Short story: I wish Steam had a neutral review option. Get this on sale if you just want a simple visual novel, not a truly interactive experience or a deep story.
FULL REVIEW:
Here we are again. After my glowing review of Chicken Police 1, my appreciation for the simple but fun gameplay of Zipp’s Café, and my less-than-positive feedback on Chicken Police 2, we return to Clawville—or at least to its legendary express train—in Moses & Plato: Last Train to Clawville.
THE GOOD
World-building
We don’t stay in Clawville this time. The game shows us new parts of the world, and although it never explores them in much depth—we are mostly limited to stations where the train briefly stops—it is still nice to see how much love went into creating this universe. The lore remains genuinely interesting.
The artwork
The artwork and character designs are beautiful. Nothing more needs to be said.
The voice acting
The voice acting is lovely. The actors give it their all and truly bring the characters to life.
The puzzles
Although some players might dislike them, I enjoyed having to scratch my brain over some of the puzzles, especially since there wasn’t much other gameplay to engage with. There aren’t many of them, though, so don’t expect puzzle-solving to be a main feature of the game.
I also really enjoyed the card game. Sadly, it doesn’t offer enough progression to keep you playing for very long.
THE NOT-SO-GOOD—DARE I EVEN SAY BAD?
The story
Here we go again...
The developer replied to my review of the previous game, explaining that they wanted its ending to feel abrupt and unsatisfying, as such situations often do in real life. With this game, however, I’m not sure what the intention was.
The story is highly predictable, which rather defeats the purpose of a mystery. If you have even a moderately detective-minded brain—and I assume you do if this game interests you—you will probably identify the killer during the first act. It is all so blatantly obvious that it becomes frustrating to watch our protagonists struggle to put everything together.
Which brings me to my next point.
Show, don’t tell
This game repeatedly commits one of storytelling’s greatest sins, which is particularly unfortunate for a title that relies so heavily on its narrative.
We are constantly told that Moses is one of the greatest detectives around, yet he stumbles and fumbles his way through almost everything. Several moments had me sighing because of how absurdly oblivious the characters were.
[spoiler]I understand that first love can blind someone, especially since we are told that Moses has never exactly been a ladies’ man. But come on. This went far beyond believable infatuation.
Then there is the whole “love at first sight” cliché. I genuinely laughed during the supposedly dramatic ending when I was given the option to tell Fánni that I loved her—after spending three days sharing only a handful of brief moments with her. When exactly did this deep relationship develop? Off-screen?[/spoiler]
Nothing we actually see makes Moses look like the brilliant detective he is supposedly meant to be. Part of that problem comes from...
The wasted gameplay mechanics
The game gives us a beautiful Mind Garden to play around in. You can take notes and try to work out the identity of the killer using a proper evidence board complete with red string.
Here’s the problem: you never need to use it.
There is no mechanic tied to it, no puzzle to solve and no conclusion you have to reach yourself. You can ignore it completely without consequence. I imagine the developer might argue that it is supposed to be an optional place for players to brainstorm, but that simply isn’t satisfying gameplay—especially when the mystery itself is already so easy to solve.
The same problem applies to the items you collect. Remember how every item in Chicken Police eventually had a clear and memorable use? That is not the case here. I kept dragging items around, wondering what clever purpose they might serve, only to hear Moses repeatedly tell me that they were of no use.
Two items are exceptions. [spoiler]The box is itself a puzzle, so its purpose is painfully obvious. Fánni’s book, meanwhile, creates an almost Dora the Explorer-like moment: “Where do you think this very obvious item belongs?”—while someone standing in the same room has explicitly asked you to fetch it for her.[/spoiler]
Interrogation, one of the most enjoyable parts of being a detective, is also severely underused. You cannot interrogate everyone, partly because of the “complete three actions before the next key event” structure and partly because, apparently, not every suspect is considered interesting enough to question.
Cool. That seems logical. Everyone is a suspect, but let’s simply choose not to do the thing detectives actually do.
The game’s mechanics never feel fully developed, which brings me to...
The dialogue & Unpolished scenes
Some conversation lines are repeated during the exact same interaction. While talking to the fish lady—yes, the diva will be furious that I have already forgotten her name—I received the exact same answer to two different questions. Not a similar answer: the same response, word for word. It felt as though someone had forgotten to check whether the dialogue was loading correctly.
The dialogue is also often unnatural, rarely funny and, at times, even a little sexist. I understand that sexism exists within this universe, but it is difficult to like the protagonists when they actively participate in it.
On top of this, a lot of dialogue isn't voiced. This wouldn't be so bad if this was just lore dumping or extra but often you need to sit through non-voiced dialogue in order to progress. Why? This just feels lazy. Same with repetitive movement of the characters btw.
Speaking unpolished: [spoiler] it's rather weird that when Fanhi is discovered to be the culprit, you still see her blushing animation like Moses is flirting with her. The conversation is supposed to carry a heavvy mood, yet she's standing there like a school girl with a first crush.[/spoiler]
“Can you solve the case before the train reaches the last station? Or else.”
That is almost literally how the game is advertised on its Steam page.
So let me return the question to the developer: or else what?
Nothing happens if you fail to solve the mystery, because the answer is spoon-fed to you. You cannot make a meaningful mistake. You do not get to decide who you think committed the murder. There are no alternative approaches or outcomes. You are simply meant to cruise along and watch the story unfold.
That could work if the story were compelling enough to carry the entire experience.
Chicken Police had me sitting on the edge of my seat. Zipp’s Café was cosy and filled with genuinely interesting characters. Even though the ending of Chicken Police 2 fell painfully flat, most of the journey was still engaging.
This game, however, had me so bored by the end that I skipped the final conversations with the characters because I simply could not endure any more repetitive dialogue.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I used to genuinely look forward to seeing what The Wild Gentlemen would make next.
Their next game? I might play it—if it is heavily discounted and if I go in with much lower expectations.
Perhaps if they find their love for storytelling back like they showed in the first two games, I might write another glowing review in the future. I really hope so, because I miss those times.
