Detective games have always had some of my favorite puzzles due to their unique approach to them. Everything from minor details down to something such as a fact that a character omitted can be used to solve the mystery or at least get you a few steps closer to figuring it all out. The genre usually has you guided along the way during the opening hours to get used to the mechanics and to get your brain functioning in a way that helps solve these puzzles with ease but Chronique des Silencieux has no problem letting you fall flat on your face for the first few hours of the game, I found myself really pushing through puzzles and trying to figure out what the next step in my investigation should be. While this initial difficulty might be off putting for some, it is definitely worth checking out for those who are interested in exploring more of the genre.
The star of the show here is a young man who is out to reconnect with his uncle after his mother passes away. Eugène Faury, our main character, is a young Frenchman who finds himself tangled up in a mystery in Bordeaux. After an interesting run in with some of the locals found at a brothel, we find out that Eugène’s uncle has been thrown in jail after a bit of some trouble. Thankfully the detective that we meet believes that there is more to the story and that our uncle is not telling us the full truth. With the utilization of some nifty detective skills and our handy recorder, we will help Eugène free his uncle while uncovering some interesting mysteries surrounding his past. This initial mystery helps kick off our protagonist’s love for detective work and finds himself engrossed in the lifestyle and we get to witness this when we are tasked with solving an even bigger mystery 5 years later.
The game is very dialogue heavy but thankfully there is some wonderful voice acting to accompany the text so even if you aren’t fluent in French, you will be treated to some wonderful voices to give each character a little more personality. As we wander around the city, we are able to interact with a colorful cast of characters and unlock knowledge that will help us solve the case. As people open up to Eugène, we will get more options in the dialogue and even unlock new statements to use over the course of the mystery. It is important to pay attention to what characters are saying because this plays a major part in solving these mysteries.
After each conversation, you are able to pull up a list of statements and it is up to you to find either contradictions or connections in both documents that you will pick up as well as full transcripts of the conversations that take place. This can be a little overwhelming at first but as you find your rhythm and immerse yourself in the game, this becomes less daunting. After you have gone through and built a case utilizing all kinds of leads and information, you will then be able to put together a confrontation. This is used to gain the upper hand against a suspect as you journey to find the truth behind it all. Thankfully there is no penalty for inputting the wrong answer so you are free to try and push through it the hard way if you are having trouble with the case. I personally wished that there was a little more dialogue from Eugène to help guide you to finding the right answer but I understand how this could be off putting to some. I found that the hint system that was included was not the most helpful and often found myself bumping up against so many walls in order to find the correct answer.
From a visual perspective, we are treated to a wonderful color palette and a world that looks like it was pulled out of a story book. The layout of the buildings and streets look phenomenal and I found this to be more of a cozy adventure than anything else thanks to the visuals here. It definitely leans more into a stylized visual style as opposed to shooting for realism but I believe this worked out in its favor.
One thing that caught me off guard here was the utilization of a feedback system from the development team. Since you are able to link all kinds of information together in order to find connections and contradictions in regards to statements, you might stumble across one that the game does not recognize. This feedback system allows you to express this to the developers in an attempt to supply them with other solutions that may have been overlooked.
Overall, My time spent with Eugène on his journey was one that I found mostly enjoyable, even if I did find myself frustrated with a good portion of the adventure. I would spend countless minutes re-reading dialogue and documents in an attempt to find something that might have been missed and often would end up scratching my head at some of the solutions. While this might not be as strong as something like the Professor Layton series, I definitely would love to see something like this again from this team.
