Murders on the Yangtze River

You can feel the love for all the inspirations they had. The Story is very well, has enough twists and turns to be surprising but not to much to end ine the M. Night Shyamalan zone. The graphics are lovely and the music is fitting the tone of the game very well. A Large part of the story touches on some deep themes here: the Opium War, influence by the Western powers, etc. But it was never too much too handle for me as a European with limited knowledge of all those themes. The English localisation is not great, but it's not too bad- it was enough to get the point across. If you like detective games and/or a Chinese themed mystery adventure ... please go for it

Had really fun with the gameplay and it felt like the mysteries were designed in a way, where I actually was able to get to the solution on my own and feeling like an absolute genius. I love that characters speak in chinese when you are in china and english, when the story asks for it. Just added a really nice touch. Also, you get to unlock facts about detective work along the way, that also give you some extra information of the procedure and also call out when the team decided to bend the rules a bit for the story. Same with the historic information you are able to find throughout the game. The overarching story surprised me because I thought I knew where it was going, but I didn't. There were some tropes present that made me believe I could call a twist, but alas, I couldn't. (Which doesn't mean no one can) Not in a bad way though, because the clues are all there to piece it together along the way, so the true reveal was nice to figure out. I hope the DLC gets an english translation down the line, would love to play it :)

In short, it is a fairly good ace attorney-like game that distinguishes itself for its realistic setting in early 20th century China. I enjoyed my time through the cases and I appreciated that there was an in-game help option if you got stuck somewhere, which happened to me rarely, though figuring out the how of case 3 and 5 did indeed require me to use it. That said, while the cases itself are good, the actual gameplay is pretty much the exact same as Ace Attorney and I felt like it didn't add much if anything that was truly new, and while the characters were likable, they overall had less charm than the ace attorney main characters, in my opinion. The main draw is the mystery around what happened to MC's brother, which overall IS an amazing case. However, the rest of the writing and particularly the characterization does not match up to how good the mystery is. Also, I unfortunately have to deduct some points for the ending of the final case. it is *the exact same* ending and method of resolution as the one from The Great Ace Attorney 2, which came out 6-7 years prior to this one. It was a very blatant direct copy/stealing of ideas from the writers of that game that I cannot overlook. Overall, while the quality is less than that of the ace attorney games, what brings it back up is the lower price and the bits of realism such as the newspaper clippings from what I assume is actual China and the setting. Overall rating (for the price): 7.0/10. It is a fairly good Ace Attorney game. And while it doesn't do anything new, it is an enjoyable game for fans of the genre. I would have rated it higher if the ending wasn't stolen from The Great Ace Attorney 2, written 6-7 years prior to this one.

If you liked the Ace Attorney Games, and especially if you happened to enjoy the Great Ace Attorney Chronicles in particular, then this game is probably one you'll enjoy quite a lot. Murders on the Yangtze River is definitely a good game for scratching the Ace Attorney itch, and it's actually quite accessible even if you struggle a bit with picking out the correct evidence or anything along those lines like in the base Ace Attorney games where you might get stuck for a good while trying to figure out the contradiction with its hint system. You basically can get a free basic hint if you're struggling to put together what you should be looking for, and if all else fails, an option to see the answer itself after that just to save getting stuck in place for ages. Which is just a nice thing to have. Combine that with the usual Ace Attorney formula of mystery, an overarching narrative that ties together by the end like the Ace Attorney Chronicles, and surprisingly a good few fairly well animated CG's and a really good soundtrack, and this game absolutely fits the Ace Attorney niche that many folks might be looking to fill the gap for until the next game gets released. 100% recommend giving it a shot.

This has pretty much everything I want from a deduction game. Puzzles that are difficult and yet not so much that I can't figure it out while still feeling smart. A great story with tie ins to real history that make me appreciate the setting. Great twists. I just wish that the last chapter was translated to english which I'm hoping is in the plans. I loved the setting especially because it was unfamiliar by being Chinese while adding elements i am very familiar with as someone who loves the genre and thus knows a lot about Sherlock Holmes and the usual deduction vocabulary used. Overall, highly recommend!

Wow, this game had me gripped and locked in from the first story. This plays similarly to a Pheonix Wright game, only there's more freedom of movement and discovery. LOTS of deductive reasoning, and the game gives you the ability to rely on hints as needed. I didn't use any, and it took LOTS of effort. Extremely satisfying experience, and I can't recommend this game enough! If you're a fan of the murder mystery genre, what are you waiting for?!? I put 21 hours in over the course of 3 days. I could barely peel myself away. Can't wait to try the DLC!

A very nice ace attorney-esque game with a strong historical basis, what's not to love

This is pretty much a spirtual succeessor to the Ace Attorney series, capturing everything that made it so beloved: relatable characters, interesting murder mysteries and a great interconnected story. As a cherry on top it's a bit more mature, there's less comedy relief and barely any dumb jokes. And most important - the translation feels very good, which is super important in such a text heavy game. There's also a lot of contextual information which helps understand the setting for players not familiar with the history and evolution of the Chinese justice system during the period in which the game is roughly set in. I totally recommend it for anyone craving that crime mystery fix.

I don't normally play detective games. Often, they have rigid and choppy flows that get annoying for me. In contrast, Murders on the Yangtze River was smooth-running, charming, and flexible. It started out too easy and gradually gave me some decent challenges. The story is very compelling and the context is real (and sad). The game is enhanced with interesting historical trivia. Overall, I enjoyed this game and have no complaints. I would like to see more games from this publisher in a similar style.

the puzzle solving is nice, great graphic, no bug so far for the first 3 chapter, I enjoy the game definitely worth the price.

I really enjoyed this game and it was clear that a lot of love went into it! I'm impressed by the historical knowledge drops as well as so much different character art / outfits / settings. The biggest overarching mystery that we get to solve in the end is definitely the best part of the game. The game is upfront about its Ace Attorney influence, and that's definitely part of what drew me, but I do wish that the music was a bit more original rather than clearly being based on AA. My favorite music in this game is honestly probably the one that is completely unrelated to AA, and that's the music that plays during the title screen and certain scenes in the story. The game is not quite as addictive or compelling as AA but still stands solidly on its own. I like that the game has a hint system that doesn't (as far as I can tell) punish you-- though I only glanced at perhaps three of them and never unveiled the full answer. That said, sometimes the hints were a little too obtuse / felt like they were made obtuse through translation that was less than ideal in quality. There are English mistakes, but overall the game is very understandable. I really liked that there were voice actors in both Chinese and English and even bilingual speakers whose accents varied accordingly to how fluent their speakers should be in the other language from experience. The more intricate murder setups were fun to figure out as well. I also appreciated that multiple times, essential clues were incorporated into [spoiler]character sprites[/spoiler]; that really felt well done. I really like that the game is anti-opium, as opioid drugs are still a real problem even in modern times. I hope there will be a sequel!

I wasn't expecting much seeing images and videos of the game, but after completion I can say that I am seriously impressed. The story and cases are very well crafted, the art style is gorgeous, and the music amazing. The voice acting and historical annotations are a very welcome addition. Highly recommended!

Very fun, super compelling storyline

really well thought out mysteries

Highly recommend this game!

wish there was a second game

Fun.

Amazing game!

great story

Endorsed.