Curious Cases
- April 4, 2019
- OnSkull Games
- 2h median play time
Get on Steam"Curious Cases" is a narrative-driven detective game where players solve mysteries by examining crime scenes, gathering evidence, and interviewing suspects. With a variety of cases to investigate, players must use their observational skills and wits to unravel each case and catch the culprit. The game features a unique art style and immersive storytelling that will keep players engaged and guessing until the very end.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 4
Windows
Xbox One
PlayStation
Xbox
Reviews
- The puzzles are engaging and provide a good challenge, especially in co-op mode.
- The graphics and atmosphere are well-designed, enhancing the overall experience.
- Playing with friends adds to the enjoyment, making it a fun social activity.
- The game is plagued with bugs and glitches that can hinder gameplay, such as items disappearing or not registering correctly.
- The story lacks coherence, especially in the final chapter, which feels disconnected from the rest of the game.
- Controls are clunky and not well-optimized for VR, making navigation and interaction frustrating.
- story52 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The story in the game is generally criticized for its incoherence and lack of depth, with many players feeling that it starts strong but deteriorates significantly by the final chapter. While some appreciate the initial intrigue and atmosphere, others note that the narrative lacks clarity and fails to provide a meaningful context for the gameplay. Overall, the story is seen as a weak point, with many players expressing disappointment in its execution and resolution.
“The one thing that I was delighted to see in Curious Cases is the inclusion of an interesting story with high-quality voice acting.”
“The graphics and story are awesome and the game is very immersive.”
“I enjoy the storyline, good graphics, and pleasant quality audio.”
“The story is a welcome addition, but the final chapter feels so completely removed from everything else that I may as well have been playing a completely different game.”
“There is no story, so you don't know why you are there, who locked you in, or what your purpose is.”
“A few complaints: the aforementioned story, which starts out as a relatively engaging mystery, takes a weird turn in the third act, and not in a way that's fresh or exciting.”
- gameplay44 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
Gameplay reviews are mixed, with some players praising the unique puzzles and solid mechanics, particularly in VR, while others criticize clunky controls, poor optimization, and a lack of engaging mechanics. Many found the gameplay enjoyable despite its short length, but frustrations with imprecise mechanics and a weak story detracted from the overall experience. Overall, while there are highlights in puzzle design and atmosphere, significant issues with gameplay consistency and control hinder the game's potential.
“The variety of puzzles and mechanics are unique and different from any other games.”
“The gameplay is first person and it's always cool when you manage to put 2 and 2 together and deduce a new hint for a puzzle, their previous games had some puzzles that felt kind of 'off' at times, but this one's managed to nail that part pretty well, giving you just about enough hints to not fall prey to desperation.”
“Excellent gameplay and very atmospheric.”
“No interesting mechanics, no clever object combinations.”
“Problematic control mechanics and cameras.”
“Dislikes: the game mechanics were clunky and didn't feel natural.”
- graphics32 mentions
- 69 % positive mentions
- 22 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the well-designed environments and attention to detail, while others criticize the lack of aesthetic coherence across different rooms and describe the visuals as mediocre or generic. Overall, many players find the graphics serviceable and enjoyable, complementing the immersive atmosphere and engaging puzzles, though some note that basic design flaws detract from the overall visual experience.
“I enjoy the storyline, good graphics, and pleasant quality audio.”
“The graphics are good, the environments are well-designed, and the puzzles are interesting and mostly fair.”
“Graphics are very good and attention to detail is excellent.”
“The three rooms lack aesthetic coherence and don't seem to be connected to one another.”
“Mediocre, generic visuals with no personality at all.”
“You play in three rooms with completely different aesthetics that don't seem to be connected to one another.”
- atmosphere16 mentions
- 88 % positive mentions
- 13 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and visually stunning qualities, enhanced by excellent graphics and sound design. While many players appreciate the overall ambiance and the integration of gameplay mechanics, some note that the story and puzzle elements could be improved. Overall, the atmosphere significantly contributes to the game's appeal, making it a standout feature despite some shortcomings in other areas.
“The atmosphere is wonderful.”
“Visually stunning, atmospheric and instantly immersive!”
“Very good atmosphere, graphics and sound and a nice hint system that you will probably need to use at some moment.”
- stability14 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs, including items not spawning, frequent glitches, and synchronization issues in multiplayer. While some players find enjoyment in the VR experience, the overall optimization is deemed poor, leading to frustrating gameplay that often requires restarting due to crashes and unresponsive mechanics.
“Way too buggy, Illusion is just a mess with items randomly not spawning. After replaying for the 5th time only to have yet another key not spawn where it should, I just gave up playing any more of these games from this developer.”
“Like other games from Onskull, the multiplayer has a lot of glitches. For example, crucial items go missing because two players tried to take them, and sometimes players go out of sync with items and see a 'different world'. It's very weird.”
“There isn't a 'game' as much as it is struggling to try to get your character to pick up objects and then starting over when the game inevitably freezes.”
- music10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The music in the game is praised for its quality and atmospheric contribution, enhancing the overall experience alongside the visuals and puzzles. However, some players found a specific music puzzle challenging, particularly due to differences in musical notation understanding, which may be influenced by regional conventions. Overall, the music is well-received, though it presents a learning curve for some players.
“Visuals, music, and puzzles are awesome.”
“Music and atmosphere were very well done; the graphics are good, and the puzzles are a range of challenging depending on how many escape room-like activities you have done, you will have a good understanding of the layout.”
“The difficulty definitely ramps up as you move from chapter to chapter, but outside of one puzzle, all the solutions are right there for you to figure out.”
“For anyone in the US having trouble with the music puzzle, the developer seems to be in a country that uses commas as a decimal separator.”
“Was good, but it seemed like an occasion arose where you had to understand how to read music.”
“The difficulty definitely ramps up as you move from chapter to chapter, but outside of one puzzle (because I can't read music worth a lick), all the solutions are right there for you to figure out.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant optimization issues, including poor performance, buggy gameplay, and inadequate support for Oculus controllers. Additionally, character modeling is subpar, and the overall experience is marred by weak puzzles and excessive interactive clutter, although it can still provide a brief, enjoyable co-op experience.
“The story is predictable, no optimization for Oculus controllers, the game is very badly optimized overall, very buggy (not game breaking) but it's a nice way of spending 3 hours with a friend doing an online co-op game.”
“No story integrity at all, weak and absurd puzzles, hint mechanism is really bad, low gameplay time, poor optimization and character modeling, too much junk to interact.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game offers limited replayability, typically providing only a couple of hours of gameplay, particularly for fans of room escape games. Reviewers consistently note that there is little incentive to revisit the experience, a common critique across all of Onskull's titles.
“If you're into room escape games, it's fine, but don't expect more than a couple of hours out of it, since there's no replay value (a constant throughout all of Onskull's games).”
“If you're into room escape games, it's fine, but don't expect more than a couple of hours out of it, since there's no replay value (a constant throughout all of Onskull's games).”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is noted for its humor, particularly shining in cooperative play, where players find it to be both entertaining and amusing despite its brevity.
“A short but funny game, especially in co-op.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be more enjoyable when played with friends, as it can become tedious or frustrating when tackled solo.
