Root Film
- July 30, 2020
- Kadokawa Games
Root Film features a great mystery filled story with plenty of twists but some poor exploration and a few predictable mysteries hold it back.
Root Film is the successor to Root Letter. Masterful storytelling meets a multitude of interactive elements in the new game from Kadokawa Games.
Nintendo Switch
Playstation 4
PlayStation
Reviews
- Engaging and intricate murder mystery plot with plenty of twists and a satisfying ending.
- Beautiful anime-style art and rich settings enhance the overall experience.
- Charming characters and good voice acting bring the story to life.
- Hefty price tag may deter some players, especially for a visual novel.
- Some mechanics are overly simple and exploration can feel lacking.
- A few predictable story elements and typos can detract from the experience.
- story7 mentions
- 71 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 29 % negative mentions
The story in the game is characterized by a solid murder mystery plot filled with intriguing twists and charming characters, enhanced by excellent Japanese voice acting. While the rich settings and engaging narrative elements are praised, some players note issues with predictability and exploration, as well as minor typos. Overall, the storytelling is enjoyable, despite some shortcomings.
“Solid murder mystery plot, good voice acting, rich settings to explore, and fun characters bring the story to life.”
“Beautiful art style, intriguing story with lots of mysteries to investigate, and charming characters with full Japanese voice acting.”
“Fully voice acted in Japanese, good story with a unique theme.”
“Root film features a great mystery-filled story with plenty of twists, but some poor exploration and a few predictable mysteries hold it back.”
“Some of the early story twists are a bit obvious, and there are a handful of typos throughout.”
- graphics2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The graphics are praised for their beautiful art style and visual appeal, contributing to an intriguing story filled with mysteries. The charming characters, enhanced by full Japanese voice acting, further enrich the overall aesthetic experience.
“Visually interesting with a beautiful art style.”
“Beautiful art style, intriguing story with lots of mysteries to investigate.”
“Charming characters with full Japanese voice acting.”
- gameplay1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The gameplay has been criticized for relying on tell-don't-show solutions, which detracts from immersion, and for featuring mechanics that are considered overly simplistic, limiting depth and engagement.
“Some tell-don't-show solutions make the gameplay feel unengaging.”
“The mechanics are too simple, lacking depth and challenge.”
“The gameplay feels repetitive and fails to introduce new elements.”
Critic Reviews
Root Film is Filled With Lovely Locations & Weak Mysteries
Root Film is a thrilling adventure game with visual novel elements. Follow Rintaro Yagumo as he is selected to be the director for the rebooted "Shimane Mystery Drama Project”, a TV series which was cancelled for an unknown reason 10 years ago. His excitement for this amazing opportunity is quickly curbed when a horrible murder interrupts their location scouting process. Switch version reviewed.
50%Root Film Review
Root Film builds off of what its predecessor did well while managing to feel very distinct and more grown-up than Root Letter. The Switch version’s portability makes it much easier to get those hours in than the PS4 version, but those who weren’t fans of Root Letter or who are on the fence might want to wait until a sale or pick up the digital version of the game. For fans of murder mysteries, there are plenty of cases to get stuck into and rich locations to explore. We think it is worth the full price but can’t blame people for being put off by the hefty price tag.
70%Root Film Review
Root Film features a great mystery filled story with plenty of twists but some poor exploration and a few predictable mysteries hold it back.
85%
