorable and unique. I’m very interested in seeing what’s going to happen next, especially considering some spoiler-y details we learn at the end of the demo.

Soul Mates*

This one is both creepy and cute. I’m not entirely sure what got me to try this game other than the title and the cute ghost girl the game has on its cover art. Soul Mates starts as you’re standing outside an abandoned house mentally getting yourself ready to go inside. You see, your friend Erica believed there were ghosts residing in that abandoned house and went inside three days ago in hopes to make contact. However, she hasn’t come out since. Worried for your friend, you decide to go in and try to find her. Erica turns out to be right as the front door locks by itself, the atmosphere is creepy, and it doesn’t take long before you encounter a ghost. A scary ghost who first need to hide from and finish a QTE/click spamming minigame so you don’t get killed. Anyway, you’ll be exploring this house room by room, with the map of the layout on the top right. Each room may have items you can pick up and, when the room is too dark to see, there is a candle you can light with a matchstick. Luckily, you have an unlimited matchstick box considering you forgot to bring your phone like a dummy.

Since you’ll be picking up items here, be traveling between rooms, and this is a point and click; I think its obvious that there are puzzles here. Puzzles are pretty easy here as what you need to combine or use in a certain spot are obvious once you run into them. There was only one aspect that I had trouble with as I thought you would combine two items in your inventory, but it was actually later when you’re on the step to putting all the items required on a table. Of course, Soul Mates won’t make sense without the ghosts. This demo only includes the first area of the house and thus the first ghost you’ll be interacting with. This also doubles as a tutorial to them as you are told the future ghosts are going to be harder. Anyway, ghosts here start out as scary and hostile. They all died tragically and even violently and you need to carefully navigate your interactions with them. Yep, there are dialogue choices and you have health. You may also find items associated with them and you’ll be prompted to give it to them. The first ghost you encounter is a bride who died on her wedding day and she believes you were her fiance who got cold feet. Once you reach the room that’s barred by requiring an item, you’ll then be able to slowly get through to her as you’ll be able to get dialogue choices to raise her heart meter and give her items that she remembers to raise it as well. Once it’s full, she’ll turn into a happy, cute ghost who doesn’t quite remember what happened on the day of her death, but is nicer. You decide to help her move on and that’s to recreate her wedding day with what you can find.

I was pretty skeptical at the beginning, but I ended up really liking Soul Mates. I was not expecting this to have a creepy atmosphere and the ghost in her vengeance state (that’s what I’ll call it) is scary. Not to mention that she literally screams and jumpscares you (which the art for that is scary as well). It was also pretty funny once you appease her and suddenly it’s all happy and she’s cute and not looking like she’s decomposing. And then it goes back to the creepy atmosphere once you’re done talking. It’s a hard turn and it’s lowkey funny. Anyway, the game has great artwork, the writing style is good, the characters are great so far (including Erica who you only know through the notes she leaves), the puzzles are logical and easy to figure out once you find what you need, and I do think the layout of the house is well designed. I even knew right where I needed to go when I got the key to continue to the next area of the house (aka the next chapter) when I got to the end of the demo. Although, I do wish the text was a bit bigger as it was a tad too small and it can be easy to miss an interactable spot or pickable item (some interactable spots and items are highlighted while some aren’t).

Spill the Beans*

Another visual novel I added to my “Demos to Play during Next Fest” list just based on the art. Spill the Beans has an interesting hook. Instead of you trying to figure out whodunnit, you’re the one whodunnit and you’re trying to find a way to get away with it.

It turns out that the protagonist here has a bone to pick with the world. You live in Artifice, which a hundred years ago was host to the world of spirits cracking the earth and everything there spilling out. Since then, spirits (which is basically different magical species) stayed around and even started working. You, however, are a normal human and in Artifice. It’s implied that humans aren’t common in Artifice, so you were the dullest one there and growing up no one gave you a chance and constantly pushed you aside. After years of giving and not getting anything back, you decide it’s finally time to take. And what’s a better thing to take than a cafe’s secret recipe? The universe even seems to be on your side as getting in was easy. The cafe in question, The Familiar, was hiring and after filling out an application (which lets you build your character and what you input will also be referenced in dialogue), you get hired. Armed with your gear, you intend to steal it that day. Get in. Get out. Find a scapegoat.

The demo lets you go through the prologue, where you’ll go through your first (and only) day at your new job. You get to meet all the characters featured in the game, which are split between workers and customers. There’s Sloan the Construct, the other worker here who seems to basically do everything; Fred the cat familiar who is the manager and is very protective over the secret recipe locked in the colossal safe in his office; and Dave the human rounds out the workers with him being the delivery man. Dave technically doesn’t work at The Familiar, but he still has an important role and he does have a good rapport with Sloan. For customers, there’s Jessie the vampire who is from a rich and powerful family and is into business; Alexandra the siren who is an influencer and takes pictures of her drinks to post to her fans; and a skeleton named Grudge who is dressed like a biker and actually wanted to have the job you got. Also, I’m sorry but I can’t resist calling Grudge an edgy Papyrus. As the day continues and you witness how everyone has history with one another, hinting to what you can use to your advantage, you soon take the first opportunity you can to do your heist. It…kind of goes according to plan. While you were able to grab and stash the secret recipe, you didn’t have enough time to close the safe and get back to where you were. This causes Fred to lock down the cafe until the suspect is found as everyone has a motive in his eyes. Luckily, you’re the one that’s on his radar the least and he puts you in charge of finding out who stole the recipe. It also seems you become his confidant? The demo ends as you learn that a detective is eventually coming and you need to figure out who you’re scapegoat will be, get convincing evidence, and get the others on your side.

Spill the Beans does an interesting thing with their choices as well. While these are choices on what you’ll say or do, these effect the other characters. Your choices can increase or decrease that character’s mood or manipulate them into thinking something or doing something suspicious. I did a couple rounds picking different choices and they did have a noticeable effect. Bringing down the other character’s moods do affect how they talk and you can tell the subtle different. Like Sloan is more outwardly overwhelmed and tired of how Fred treats her if you bring her mood down and it looks like you can have Grudge like you if you play along with him. You can also notice that Alexandria has less patience when she’s in a bad mood. On the actions part, you can have someone act suspicious like playing up someone else’s suspicion enough to where they’ll eavesdrop. Though, it does look like you have to strike a balance as these manipulations can be traced to you and might be used against you in the full game.

All in all, Spill the Beans is interesting so far. I like the art, it’s interesting that everyone has history and you need to uncover it to use it to your advantage, and messing and manipulating people as a mechanic is interesting. I love how that despite the story’s skeleton being the same, your choices do have a noticeable effect on the character’s moods and suspicions. Not to mention it’s interesting that you’re the one whodunnit and you’re trying to pick the perfect scapegoat.