Night Call

The end result is a relaxing, intriguing and sleek murder mystery tale that's certainly worth enjoying once. It's not overly long if you play on normal, nor is it particularly replayable, but finding out who the killer is definitely scratches an investigative itch.

All in all, Night Call sets itself up with an inspired idea and premise. The concept of a man living the simple life as a city taxi driver going through regular life while trying to catch a sinister serial killer is fascinating. When the different systems are firing on all cylinders and you can see the mystery unraveling, it’s a wonder to see. On the down side, the cabbie sim gameplay gets boring and the gameplay loop grows repetitive quickly.

Night call is thick with moody atmosphere and noir style; its writing is hit and miss, but it's tough not to be entranced by the central concept.

The characters you meet in Night Call are the stars of this noir-style thriller. Interestingly, the crime plot takes a backseat to meeting the residents of Paris and learning about their struggles and success. Unfortunately, the game becomes repetitive after the first case due to duplicated dialog and a lack of gameplay evolution.

Night Call is, at its best, a story with engaging characters that make you want to learn their secrets.

The interesting artistic aspect can't fully compensate a slow gameplay.

Haphazard gameplay and varying narrative quality put a damper on Night Call's strong mood and hints of brilliance.

Despite its promise to be a noir investigation in the heart of Paris, Night Call focuses way more on its narrative and brilliant part, at the expense of the mystery itself. Yes, the iconic characters you drive from a neighborhood to another is beautifully written, but we would have hoped to play a real part trying to find the culprit.

Night Call is an interesting thriller adventure. With good atmosphere and promising mechanics, its "noir" side shows the madness and the difficulties of the nights in Paris. Sadly there are some problems with the general pacing and all the management side is poor.

There’s no way to continue the relationships you’ve established, or even simply resume a passenger’s storyline, which can sometimes be quite lengthy. It seems like a baffling way to structure a game about talking to people, getting involved in their lives, and developing your character along the way. It’s especially disappointing because the writing is sharp and versatile – capable of being tense, dark, funny, or absurd – and the well-rounded cast of characters are a joy to uncover. Because of this and the poorly fleshed out investigative mechanics, Night Call feels like a mere shadow of its potential.

A title that grabs your attention and has you hooked almost immediately. But after a while, the repetition and constraining design choices will put you off.

Night Call never got to the point where it could have seized everything its concept could allow it to. And with its dark atmosphere and great writing, it’s closer from an interactive novel than an investigator game.

Night Call is neither a great mystery nor a great cabbie simulator, but if you like dialogue and weird characters, this unique visual novel-style adventure is an interesting distraction.