Psychological horror games – any horror fan is all too familiar with the breakdown of a main protagonist, haunted by their past with no simple escape. Tokyo Dark: Remembrance does a fantastic job of portraying this disintegration of Detective Itō’s psyche throughout the horrors she’s living in her everyday life.
PLOT
Detective Itō’s partner, Detective Kazuki, has gone mysteriously missing. Determined to find Kazuki, Detective Itō is brought face-to-face with horrors from her past. Fighting every obstacle she finds in her path, Itō’s mental state is progressively getting worse and worse, leading to having to take pills daily to combat her descent into madness.
Tokyo Dark tackles a lot of true adult themes, earning its Mature rating. From an illegal underground, hostess cat-themed clubs, and outbursts of demonic violence, this game definitely hits the dark themes in Tokyo. Flowing seamlessly in between horror and mystery, the storyline keeps you captivated throughout the entire game.
GAMEPLAY
Tokyo Dark: Remembrance is a point-and-click horror game blended with a visual novel, very text-driven and focused more on the intriguing storyline than on the gameplay aspect itself. You, the player, decide everything Detective Itō does, but beware: Each and every decision you make not only decides which of the 13 endings you will reach, it also effects Itō’s sanity levels.
One of the best and most critical features is the S.P.I.N. (Sanity, Professionalism, Investigation, Neurosis) system. Every decision made effects one of these rankings – say you need to level with another character, so you decide to take a drink to even the field. Your investigation point might increase, but your professionalism will decrease since you’re drinking on the job. Take your daily pill and your investigation point will decrease, but your sanity raises.
Every choice is yours to make, but you must deal with the consequences, as the autosave feature forbids you from going back and changing your decision.
PROS
The graphics and artwork throughout this game is gorgeous. Bold lines and bright colors fill in the anime style, giving a beautiful contrast to the darker, eerie backgrounds you find throughout the investigation.
Some point-and-click games don’t translate well to consoles, but not Tokyo Dark. The controls are easy to use, making this game an excellent choice for casual gamers.
The puzzles aren’t terribly difficult, per se, but knowing that your choices can have dire consequences really makes you contemplate how you’ll go about solving problems. Would you rather try to sneak around and violently knock someone out to get to where you need to go, or would you rather pull a fire alarm to cause everyone else to leave? There’s never just one solution to a problem, and figuring them out can be a blast.
CONS
While this is a wonderful game, it can’t always be absolutely perfect!
The graphics and storytelling are so well done, this game does make me miss the voice acting. It felt like that was missing, rather than intentionally done, making me feel like I was watching a great movie without dialogue.
Along with that same point, this game walks a thin line between point-and-click and visual novel. More in-depth puzzles would’ve solved this issue, keeping you actively searching the entire time.
VERDICT
Overall, Tokyo Dark: Remembrance is an excellent game. For a $19.99 price point on the Nintendo Switch, it’s a fun game that’s worth its value. If you enjoy mystery games with horrifying themes, this is a game for you!
SCORE: 8 out of 10
