LogFAQs > #965980772

#45: Murder By Numbers

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/4/7/AAA-H0AADXV_.jpg

If Murder By Numbers was ONLY a Picross game and nothing else, I would consider it worth the price of admission. I like Picross games! They're a nice medium-easy kind of puzzle to chill out with - never so blisteringly hard that it breaks my brain, but just challenging enough to kind of do casually to relax. I bought all of the Picross games for 3DS (RIP 3DS, again) and that one Picross ripoff with colors on the Switch which is pretty good. I bought Mario's Picross on the 3DS as well, which I never played as a kid, and while it does lose out on some QoL it makes up for it with old GB aesthetics which warm my heart deeply (foreshadowing another entry on this list later). So Murder By Numbers, a game that combines a detective mystery visual novel with Picross puzzles is an easy winner.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/4/8/AAA-H0AADXWA.jpg

Murder By Numbers is the story of the improbably named Honor Mizrahi, a TV show detective turned unwitting real life detective after she discovers a 90's-era computer-robot named Scout who's trying to recover his lost memories after an accident. Shenanigans ensue as you do Picross puzzles to find sloppily placed murder evidence and gradually uncover, I don't know, some kind of conspiracy involving a comically evil organization and an abusive ex-husband? There's some light mystery solving and a lot of presenting evidence in peoples' faces Phoenix Wright-style, but it's mostly Picross with some visual novelly bits.

Now, Murder By Numbers is not Ace Attorney, so it's best to drop that notion as quickly as you can. The Ace Attorney inspiration is quite obvious in the game's writing, character design, and gameplay, but it's completely lacking Ace Attorney's subtlely layered intrigue, clever mysteries, and perfectly executed plot twists. None of that's here - it's a basic, silly whodunnit with precious little finesse or guile behind it. But again, anything that Murder By Numbers has beyond a bunch of Picross puzzles is basically gravy to me - and it transplants just enough of Ace Attorney's heart and charm to win me over. Just enough!

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/4/9/AAA-H0AADXWB.jpg

As I said, there's really nothing to be said about this game's murder mysteries or it's overarching plot - they're as generic as it gets. But I was surprised by how much I was won over by the game's primary cast - Honor and Scout have a lot of chemistry together and while it takes a little bit of time, it develops them to the point that I found myself pretty attached to them by the end of the game, and the secondary cast, mainly Honor's gay-campy friend KC and the low-key MVP in the ornery Detective Cross, are also pretty likeable. The writing's kind of all over the place - at times, it feels a bit too juvenile to be taken seriously, but it does occasionally find its footing and becomes pretty charming and funny. And it's refreshing how freely and frankly it discusses LGBT-related issues, stuff other games wouldn't go anywhere near, and does so with a defter touch than I'm used to - the entire third chapter is devoted to a murder at a drag bar and it's clear that the lead writer is someone who's really into drag culture and wants to treat it respectfully, which is a relief compared to the usual portrayals.

There's not a lot more to say - the characters are very well drawn, and the music's alright though I wish there was a larger selection of it in the puzzles. The Picross parts, well, they're Picross - I would have liked to see a gimmick or two there like the 3DS games, but I can hope for more gimmmicks in the probable sequel. At the end of the day, it's Picross, and I love Picross, and it's got a silly, fun story to read in the middle of it that made me really like the main protagonists by the end of it, and that's enough to earn my attention.

Next up: This game got a lot of recommendations sent my way, because it combines two genres I'm well-known for liking.