Night Call

super chill game, in my opinion. i was a bit confused at first as to how to find the killer through investigating, but honestly i didnt pay much attention to what i was supposed to be doing. once i figured it out it was very nice. after finishing one story i enjoyed just driving around picking up people and talking to them. i love how everyone is so human. good game, i'd give it 8/10

Night Call is mainly a detective themed game with dialogue, visual novel and noir aspects. I'd say that this game, unfortunately, fails to offer what you expect from a detective game as to gameplay, even though it has a very nice noir atmosphere. There are 3 serial killer case scenarios in the game and you try to collect information to find the killer as a taxi driver. You basically chose clients by using your navigator and try to get any kind of information from them about the killer. At the end of every working night, you will have the clues you have collected and suspects in your board when you return home. You see which clues are connected to which suspects and you decide which suspect is the killer at the end of the 6th night. You also work with the police and several underground sources to get information about the killer, and you can also get information from the newspapers you can buy in gas stations. You need to manage your income as a driver and your time as an investigator. Poor money and time management might get you fired and miss some information. But even though all these aspects of the game are nice in idea, the game fails to give you the detective experience you expect from all of these aspects. The main problem is you almost never need to make smart choices in order to get information. Almost all information comes automatically after a scripted dialogue, and police also provide many information for you automatically. So the game doesn't offer any actual challenge when it comes to detective work. There are technically 3 different murder cases but their beginning parts and main scenarios are actually the same and only the name of the murderer is different. The game isn't replayable for this reason. Although there are many different characters and dialogues, you start to see same characters and listen to same dialogues after some time and it becomes boring. I can't say that Night Call is a terrible game. The idea behind the game and the atmosphere is pretty good, but it turns out to be a disappointment as the main aspect of the game, the investigation aspect, isn't decent compared to really nice visual art and general idea. I tried to like this game as a fan of detective and noir genres, but it is sad to see that it is a wasted potential.

I ADORE this game! The story, the characters, the converstations, the atmosphere, it's so.. cozy? The hours flew by and I was sad it had to end. But I saw there were different modes/difficulties, and I only met a fraction of the characters, so I'll definitely play again. I have a feeling I'll play through it multiple times in the future. I do wish there were voice acting, it would really make the characters come to life. Maybe for a sequel? Please, more people need to play this game so the taxi driver can continue his journey!

If you're looking for a neo-noir detective game then continue your search elsewhere. If you're looking for an atmospheric visual novel where you get to hear people from all different walks of life open up on their hopes and fears, then it might be for you. Despite the marketing, Night Call is hardly a mystery game. The actual mystery element feels tacked on and if it was removed you'd hardly notice a difference. The actual draw of the game for me was being able to act as a confidant to the taxi passengers, which felt very grounded and fitting for the mood of the game. 6/10