A film noir style detective story straight out of an A-Ha video? How cool is that?

A thoughtful and intriguing plot combined with top-notch graphics make this game play like a mystery novel, but the amount of text you’ll have to click through will make you feel like you are reading one too.

I have to admit, when I heard that the Japanese studio responsible for Trace Memory was making a new mystery game for the DS, I was excited. Trace Memory was an amazing game whose beautiful minimalist graphic style combined with clever puzzles and a complex story made it a must-own for any adventure game fan. Thus when Hotel Dusk came out, I rushed right down to buy it.

Much like Trace Memory, Hotel Dusk is a also a mystery, this time set in the late seventies. In the game, you play the character Kyle Hyde, an ex-cop salesman who does work on the side collecting lost items. You are sent to Hotel Dusk to pick up two such items. As you play, it will become clear that your character has a past that haunts him. During your stay at Hotel Dusk, you become involved with the eclectic mix of characters, each with their own unique problems. Naturally, you are called upon to assist with solving said problems. During the game, you will be asked to do everything from helping a lost girl find her father to delivering a wine bottle to a kindly old lady whose son is missing. Along the way, you will uncover clues about your own shady past.

As far as the game design, the Hotel Dusk is basically a standard  point-and-click style adventure game. You’ll wander around looking at objects, talking to people, looking for clues, talking to people, solving puzzles, oh and did I mention talking to people? This game has a lot of dialogue. A LOT of dialogue. Most of your time will be spent buttoning through endless text as people pour their hearts and souls out to you. I actually like text-heavy RPGs and adventure games, so I did not mind too much having to sift through all of the conversations. That being said, it did grow tiresome after a while.

The puzzles in the game were clever, but not terribly difficult. The touchpad and microphone are utilized in interesting ways that enhanced the scene in which the puzzle took place. Most of the puzzles were somewhat easy to complete, but there were some spots where some additional hints would have been welcome. If you fancy yourself a Sherlock Holmes, then you may be somewhat disappointed with this part of the game.

In addition to being text-heavy, this game has a lot of back-tracking. This is the one thing that really drove me nuts about this game. Because the game makes you actually move your character through the actual environment, a lot of time is wasted walking down deserted hallways and going up stairs to get some item that you then have to bring back down to where you just were.

Right off the bat, I must say that this is a pretty game. The unique hand-drawn style is reminiscent of that old Ah-ha video from the early eighties. Subdued watercolor backgrounds offset this rough art style and add polish to it. The animation is minimalist but effective, making the user feel as if they are reading a moving comic book. The game uses simple yet realistic 3D graphics which, thanks to a toon-shader, manage to integrate into the hand-drawn stuff and maintain the comic book feel. All in all, this game will definitely wow you with its  rough yet polished feel.

Unlike many DS titles, Hotel Dusk has everything oriented in a portrait-view format. The most natural way to play the game is to hold the DS like it is a notebook. Since all interaction occurs through use of the touch-screen and stylus, it really feels like you’re a detective, jotting notes down while investigating a case. Movement is handled by manipulating your character icon around a miniature map of your surroundings shown on the touchpad, while the actual environment is displayed on the other screen. The R button at the top of the DS is used to fast-forward through any dialogue boxes, which is convenient as your thumb will most likely be there anyway because of the way you have to hold the game.

The music in this game is comprised of haunting midi tracks which change in subtle ways in accordance to the events of the story as they unfold. This, combined with well-placed sound effects, really helps to establish the mood, and to keep the music from being repetitive. Although few games use it, I found it somewhat of a disappointment that no speech was used, since I felt there were many opportunities where it could have added that extra punch.

Hotel Dusk’s complex and intriguing plot is where the game really shines. There were many times where I thought I had something figured out, only to have it turned around on me, sending the plot off into a direction I wasn’t expecting. The characters all have unique personality quirks which serve to make them memorable and interesting, thus adding to the drama on-screen. If you are a mystery fan, you won’t be disappointed.

Play It Again SamLike most games of this type, Hotel Dusk has very little replay value. Its linear plot means that once you’ve solved the mystery, there really isn’t much else to do. Some of the puzzles are mildly interesting to go back and retry, but very rarely. I don’t foresee many people going back to replay this unless some major time has passed since the last time.

All in all, I have to say that in spite of Hotel Dusk’s fault, I still enjoyed the game. The masterful plot and likeable characters, combined with the awesome art more than offset any tedium caused by the endless text scrolling and back-tracking that I was forced to endure. If you’re not the patient type and are looking for something with a bit more action and less talking and walking, then you might want to skip this one.