9
okay sorry might be a bad idea to rank fresh off finishing the case but holy goddamn shit was this epic as hell. it is definitely a bit overstuffed, i can agree, especially fresh off E2-4. so like maaaaaybe im definitely over ranking it a bit, but i had fun and in the end that matters most.
i mentioned finding roland a sympathetic killer before. i take that back! i mentioned disliking courtney and sebastian. i take that back too! i really love how this does just tie into the rest of the game and forces me to look back on my experiences the past week.
sebastian is literally a top ten character now he's great ... blaise go fuck yourself!!!
and wow, i think this was the first time since the original game that i felt truly surprised by a killer reveal?? how did i not see simon as the bad guy i even said that i saw ship art of him and knightley!!!!!
it is satisfying to see so many returners. nice to see ema actually stick around for real this time (cough kidnapped turnabout cough) and will powers will always be my beloved ... i did kinda dislike how lotta goes back to her 1-5 roots of paranormal nonsense, but she's a silly character, so no biggie ig.
thinking it over amd yeah, there's enough bloat to knock it down to a 9. there's so much that makes the case feel like two or three cases. there's a lot of frantic going back and forth that slows things down a bit. there's a kidnapping and another kidnapping and call backs to more kidnapping and a kidnapping that's a murder and another murder and a reminder that like three other murders literally just happened. it is a lot. thrilling and satisfying, absolutely, but probably could have done with some trimming.