Time for another round of video game recommends! This is actually the theme I planned to start with, but I did the co-op duos for Valentine’s Day instead. Here are a few of my favorite games that contain mystery and/or suspense.
Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS)
Sypnosis: Professor Layton and Luke are summoned to St. Mystere to solve the mystery of the Golden Apple. Anyone who solves it will inherit Baron Reinhold’s fortune, except no one has been able to so far. However, shortly after they arrive, more mysterious things happen like a murder and kidnapping, and there are strange noises coming from the large tower in town.
My thoughts: I love puzzle games, so I’m a big fan of the Professor Layton series. The very first game (this one) remains my favorite of them so far, but the rest are also worth checking out if you enjoy this type of thing. Though it’s kind of in visual novel form, all of these games are still heavily puzzle games – with brain teasers, logic puzzles, sliding puzzles, etc. What sets the Layton games apart from other puzzle games is that there is actually an interesting story with likable characters.
9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors (aka 999 – DS)
Sypnosis: You play as Junpei, who wakes up in an unknown room with the memory of being drugged. After escaping the room, you run into 8 others who are in the same situation. You find that you’ve all been captured by “Zero”, who is forcing you to play the “Nonary Game” on a sinking ship. Oh, and you also have a bomb inside your body that will detonate if you break the rules of the game. You have 9 hours to escape.
My thoughts: 999 is one of my favorite visual novels, and its sequel (Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward) is worth checking out too. A visual novel is kind of how it sounds. The game’s storytelling is in written form, with images and game sprites to accompany it. The gameplay of visual novels vary, but for 999, it’s mainly decision making and puzzle solving.
999 has 6 endings, only one of which is the “right”/good ending. It’s the type of game that encourages multiple play-throughs. Even after my first one… I still felt clueless! Rather than having my questions answered, I was faced with even more questions, and I was motivated to play again to uncover more information. How are we all related? Who is Zero? Why are we here???
Heavy Rain (PS3)
Sypnosis: Heavy Rain covers the case of the Origami Killer – a serial killer who has been kidnapping young boys, drowning them in rain water, and then dumping their body in a wasteland. He places an orchid on their chests and an origami figure in their hands. You alternate between 4 characters, who are all connected to the case in some way.
My thoughts: Heavy Rain plays like an interactive movie, and it works well because the music and the way scenes come together… it really feels like you’re watching a movie. It made me really get into it, and there were several moments that put me on the edge of my seat. I was addicted to finding the killer. Though you can walk around and explore sometimes, most of the action parts are done through quick-time events. It pops up a button, and you have to push the right one within a short time frame. Missing it causes you to fail the action.
It’s nice that you switch between 4 characters, each with their own view of the story. What I find interesting is that there is no “game over, try again”. If you kill one of the four characters, it just goes on with that as the story. This means that there are multiple ways your story can go with different endings as well.
Next time I hope to cover co-op games again since that went well last time! I will try to list ones that are great as both single player and multiplayer games 🙂
You really own every game there is O_o do you keep track of how many you own? Lol. Professor Layton sounds kind of like Luigi’s Mansion New Moon that I have started but didn’t get to continue because of Pokemon. 999 sounds like Majora’s Mask in terms of anxiety.
I find Heavy Rain pretty interesting based on your short review of it and am going to add it to the list if and when I get a Playstation! 😀
I’ve been working on something to keep track of our games, so I don’t have an exact count, but I’m pretty sure we own 200+ games XD;;
I’ve always wanted to try Professor Layton but I’m afraid I’m terrible at puzzle games, still I bet the stories in them are so great!
Also, I love Heavy Rain, it’s so intense. I had to stop playing it for awhile because it really shook me up, but luckily I finished it. Reminds me of The Walking Dead game just when it gets intense like that. Yay! I always need new games to play with my husband. We are playing Dead Space 3 after finishing Borderlands 2 together. Great game honestly. Probably my favorite shooter and all around fun.
I still need to play Heavy Rain, but for some reason, I do not find myself going near my PS3 ~_~; I think if this were a handheld game, I’d have played it already! Oiiii.
But oh, seeing 999 makes me want to replay it. I still love the whole Titanic angle XD
I’ve played a Professor Layton game, but I’ve wanted to for ages. I just started playing Fire Emblem though, so I promised myself I wouldn’t buy another DS game until I’d finished that one! I will get one though!
I loved Heavy Rain. I watched a friend play through it, and now I have a PS3 it’s a game I’ll get myself for sure! I thought it was well ahead of it’s time when it came out!
I like how you recommend games that are not totally “main stream” because it opens doors to other games that’s usually not advertised as big as Halo/Call of Duty/Left 4 Dead.
Professor Layton looks like a cute game, I looked at its gameplay and it kind of reminds me of the old Final Fantasy games. And it’s a plus too since it actually makes you think carefully to figure things out.
It’s interesting that 999 has 6 endings because it’s one of the 9’s flipped around. I’m not sure if that’s supposed to be the point but yeah :o. With a game that encourages people to finish through it more than once, it’s a keeper because when people finish a storyline once, it’s usually the end of it unless it’s really good and makes people want to repeat it to try out different things. Like for AC, I’m not sure if people want to repeat the whole game over again but for sure, they’d want to repeat a mission to get all of the requirements.
Having a game that’s flexible with its ending sounds nice too, especially for people who “don’t like following the rules” XD.
Hope you’re doing well!
Do you have a picture of your video game collection? You sound so well versed in the gaming world, it’s incredible. I can’t do that. I guess my fortes are elsewhere.
I do like the sound of the Professor Layton game but unfortunately, I don’t play my DS anymore. It’s one of the old bulky ones and well, with my iPhone to amuse me, I kind of dropped console games. The only ones I play these days are multi-player ones at family parties.
I have professor Layton, but I haven’t finished playing it. I love the concept and character designs. I really wish I could get myself playing games again. I’m still finishing Ni no Kuni, and I’ve had it since last year. lol. 999 seems like an interesting puzzle visual novel game. I love visual novels even the otome ones. haha. I think I will check this game out. 😀
999! YEEESSS! On my first play, I locked myself into the submarine ending, because I thought it’d be a good idea to stay with ‘her’. BAAAD MOVE! I must shamelessly admit that I couldn’t sleep for a few nights due to 999’s rich narration, meticulous sound engineering, and just the overall plot. I had to continue playing until I got to that conclusive end. It was all worth it, I cried out tears of joy and relief once I reached the true ending. So yes, I second your recommendation. 😀
Did you finish the sequel? I didn’t want to spoil the ending. I will say that there has been a discussion to create a sequel to that. I just hope it’s still compatible with 3DS. xD
I did finish Virtue’s Last Reward! Unfortunately, a sequel to that is in bad shape and might not happen 🙁
http://www.gametrailers.com/news-post/69620/the-sequel-to-999-virtues-last-reward-is-facing-funding-issues