It feels terribly wrong to call this a ”Late to the Party” when the party was never had in the first place. The few existing threads seem to be filled with negativity and the amount of persons having played this title seems to only be a handful. Heck, there are barely any reviews of the game available online!
Either way, let’s get on with the case and listen to some catchy reading music.
Layton Brothers: Mystery Room
Platforms: iOS (played), Android
Price: Case 000-002 (free), 003-006 ($2.99), 007-009 ($1.99)
Other: Worked on iPhone 6 with iOS 8.1.
I finished this little gem a few days ago and it was the perfect title to relax with after an exhausting day, especially before sleep. Now I am eagerly waiting for the sequel, if it ever releases.
So what is Layton Brothers: Mystery Room? Well, when you hear “Layton” you most likely assume a professor in a top hat solving puzzles while out adventuring with his assistant(s). This, however, is not the case here! Yes, follow a character named Layton – but it’s not the one we all love or hate. The star this time is surprisingly the ideal gentleman Hershel Layton’s son: Alfendi Layton. What’s more, there are actually no annoying puzzles either! Instead, Layton Brothers could best be described as “Ace Attorney Lite”.
Note that “Lite” here means “So ‘Lite’ it’s Actually More of a Pure Visual Novel”.
Alfendi “Prof” Layton is a genius inspector who has recently gotten a new colleague in crime solving: the rookie investigator Lucy Baker. What follows is a series of cases that need to be solved, which involves figuring out who the murder is and how he or she accomplished the crime. Unlike Ace Attorney, the focus here lies entirely on a “simulation” of the crime scene – meaning you swipe, touch and enhance the place to uncover all the details of the murder. As such, there are no random hijinks or adventures to different locations. Nor do you interact with any other characters than Alfendi and Lucy except for when confronting a witness or suspect.
You are given a clear description in the beginning of each case, including suspects, backstory, witnesses and so forth. In other words, all you do is trying to follow a set guide of rules (i.e. “What is the murder weapon?”, “How did this situation arise?”
while eventually confronting the murderer with evidence. All in all, it’s a very linear path and there’s little to none player branching as a result. Nor are there any actual penalties for showing the wrong evidence – you are simply given infinite tries.
This may sound incredibly dull to some, and yes, it does feel Layton Brothers could do a better job at involving the player. The cases themselves never become overly crazy or memorable as the majority follows the same set procedure, never allowing you to fully engage with them.
Nonetheless, this is actually the part of Layton Brothers I ended up loving. Since it’s such a casual experience, it means the entire ride is smooth and free of hassle. It’s just you having a good time while pinpointing the culprit. It fits the mobile format perfectly – I even solved on case during a train trip – and each murder mystery is not much longer than one hour.
What helps making this such a pleasant experience is how well-presented Layton Brothers actually is. The art style is vibrant and lovingly cartoony; the dialogue is incredibly well-written and captures the multitude of accents in England perfectly; the soundtrack is a mix of lounge and jazz, setting the atmosphere well. Not to mention how the confrontations have this neat idea of featuring “thought bubble arrows” for each character, allowing for even more characterization.
This is not to say Layton Brothers is without its flaws. As mentioned earlier, the cases can feel monotone. Furthermore, the overarching story feels a bit haphazardly put together – it’s there and works, but it’s not as good and well-integrated as it could’ve been. Finally, there are a few instances where it’s unclear what evidence you need to present.
Still, Layton Brothers just oozes charm and love. It was the perfect little gem to spend time on when trying to wind down. I personally hope it has sold enough to warrant a sequel, as I’d love to come back to the office with Alfendi Layton and Lucy Baker. For the time being, I’m having hard enough time tracking down the lovely artwork! Sadly there’s no gallery in the game.
So what are you waiting for, GAF? Why haven’t you tried this out yet? The beginning is free, so there are no excuses! Here is a trailer: Launch Trailer.
Either way, let’s get on with the case and listen to some catchy reading music.
Layton Brothers: Mystery Room
Platforms: iOS (played), Android
Price: Case 000-002 (free), 003-006 ($2.99), 007-009 ($1.99)
Other: Worked on iPhone 6 with iOS 8.1.
I finished this little gem a few days ago and it was the perfect title to relax with after an exhausting day, especially before sleep. Now I am eagerly waiting for the sequel, if it ever releases.
So what is Layton Brothers: Mystery Room? Well, when you hear “Layton” you most likely assume a professor in a top hat solving puzzles while out adventuring with his assistant(s). This, however, is not the case here! Yes, follow a character named Layton – but it’s not the one we all love or hate. The star this time is surprisingly the ideal gentleman Hershel Layton’s son: Alfendi Layton. What’s more, there are actually no annoying puzzles either! Instead, Layton Brothers could best be described as “Ace Attorney Lite”.
Note that “Lite” here means “So ‘Lite’ it’s Actually More of a Pure Visual Novel”.
Alfendi “Prof” Layton is a genius inspector who has recently gotten a new colleague in crime solving: the rookie investigator Lucy Baker. What follows is a series of cases that need to be solved, which involves figuring out who the murder is and how he or she accomplished the crime. Unlike Ace Attorney, the focus here lies entirely on a “simulation” of the crime scene – meaning you swipe, touch and enhance the place to uncover all the details of the murder. As such, there are no random hijinks or adventures to different locations. Nor do you interact with any other characters than Alfendi and Lucy except for when confronting a witness or suspect.
You are given a clear description in the beginning of each case, including suspects, backstory, witnesses and so forth. In other words, all you do is trying to follow a set guide of rules (i.e. “What is the murder weapon?”, “How did this situation arise?”
while eventually confronting the murderer with evidence. All in all, it’s a very linear path and there’s little to none player branching as a result. Nor are there any actual penalties for showing the wrong evidence – you are simply given infinite tries.This may sound incredibly dull to some, and yes, it does feel Layton Brothers could do a better job at involving the player. The cases themselves never become overly crazy or memorable as the majority follows the same set procedure, never allowing you to fully engage with them.
Nonetheless, this is actually the part of Layton Brothers I ended up loving. Since it’s such a casual experience, it means the entire ride is smooth and free of hassle. It’s just you having a good time while pinpointing the culprit. It fits the mobile format perfectly – I even solved on case during a train trip – and each murder mystery is not much longer than one hour.
What helps making this such a pleasant experience is how well-presented Layton Brothers actually is. The art style is vibrant and lovingly cartoony; the dialogue is incredibly well-written and captures the multitude of accents in England perfectly; the soundtrack is a mix of lounge and jazz, setting the atmosphere well. Not to mention how the confrontations have this neat idea of featuring “thought bubble arrows” for each character, allowing for even more characterization.
This is not to say Layton Brothers is without its flaws. As mentioned earlier, the cases can feel monotone. Furthermore, the overarching story feels a bit haphazardly put together – it’s there and works, but it’s not as good and well-integrated as it could’ve been. Finally, there are a few instances where it’s unclear what evidence you need to present.
Still, Layton Brothers just oozes charm and love. It was the perfect little gem to spend time on when trying to wind down. I personally hope it has sold enough to warrant a sequel, as I’d love to come back to the office with Alfendi Layton and Lucy Baker. For the time being, I’m having hard enough time tracking down the lovely artwork! Sadly there’s no gallery in the game.
So what are you waiting for, GAF? Why haven’t you tried this out yet? The beginning is free, so there are no excuses! Here is a trailer: Launch Trailer.
