#Time to tell you all about Harold and Hawley!

[alexis-royce]

Alexis can I just say u are the GOAT for doing that oc talk at ur table. Iconique

Let me encourage anyone running a table to feel more confident, that is your space and you can bulldoze over anyone and everyone being a clown in your space. To be honest you likely won't even end up being rude about it, you'll probably just sound like a confident salesperson.

[wildmizz]

Couldn't review this on Steam directly but I can review it here!

If you've ever played any of Royce and the team's other games, you'll know that they're solidly made and very fun to play, and this one is no different. Gorgeous backgrounds (to the point I kept forgetting I was meant to click past them and not just stare awestruck), interesting characters, great writing, and even if the gameplay was on the simpler side (it was originally meant to be made in a month) it was still extremely satisfying to play.

Specific parts I enjoyed:

The clothing: each character has such a unique shape and style, they're just pure eye candy each time a new one is introduced. The fabric patterns especially are interesting so it was neat that it also came up in the game.

The backgrounds: the mix of photography and painting created a really cool effect that I loved. On a more minor note, I also adored the texture of the background of the text box. It was especially funny when I was admiring it only to have the characters bring up black mold lol

The writing: brilliant mix of humor and intrigue, I especially loved how Goose was done; simple but extremely effective <3 Also, the scene where Harold wants to make a transgender joke but is shot down :( let him speak guys…

The characters: I honestly can't overstate how well done they all are, even Nowak who was perfectly loathsome from his first appearance.

THE IMPS!!! Oh my gosh I want more of them!! The concept and designs were so cool I wish there was a collection of just the designs for them in the gallery as well, they were so neat <3

The spoiler-y parts:

The setup of a thief threat followed by a new character appearing, with sideburns… there was a moment I was like "no.. it cant be…" only to have my thoughts confirmed given his name was "Lupine" XD absolutely brilliant, loved it.

All the moments when Harold smiles at Hawley when he's not directly looking at him are so cute <3 <3[

The dialog choices (as in, when they happened) were really interesting, especially when the soot imp was involved… You could tell something was up but you didn't necessarily know the details yet. Also somewhat related, the fact we were taking notes on the characters made me think we'd have to solve it ourselves before the summoning ritual and there was a very real moment of panic when I thought we had to guess already XD very much "oh shit how are Harold, Hawley, and myself gonna get out of this predicament??"

I wrote "Vance is hot" in my notes while playing the game soon after her first appearance because I realized very quickly that I needed to write a review for this, only to realize by the end I'd accidentally predicted who did it and the murder method when we hadn't even found out how anyone had died yet lmao

Favorite scene:

The part where Hawley takes off his glasses and checks the room. My god the writing there was incredible and the way the background and wording gradually got more intense was chef's kiss. Well done to everyone involved.

Thoughts on the ending:

I didn't register quickly enough that I needed to check the notes before guessing the culprit so I panicked a bit but turns out I guessed correctly first time so I'm proud of myself B) AND!!!!! THE HOLE IN THE NECK WAS SO CLEVER AND THEN GETTING THE CHARACTER IMAGE TO SHIFT FORWARD IN INCREMENTS TO SEE THE BACKGROUND MOVE THROUGH IT WAS SO GOOD!!! I was so delighted by it <3

TL;DR:

Anyways to anyone reading this, please play the game, it's amazing, and only took me about 2.5 hours to play through. Also it's free.

My murder mystery game is out on Steam! It's like Clue meets Ace Attorney, if there were creeping monsters hiding in everyone's pockets.

The game is completely free, and won't keep you for longer than 2-3 hours, so it's perfect for a cozy evening in, or a session streaming with friends!

Download it over here!