REVIEW

The Silver Case Review

by Rob Pritchard, June 12th, 2017

One of the benefits of living in an age where games don’t need a physical release, is that it is easier for developers to release their games in more countries without investing large amounts of money. Originally released for the PlayStation back in the 90s, The Silver Case is a re-master of one of the games which fell on this criteria, as it was not released outside of Japan. While the experience is a welcome addition to any gamers’ library, there are a few design choices which raised a few warning flags.

The Silver Case is a visual novel adventure game of two halves, in which you experience the story from both sides of the fence, similar to the approach Double Fine took with Broken Age. The Transmitter story arc focuses on the forensic investigation of a serial murder, whilst the Placebo chapters allow you to see the same events from the perspective of a reporter. Two all new scenarios have also been written for the remaster, which offer a brand new ending, and an epilogue which leads the story to the game’s sequel.

Both sides of the narrative and the new content offer the same thrilling experience, although the Placebo chapters feel slightly more interactive, particularly with the sections where you are gathering information for your latest article. The newer elements blend well with the older storyline, which is a nice step beyond the usual 1:1 remake that many developers offer their user base. It is not quite on the same level as some of the remakes we have seen in the past, but the effort to enhance an older experience is more than welcome in this instance.

For all of the scenarios in The Silver Case, the game play and basic control scheme remain the same. You control your character’s actions from a first person perspective, and your main goal is to examine your environment to obtain new items and vital information. While there were no major problems with this setup, some of the user interface felt slightly clunky when changing between the different menus and then returning back to the game. Although it has been improved from its initial release, it feels like they could have refined it a little further to accommodate modern players.

A major addition to this version of the game is an entirely new English localisation, because the original PlayStation release was never translated. For the most part, the new translation respects the original material, but there is an overabundance of strong language which feels unnecessary. While the omission of such words would detract from the game’s realism, it feels like the explicit dialogue is used for shock value rather than contextual relevance.

Graphically, The Silver Case uses enhanced and reconstructed visuals from the PS1 version of the game, along with an enhanced user interface aesthetic for high definition displays. The developers have done a good cleanup job for the older graphics, although there were a few jagged edges on some of the various buildings that you visit either as a detective or a journalist. The original soundtrack has been digitally remastered, allowing us to hear a range of emotive acoustic effects made possible by the advancements in sound design in video games.

Overall, The Silver Case is an interesting specimen. When it isn’t cursing like a fishwife, the new localisation fits well to the original storylines and the exclusive segments offer new insight into the game’s world. The graphical uplift along with the remixed soundtrack brings The Silver Case up to date, but the occasionally clunky visual novel game play keeps it firmly rooted in the past. If you are a fan of adventure titles, it is a case that you should definitely aim to solve.