when tyrion started arguing with a peasant over applejuice and the saxophones came in, i was sold
_
Tyrion Cuthbert is an Ace Attorney-inspired game set in a fantasy world. I've finished the game, so here are my thoughts:
Presentation - The characters designs are good! There's plenty of distinctive and appealing designs and some pretty fun poses here (though the Ace Attorney inspiration is quite obvious here and there). Some of the designs are so good I'm a bit sad they didn't stay around for more cases (ie, Rika). We really do have to depend on indie devs to get some properly good-looking characters these days, it seems. ;) The music performs just as well as the visuals - the game is a treat to listen to. Beautiful instrumental pieces all around - the saxophone was a surprise, but a very welcome one! The only parts that lags behind here are:
- The extremely plain and boring HUD that doesn't fit the setting at all. It's a shame, because the moments during arguments where a statement appears on screen word for word is very cool and impactful. It could've been even better with a bit more visual flair.
- The backgrounds are a bit rough around the edges sometimes, and also re-used pretty often.
Gameplay- It's good! Shares much with Ace Attorney; you explore, gather clues and do trials. To shake up the investigations and bring them closer to trials, there are confrontations (which have the aforementioned sax music). I adore them conceptually but they encompass so many ideas that they never quite get fleshed out. Sometimes you need to decide how to argue back based on the witness' personality, sometimes you need to argue back based on what the witness feels vs thinks vs says... and sometimes you just have to present evidence. There's not much rhyme or reason to it, or so it felt to me. To put it one way, there isn't really one consistent kind of 'argument' - the approach changes each time. The double edged sword here is that while no idea was particularly fleshed out, it never got boring or predictable either. I do wonder how the sequel could approach confrontations (and when it does, please bring in the sax again!) - will it explore many fun ideas once again, or will it attempt to boil it down to something really specific, risking tedium for the possibility of something more in-depth and compelling?
The trials themselves function much like Ace Attorney's, with cross examinations, choices and simple prompts to present evidence. The EMPOWERED EYE segments stick out as unique, but are essentially just mini-investigations where you present evidence at a witness until you get the desired response. While you have a health bar during arguments, there are never any long-term consequences for mistakes. I don't really mind; people were just going to save and load anyway. I do think sometimes the wording can make it a bit hard to figure out what's being asked specifically. I had a few instances where I felt like I answered a question correctly, but the game wanted something really specific that the scope of the question didn't seem to imply. This is a problem in Ace Attorney sometimes as well. I also think the puzzles where you have to line up words to get the right phrase can be a little clumsy or obtuse sometimes - I got confused a few times as to whether I should press the up or down arrow to get to the phrase above or below the currently selected word. In the end, I think the game pulls off its gameplay competently, but could sometimes ask its questions a little more clearly and make the word selection a little easier/clearer.
The evidence page can be a little awkward sometimes when you have a lot of evidence; I found myself missing some evidence once or twice because I had to scroll down. Once I knew, I knew, though, so it's not like it's a big issue.
Story - Tyrion Cuthbert is a lawyer fighting the corruption in the Kingdom and courts of a magical world - which more often serve the benefit of the nobles than justice. To help him in his quest, he's gifted with a special power called the Eye of Horus which allows him to see surface-level thoughts and emotions people experience. We join him in his fight for proper justice as he navigates conspiracies and yet unseen forms of magic.
I'm very pleased with the story in general! It surprised and delighted me several times. I'm generally very impressed, though sometimes cases do awkwardly abandon threads (it can't wrap up things as neatly as Ace Attorney does, by and large). Ie, in case 2, there's two redheaded twins, of whom one turns out to be an unregistered mage. What are the ramifications of this? That you go to the next testimony. That's about it. They poof out of the case after playing a major role in the first trial. Rika is a cute witch who appears in case 3 and is said to be a childhood friend of Tyrion's. She plays an important role in that one case, but then disappears from the game too. I will say that the cohesion improves a lot between cases 4 and 5, but it's sad that so many characters before that have so little screentime. It's *not* a sin to have small single case characters, but it gets a bit confusing if they're established as important to the main character in some way.
The finale was very exciting and, in my opinion, generally stuck the landing. I have some thoughts on the 'mastermind,' but I don't think I should spoil too much in this review. You should play it and form your own thoughts.
Overall: If you want the mystery solving, case cracking, trial winning joy of Ace Attorney in a magical overcoat, this game offers that. Beautiful visuals, beautiful music, compelling characters, surprising twists and exciting investigations and trials. This is exactly what we need more of. It has some blemishes in its visuals and writing, but for a first effort, this is incredible. I can't wait to see the sequel!
I really like these kinds of adventure games where you have to face different challenges. The visual style of this game and the characters are beautifully designed. Especially the mix of magic and courtroom drama is quite unique.