Methods: The Detective Competition Review

There Are New Sherlocks in Town!

As a fan of detective fiction, Methods: Detective Competition has been my favorite game to review. This visual novel is developed by LockedOn who is a solo developer and animator and the mastermind behind this game. Methods works more as a visual novel, and the player’s job is to stay tuned with the narrative and read your way through every mystery.

One might think that the scope of a visual novel is very limited, as far as the gameplay is concerned. Methods is a simple crime investigation game which allows players/readers to examine evidence and answer multiple-choice questions regarding the solution.

There are some clues where you are expected to click and explore them in details. This allows for a minute inspection of the crime scene and makes for a good change in the gameplay. As you are exploring and examining the clues, it also gives players a break from having to read the dialogues and narration.

However, that is not to say that the reading part of this visual novel is boring. There are a number of characters, with impressionable personalities that leave their mark on you. The POV changes every couple of chapters, this keeps the focus and tone of the narration fresh. There are a lot of subplots within the main plot. This makes Methods interesting to read. There is a lot more going on outside solving the cases.

What’s So Special About This One?

Usually, when you are exploring a mobile game that involves players solving cases, you expect there to be a certain level of upgraded narrative. There are many games with integrated gameplay that make players receive calls, explore clues through various other media. You have to study a room. You also expect to receive calls and talk to hostages and victims and build a case by yourself. But none of this is required with Methods. Chiefly, the game involves plain reading and solving the case. As a result, it invokes the old school reading of detective fiction that is familiar to many readers. Methods makes you actually stop and wonder what happened after you look a crime scene. Now that’s some strong storytelling.

LockedOn has solely done the animation on this game and honestly, I am digging the unconventional aspects of the character designs. Methods graphics are not your cookie clutter graphics that are common in many games, and I think that works in its favour.

What’s the Story, Poirot?

Without giving any spoilers, the story of Methods explores the unravelling of a detective competition. Now, for me, that was a first. The game employs a witty first-person narrative which is easy to read. Each stage, criminals will construct a crime scene and then the detectives will solve it. The criminals are excluded in case the case is solved. In case the case remains unsolved, the detectives are out of the competition. This goes on until the final pair remains, who face off in the final stage.

The stakes are high because in the end, if the criminal won, he/she/they will walk out free with parole and a million dollars. The detective, if won, will win a million dollar too.

The competition is set in a locked building. Interestingly, each floor has its own waiting room. This waiting room is privy to many expository discussions about the competition.  The winners assemble after every round and discuss the case in detail. Additionally, there are also chapters which are dedicated to the behind the scenes of the working of the competition. These features the game designers. All of these interactions provide an interesting plot and makes the story very engrossing. It’s not simply about solving the case, there are other things happening as well. The criminals, called Masterminds, have a team of their own, just like the detectives.

The best part about Methods: Detective Competition is that the wrong answers are ignored, so even though you are not able to solve the mystery, you still have a chance to choose a different option. The story will continue to go forward, no matter what!

The game does poke a lot of fun on clichés and stereotypes about detectives set by generations of detective fiction. The narrative is chuckle worthy and punny. The narrative is about just to solve cases. There are multiple tangents to it. The plot features amazing characters who want different things within the same game.

So, Everything Is Awesome?

Well. Not really. I didn’t really like the chapters around the game makers. It felt like a filler within the narrative and honestly felt dragged. But I understand that these were needed to give better context to the environment of the competition. It also helps to familiarize the readers with the inner-workings of the competition.