The Last Case of Benedict Fox

The Last Case of Benedict Fox is a perfect example of what a mixed bag is. It's unfortunate how much the experience is dragged down by its shortcomings, as the story is intriguing, and the art direction is spectacular.

The Last Case of Benedict Fox has some smart puzzles and a great art style, but it's let down by repetitive combat and unresponsive traversal.

The Last Case of Benedict Fox is an alright metroidvania mystery game, but can be incredibly frustrating at times and gets very repetitive. The game started off with an interesting story, but felt like it didn’t pay off in the end.

Story premise and good puzzles aside, The Last Case of Benedict Fox is a wasted opportunity. With stiff controls, inaccurate hitboxes, slow inputs and many gameplay hiccups, it's a game that should have stayed in development longer.

The Last Case of Benedict Fox could have been a great game if it was more understandable, straightforward, free-flowing, focused, polished – and less frustrating. As it stands, the main draw is the audiovisual style and the mysterious setting.

A production that aims to bring a fresh approach to metroidvania genre, but fails to do so at a level that will provide quality time for its players.

The Last Case of Benedict Fox is a better detective-exploration-puzzle-adventure than it is a Metroidvania and if you've decided to give it a go, it must be because you love exploring the environment, finding clues and solving puzzles.

An honest game which does not think itself more beautiful than it really is, but which could undoubtedly have rubbed shoulders with the masters of the genre by deepening its best ideas a little more.

The Last Case of Benedict Fox could be a great game, but it's let down by its own confused execution.

The Last Case of Benedict Fox features a wonderfully unique supernatural setting that’s full of interesting ideas, but mixed execution and control issues meant that I could only enjoy its morbid mystery in patches. While I derived great satisfaction from completing its genuinely taxing puzzles, my progress with the main case too often stalled thanks to ambiguous objectives and poor navigation tools that had me retreading sections of its sprawling map to an exhausting degree, routinely stalling the story’s momentum for prolonged stretches at a time. Many of its flaws are of the type that seem like they might be remedied via post-release patching, but in its existing state The Last Case of Benedict Fox is like one of its protagonist’s bungled double jumps – it reaches for greatness but falls a bit too short of the mark.

The Last Case of Benedict Fox is far from being a bearer of H.P. Lovecraft’s thematics in the gaming world: the cosmic horror of the Providence writer is replaced by a plot that at times manages to result engaging, but ultimately reveals to be anchored to more classical horror themes, linked to magic, to the occult, and to the creation of constructs that can be governed by man. Beyond these considerations, the video game produced by Plot Twist is released on the market in a technical state that is far from excellent, and with considerable limitations in terms of readability of progression in its exploratory stages, as well as with a system of enhancements that is anything but exciting. The Last Case of Benedict Fox remains a discreet metroidvania but is lost in the vast sea of productions – even with similar themes – much more refined and refined, proving to be an experience far from unforgettable.

The Last Case of Benedict Fox takes a unique concept but doesn’t quite manage to assemble something memorable out of the sum of its parts. A combination of unsatisfying combat and clunky controls makes for a poor metroidvania, and its narrative and puzzle elements are not enough to make up for it. There is some fun to be had here though, and its graphical style certainly makes it easy on the eyes.

Intriguing puzzles aside, this metroidvania is plagued with systems that seem designed to frustrate.

Visually stunning Metroidvania that manages to be as entertaining as it is frustrating. And while it was entertaining for the most part, it ultimately failed to deliver a satisfying conclusion.

Minus the combat, Benedict Fox is Metroidvania reduced to its most basic form, where all that matters are the platforms you can reach and the doors you can open. [Issue#385, p.116]