The Last Case of Benedict Fox

If you can handle some curious design quirks, a few bugs, and don’t mind poking around in the dark looking for clues, The Last Case of Benedict Fox might just be a breath of fresh air.

The Last Case of Benedict Fox is undermined by some rather significant flaws in platforming and combat, but the atmosphere is remarkable and the mix of exploration and puzzles makes it an atypical (even if flawed) metroidvania.

Ultimately, our encounter with The Last Case of Benedict Fox gave us mixed feelings. On the one hand we find an interesting plot, embellished with some tasty twists and framed by an extremely fascinating setting. On the other side of the fence, however, we find an approximate technical realization and a general lack of refinement in the gameplay, defects that end up compromising the overall enjoyment of the work. The new Plot Twist project has been part of the Game Pass catalog since day one: for this reason we still feel like recommending it, at least to a certain extent, to fans of the genre who subscribe to the service. To all the others, however, despite the title being offered at a budget price, we suggest waiting for any patches that can at least solve the most obvious problems. In its properly finished form, The Last Case of Benedict Fox could in fact aspire to much higher qualitative peaks.

Nice graphics do a lot, but unfortunately they don't save everything, especially when you need to save gameplay in such a major way as is the case here. Precision and smooth controls are absolutely key in this type of game, and that's where the developers screwed up. [Issue#328]

We got an adventure with some interesting episodes, bad combat mechanics and annoying monsters that are superfluous for immersion in the narrative. Puzzles and atmosphere can grab your attention, but for this you have to be a big fan of the mystical things.

The Last Case of Benedict Fox is one of my favorite flavors of metroidvania: the kind that keeps you guessing all the way up to the end on what's exactly going on. In the first half of the game, it goes too far in terms of setting up its mystery but the narrative payoff in the latter half partially makes up for it. This is the type of game where having a trusty notebook on hand is a good idea because the world design and cryptic story--though wonderful--aren't going to do much to guide you beyond hinting at a potential path forward. The combat and platforming don't quite match the game's intriguing story and wonderful Lovecraftian-inspired art direction, but the game does include ways for you to transform the experience of playing the game to make it more approachable.

An engaging and challenging, but still unfinished game.