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Danganronpa meets Clue on steroids - Process of Elimination Quick Review

1K View2023-04-11

PLAY IT OR SKIP IT?

Play it if you like visual novels, but skip it if you’re not a fan of the genre. Process of Elimination does have gameplay, but it’s an extremely text-heavy game, and you’ll spend most of your time reading. It’s a great title to curl up with if you’re in the mood for a good mystery. The story is a little outlandish, but if you don’t mind that, you’ll find an intriguing plot filled with twists and turns.

TIME PLAYED

I’ve spent around eleven hours with Process of Elimination, and I still feel like I’ve only scratched the surface of its story. So far, I’ve completed three investigations, finished the first three chapters, and am partway through chapter four. I’ve found a few leads, but I’m not even close to uncovering the mystery at the heart of the story, and I suspect it’ll keep me busy for much longer.

WHAT’S AWESOME

• Fun premise. It’s normal for a mystery to feature a detective, but in Process of Elimination, everyone is an investigator! All of the game’s characters are a part of the Detective Alliance, a massive detective organization. A killer known only as the Quartering Duke has been claiming one victim after another, and a group of sleuths has assembled to crack the case. Unfortunately, this gathering has made the detectives a prime target for the Duke. They’ll have to survive attacks and investigate murders to get to the bottom of this mystery. Usually, mystery games are filled with characters that can’t keep up with the basics of the case. It was a blast to watch a bunch of super-sleuths bouncing ideas off each other.

• Unusual gameplay. While Process of Elimination is clearly inspired by Danganronpa, its gameplay feels truly unique. Crime scene investigations take place on a grid, and detectives can be moved around like game pieces. Every character is a master investigator, but they all have their own strengths and weaknesses. The Renegade Detective can move quickly across the map, making it easy for him to check out points of interest. Another detective, Techie, has limited movement, but can expertly analyze the evidence other detectives find. The whole thing feels like Clue on steroids, and it’s a great way to investigate complex murder cases.

• Solid voice acting. While Process of Elimination isn’t dubbed, it is fully voiced, which makes the story much more immersive. A huge chunk of this game is just characters talking, but the voices make the dialogue feel much more dynamic. There’s not a weak voice in the bunch, but my personal favorite is the Armor Detective, who sounds like he’s a character in an old historical drama.

WHAT SUCKS

• Slow start. It took me around two hours to get to the first investigation level, and I played for hours more before I reached the second. Not only does it take a long time to reach the first gameplay segments, but the early portions of the story move at a glacial pace. I don’t mind a slow burn, but the first hour wastes a ton of time on lengthy character introductions. Things pick up in the second chapter, but the mystery didn’t really get its hooks in me until then.

• Failure is frustrating. Investigations are timed, and if you make a mistake or don’t finish the investigation before the clock runs down, it’s game over, and the entire investigation starts over from the beginning. Reinvestigating evidence I’d already analyzed was extremely tedious. I don’t mind investigations having a time limit, but I wish that I could have just rewinded and gone back a few turns when I screwed something up.

• Flawed game design. Characters may discover traps during investigations, and if a character is standing on a trap when a round of investigations ends, it’s game over. Traps are clearly marked, so it’s easy to avoid them, but characters you don’t control can walk straight into traps if they’re not disabled. During one investigation, a character on the opposite of the map repeatedly walked into a trap, forcing me to start over. I couldn’t find a way to disable the trap in time, but I eventually realized that the trap wouldn’t show up if I didn’t analyze the evidence that revealed it. I ignored the evidence and cleared the level, but I felt like I’d been punished for doing actual detective work.

💬 Will you be investigating the mysteries of Process of Elimination, or do you want to leave the detective work to someone else? Let us know in the comments!

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