LogFAQs > #951239886

37. Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (DS, 2007)


I tried my best not to make it obvious that the first Kyle Hyde game was going to be on my list in my Last Window write-up, but I don't know how I fared in that endeavor.

The game introduces Kyle Hyde, a former detective turned salesman, as he checks into the titular location while chasing the past. He converses/grills with the employees and patrons as their interconnected stories weave into his own. While Last Window was a more grandoise and interesting narrative full of twists and turns and irregular pacing, I was drawn more toward Hotel Dusk's structured plot and smaller cast. You can debate whether this or the sequel is more personal for Kyle, but it was definitely more intimate for me given the isolated, compact location and greater focus on characters.

I knew about this game when it came out, but despite loving noir stories and the art style, this was during an era when point-and-click adventures didn't appeal to me like they did in the 90s and 10s-present. However, when I went to college in the fall of 08, I decided that I wanted to buy a bunch of DS games as I did not to bring my Xbox 360 the first semester. I recall that one of the characters, Louis DeNonno, was named the best new character of the year or something in Nintendo Power (yes I was still a suscriber then), so this was one of a few games that I decided to grab. Who knew that I would ultimately view it as my favorite DS game?

I seldom replay games whose narrative is its main or sole appeal. Subsequent playthroughs would only serve to demonstrate the law of diminishing returns. The fact that I used to replay this every other year (I haven't since 2016 sadly) is a testament to how strong I felt the script was and how little the game depended on twists or shock value.

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KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu