Related
It ’s always impressive to see a video game that truly creates an interesting whodunit for the player to puzzle out . Whether it ’s the personal magnetism of thePhoenix Wrightseriesor the unique stylings ofDisco Elysium , there ’s a real expiation to be found in trying to run a well - crafted enigma . Conway : disappearing at Dahlia Viewfrom developer White Paper Games is the modish game to try and scratch this itch .
Conway : Disappearance at Dahlia Viewfocuses on the kidnapping of 8 - twelvemonth - older Charlotte May from the second power of Dahlia View . Robert Conway , a retired detective , decides to look into the case , both from his windowpane overlooking Dahlia View and by taking a closer peek into the lives of the suspect . Along the way , he will bump that there is much more to his neighbour than meets the eye .
Related : Detective Games That Make You Feel Like a Genius Sleuth
One of the most important chemical element of telling an effective mystery is ensuring that it has a solid structure , and thankfullyConway : Disappearance at Dahlia Viewexcels here . The biz is skillfully written from the off , slowly revealing more details to the player as they open up up more area of investigation , withplenty of compelling blood-red herringsto ruler out along the style . White Paper Games does n’t enshroud details from the histrion , leaving sufficient hints for the musician to mould affair out , but it ’s likely its twists and turns will still be surprising .
Something that enigma video games often struggle with is introducing gameplay elements that make the player palpate like a detective . Conway : Disappearance at Dahlia Viewsucceeds here as well , with itsRear Window - esque voyeurism matching up appropriately to its on - the - ground sleuthing . In a nod to the Hitchcock classic , Conway himself is a wheelchair drug user , and it ’s a bracing change of yard for a video game protagonist and one that is handled well .
Alongside having to put together the part of the mystery story of Charlotte May ’s disappearance , the rest of the gameplay ofConway : Disappearance at Dahlia Viewfeels more like a Greco-Roman adventure game than the likes ofLA Noire ’s focus on detective work . The actor will need to make their way through static environments , collecting point and resolve puzzles , and gratefully the puzzles dispatch that right admixture between thought-provoking and logically sound . It even bring off a couple of fairly fun QTEs , such as its take on picking lock with a minigame that feel a bit likeOperation .
Conway : disappearing at Dahlia Viewleans into a few police detective fiction tropes , although a lot of the meter it carry off to do this in a slimly unique direction . The usual private investigator versus police force friction is give a personal edge , as one of the police ask in Conway ’s daughter Catherine , and the human relationship between the two is sensitively handle , giving an emotional weight to the game . This is helped by the title ’s fantabulous vocalization carrying into action , with all of the cast bringing their grapheme to life .
That aver , Conway : disappearing at Dahlia Viewis harbor back by a handful of technical issues . Some of these areminor video secret plan glitches , like Conway ’s television camera and tape recorder oscillate and moving around willy-nilly as the player moves . However , sometimes these will also touch on gameplay , with the lockpicking minigame at one point not being completable with a mouse and keyboard during this commentator ’s playthrough .
In spite of its issues , Conway : disappearing at Dahlia Viewis a video game closed book done decent . Its main plot of land is well - written and its characters expertly performed , while its gameplay genuinely makes the player experience like a detective . It ’s not perfect , butConway : disappearing at Dahlia Viewis a successful , modest - scale of measurement head - scratcher done right .
More : Best Detective Games For People Who Want To Be Sherlock Holmes
Conway : disappearing at Dahlia Viewis out now for PC . Screen Rant was provided with a PC download code for the purposes of this review .
