Games! (Spring Sale Haul)
I'm usually pretty immune to sales because I have a "no new games until you finish your old games" rule (the "old" game in this case being Nine Sols, which I got last year), but the disappointing realization that Fatal Frame 2 remake is not playable on Switch 1 has made me go rogue. I guess it works out because I'm the last person who should be playing horror games and that money is better off going to my standard game types. 😂
Detective Di: The Silk Rose Murders
Point-and-click puzzle/mystery game set in Tang Dynasty China. Currently on sale on the Switch store for $2, and on the Steam store for less than that. You play the famous historical figure / novel character Di Renjie during the fledgling days of his career.
This is a short, tight game with a fairly straightforward plot that's driven not quite by character, but by the things that the characters are unable to leave behind. There aren't really any surprises with the plot when you know a little bit of history and the title of the game is quite clear about its direction, but it concludes with a strong sense of emotional satisfaction.
Legend of Mana
I've had this game on my wishlist for years out of sheer longing for the music but could never justify getting it until now. And I'm so glad I did!!! Who was gonna tell me that they actually went out and rerecorded the entire soundtrack for the rerelease??? The orchestral arrangements are breathtakingly beautiful and they're so soothing that just having the game open feels like self-care. I still don't understand what the goal here is, but I love having all these achievable quests in bite-sized chunks, I feel so productive and before I know it it's midnight.
Murders in the Yangtze River | 山河旅探
Styling itself as being "Ace Attorney-like", this is a murder mystery game set at the end of the Qing Dynasty / beginning of the Republican era. I'm still at the intro case and I'm quite confused about the vibes. From the outset and promotional art this looks like dark, gritty, and full of torture, it even opens with a psychological-thriller-y prologue, but the actual art is cutesy and the dialogue and voice direction come across as very YA? That aside, I like the little historical factoids you add to your knowledge database, ie. the nounification of the detecting word 偵探 (I presume), the popularity of western stories like Sherlock Holmes after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, etc. It's the kind of stuff I do like learning, and the UI is actually pretty readable, which is a plus!
Notes: I got this on Steam, which means that I can actually play it from my bed (though I have to squint a bit), but also that I am unlikely to finish it because I'm not built for desktop gaming. XD I really wish this was on the Switch!!! The controls feel quite perfect for it.
Note 2: The game defaults to Chinese as its written language even from the title screen, you have to manually change it to English.