Visual novels haven’t lost their appeal over the years; they’ve only created a subset of fandoms, scattered across the gaming world. Games like Steins; Gate, Danganronpa and Ace Attorney have cultivated their loyal fanbase over the years, and they are more than welcoming up-and-coming fans who are ready to drink the ‘visual novel’ kool-aid. As someone who’s a huge fan of the genre, it’s actually pretty good.
The visual novel genre has evolved since then. To offset some of its monotonous reading, games like the modern Persona series or The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy add a familiar turn-based JRPG combat to make things much more interesting.
Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved, on the other hand, does things traditionally: it goes back to the classic visual novel roots.
A Cozy Agatha Christie Novel
There’s no way you can play Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved without comparing it to a good ol’ Agatha Christie novel. Long train rides, a meeting gone wrong, and a strange case of a missing woman, all iconic recipes of a good murder mystery. Detective Instinct has it all.
The big difference here is that you won’t be putting on the shoes of a Hercule Poirot-like character. Rather, you assume the role of an English student travelling to a foreign land who just wants to finish his long-overdue term paper.
It’s a pretty amateurish adventure. I was half-expecting I’d be playing as a detective doing deductive work to find a killer. It wasn't until I found out that I was just a mere bystander thrust into a major mystery I realized it’s not that kind of game.
Right from the start, you can tell that this game took some of its inspirations from old-school titles like the Famicom Detective Club in both tone and art style. It’s like stepping into a time machine and seeing these things familiar, yet new.
Doughnut Holes Within Doughnut Holes
One of the things I admire about Detective Instinct is how it keeps everything simple. Down to the story beats, characters, music and art style, you can tell that Armonica had creative ways to make good use of its budget by telling the player what they only need to know. It's a nice touch, but I have some concerns that I will be talking about in a few.
The mystery is what keeps pulling me back in Detective Instinct. There’s you, the bumbling student working on his thesis, and your partner, Emma, acting as the Maya Fey to your Phoenix Wright. Together, both of you are caught in a bizarre murder case involving widows, travelling circus freaks and creepy bartenders.
The funny thing about all this is that none of the main characters are qualified for this kind of job. It’s a strange string of coincidences that puts our characters into the story. There are no courtroom dramas and class trials to keep things different at every chapter. It’s just your character and Emma using their wits to make sense of what the heck is going on.
A Colorful Cast of Personalities
Another thing that Detective Instinct got right is its cast of side-characters. Like your standard visual novel NPCs, these faces exude the most personality, far better than the protagonists. The game’s 5-6 runtime is made better with their presence, most especially Detective Daltrey, who quickly becomes my favorite.
These characters gave me the most memorable encounters in the game. Obviously, I won’t spoil who’s who, but whenever they are around, I know I’m in for a good time. The NPCs are a nice touch that adds flavor to the game’s interesting backdrop of political turmoil. Without them, the player would crumble from sheer boredom.
The Imperfections Left Behind
But that’s enough of me talking about the things I like about Detective Instinct. Don’t get me wrong, while I absolutely enjoyed most of what Detective Instinct has to offer, what disappointed me was its short runtime.
When that big “Finale” text appeared on screen, I was surprised to see that I’m slowly grasping its end. It’s like being handed a chicken sandwich, only to find out it’s ham and cheese. I still like it, but where’s the chicken I ordered? It felt like the story was about to get more interesting, only to suddenly close.
For what it’s worth, Armonica did a great job of resolving the game’s mysteries with barely any loose ends. But it was odd that this was supposed to be a climactic moment, so why is my character not in on the action?
Detective Instinct’s mistake was that it put us through the lens of amateurs rather than being a detective itself. It’s what really holds the story back, thinking that we’d be in the front row seats of the mystery, waiting to unfurl its complex and moving parts. Sadly, we aren’t allowed that experience here, and it really bummed me out.
On a far more positive note, if Farewell, My Beloved becomes a success, we might see more Detective Instinct stories in the future, and that’s something I’m actually looking forward to seeing.
Verdict
Detective Instinct, Farewell My Beloved is a surprisingly short yet decent visual novel adventure inspired by the titles that came before it. It won’t win over loyal fans of existing visual novel entries like Ace Attorney, but it's solid enough for players who just want to enjoy a good ol’ mystery story. Just don’t come in expecting mind-blowing twists.
As Armonica’s debut indie game, these flaws are all understandable and there's a lot of things to work on. While Detective Instinct had some pretty baffling design choices with its story and character choice, I feel this is the beginning of a series that could improve with every entry.
Here’s hoping my hunch is true.
Reviewed on PC