Chase: Cold Case Investigations - Distant Memories

As a digital game, it offers a good, enjoyable experience, but we expected a little bit more from the return of Taisuke Kanasaki to the genre.

A noir interactive novel based on the Cing productions for DS Hotel Dusk: Room 215 and Last Window, but this time everything have been simplified too much.

Chase: Cold Case Investigations ~Distant Memories~ may not be a terribly long experience, but it definitely feels like it’s introducing some interesting characters and concepts.

Long-time fans will find a warm familiarity in its cast and dialogue, but for anybody else, they might see it as nothing more than a breezy cop show experience.

Although its branching narrative system could have more depth, Chase: Cold Case Investigations has an undeniable sense of charm and keeps players' attention through its characters, anime art style and subdued jazz-noir soundtrack. If the series is allowed to continue and introduce a deeper approach to multiple choice and interrogation, then we could see something truly special.

Even though the bargain price point justifies its rather short length, the sequel bait ending and lack of variety in the gameplay leaves much to be desired. However, a visual novel lives and dies by its story and this one’s well worth reading. It just remains to be seen where the series goes from here.

This bite-sized visual novel noir is a pleasant surprise, but miserable puzzles and a so-so localization drag down the experience.

As a first installment in a planned episodic series, it leaves a bit to be desired. [Issue #25 – January/February 2017, p.21]

Thanks to its visual outlook and well-built plot, this is a game that will keep players interested until the end. It displays the limits of a low-budget game, however, and some of its segments feel too linear but this title shouldn't be in trouble to gather a group of fans.

It really is a pity that Chase: Cold Case Investigations didn't have the budget needed to make it stand out, or, at least, to make it as good as Cing's two DS adventures. Instead, what we have here is a very short and simple game, whose gameplay, number of locations and variety are somewhat too limited to make it worthwhile.

The low price barrier for this Nintendo 3DS eShop release is high incentive for impulse purchasing, though, yet few outside of text adventure enthusiasts will find true value for money in this one.

This short visual novel had big shoes to fill, and it missed the mark in most places. I finished the investigation feeling the adventure was simply okay, but nothing I’ll remember like Hotel Dusk.

Chase has a great story, but the lack of presentation and short length mean it’s not a title I can particularly recommend right now.

Graphically pleasing and with a style that has become a trademark of the author, Chase: Cold Case Investigations fails in terms of story and gameplay, presenting a plot that doesn't involve as it should and offering very little to play.

Even being a $10 (or slightly cheaper with a MyNintendo discount) eShop title, there is simply not enough quantity or quality to justify a purchase – Chase tries its best to make the two-hour trek a grind. The characters are merely nothing more than hollow vessels for driving the plot forward. It is totally disappointing that there is no thrill or cognitive challenge to the game – this is one investigation not worth chasing.

While the brilliance of its director's past games occasionally surface in Cold Case Investigations, this thoughtlessly designed and incredibly brief adventure will do nothing but disappoint fans of the defunct developer Cing.