[CE][M] The Illogical Turnabout ●

[ikuzonos]

Made by ikuzonos & bannedfrom7 for the Red Truth competition.
Play

Spoiler : Synopsis :

In an ever growing city of crime and police service producing unsatisfactory results, Ann Passent and Chad Towers run a private detective agency dedicated to helping those in need. They soon find themselves with a case of death by gunshot wound; straightforward at first glance, but there's much more to the story than meets the eye. Will you help find the truth, or leave it lost to time?

Spoiler : Walkthrough :

Click here.

Spoiler : Credits (minor spoilers) :

Writing: ikuzonos & bannedfrom7
Playtesting: TheFuryWraith, risefromtheashes, AshuraMage
Sprites: FenrirDarkWolf (Ann, Chad), DragonTrainer (Rooke), Lind (Madelyn)
Other art: Starora (Knife, Glass Case), fanfreak247 (Perceive background), Greeny (Office), 300+ background pack (Bedroom, Living Room, Kitchen), ikuzonos (Doorbell camera)
Audio: Umineko When They Cry OST
Sound Effects: Umineko, MS Sound Effect

[AshuraMage]

As a playtester for this case, I can say without a doubt that it's a certified banger, play it as soon as you can!

[Trybien]

False advertising, turnabout is quite logical.

[The Fury Wraith]

This one was pretty notable for me for managing to do things I'd normally dislike, but does them in a way I thought worked well. (Which, for those who know me, is a big compliment.) The character writing and general atmosphere was also rather well done. Congrats on releasing!

[CodingAnt]

Everyone sure seems to react pretty nonchalantly to the big twist, huh? Anyway, I really enjoyed this case. Some thoughts! (spoiler heavy)

Spoiler : :

So this case did the classic thing where the player is canonically a separate entity from the protagonist, and while I'm not sure I liked having a character called "the player" say things I didn't say myself, I did like the execution on how it was revealed. Put simply, to get the true ending, you choose dialogue options that are out of character for Ann to say, which sort of creates a dissonance within her that manifests as a sickness of some sort. As if she knows something is wrong, but can't do anything about it. This, as well as Chad's reaction to Ann acting strange, does an excellent job portraying the characters as people in their own right, with agency, even if we know that technically isn't the case. And, to the audience, these ARE supposed to be people. Which is something a lot of other fourth-wall-breaking stories forget.

I was a bit worried when the character of the entity showed up, thinking they would be an edgy and/or cheesy villain, but it seems I didn't have to be. They just wanted to make an interesting story, yet failed to take into account how staunchly against Rooke's character it is to murder his wife. Surprisingly grounded for a literal omnipotent author self-insert. Obviously, when you think about it too hard, the story itself rebelling against the creator doesn't exactly make sense, nor do the entity's and the player's strangely equal power levels, but that's not really the point. This is a story about the dichotomies between player and protagonist, and between a creator's view of their story versus their audience's. And for what it is, it works, and it works well. Good luck in the competition!

[DJJ6800]

Well I finished the case.

Spoiler : :

And I thought MY case was super meta.

Either way, really well done

[Pigfaced]

I just finished this case. Here are my thoughts! (Spoilers incoming!)

Spoiler : :

Let me say that the meta twist was just WOW! I definitely didn't see that coming. Usually, I have to say that I'm not a big fan of these twists in VNs - especially when it comes to murder mysteries. It's very hard to come up with plots that have an insanely smart structure, with clues and testimonies that keep the player guessing what really happened, and have an equally rewarding and surprising payoff in the end. My problem is that many meta stories explain it all with some convenient twist about how "it's all a game!!", with no in-universe rules to explain the how and the why of the mystery, which I usually don't like.



However, I'm pleased to say that this is actually NOT the case, because I actually enjoyed the twist on this one! You could truly feel the sadness of the characters once they realised that they're fiction and how this was always what they're meant to be: characters for a murder story. Also, the rules regarding The Player and The Entity actually make some sense within the context of the case and are well thought out! The dialogue between the characters is also well written and fun to go through. Also, I personally think that the mystery itself would have been just as interesting if it wasn't for the meta twist, which goes to show that the murder itself can stand on its own grounds!

In general, I really liked this case and I have to say KUDOS to the creator for trying something like this and actually getting it right!!