Yes it’s true, for a few, be it red or blue, that is for you… Jenny LeClue. Ok enough of the rhyming and on with the review for Jenny LeClue – Detectivu.
So seriously though, you don’t need to read any of this. Go and get this game right now and be charmed in a way you have never been charmed before. This game should have been called Jenny Charming and the Charming Charming or the Charming.
Everything about Jenny LeClue – Detectivu gripped me from the very opening. The visual style, the voice acting, the writing and even the gameplay. Every aspect has been nailed to near perfection.
To start with, the visuals have a flat feel to them, but are shaded in such a way they also have a ton of depth, like a proper hand-drawn piece of art. It is almost as though someone made South Park with some added class. Each character and location is unique and feel as though time was poured into them to bring them to life on the screen. It is almost too hard for me to explain without you actually playing.
Then there is the voice acting, which can also be grouped with the writing. Charming visuals won’t mean a thing if the writing and acting are not up to scratch. So it pleases me more than anything to say that Jenny LeClue and all the supporting case are wonderful. Every single character has a personality that leaps out the screen and immediately draws you in.
I was concerned that the humour would wear thin after a while, but before I knew it the game was over and I was busty looking for word on a follow up. Because if Jenny LeClue doesn’t become a full on series of games, then something is very wrong with the world (well more wrong than 2020 is proving to be anyway).
Jenny herself is a fictional character within the game, as the game is playing a story that is being written by Arthur K Finkelstein, an author who is trying to stop falling sales of his books. With pressure on to change up the formula. Arthur narrates the story as you progress, but does so alongside Jenny who breaks the forth wall of sorts with her own takes on any situation.
Every interaction feel natural and the fact the whole thing is voice acted works so, so, so well. Other games in the past have ruined the immersion by moving to text based interactions at certain points, but that isn’t the case here.
What also works, is I cannot remember a single interaction that was overly drawn out. I never once dreaded the thought of starting a conversation, through fear it would just feel never ending. There has been so much consideration for every aspect of the presentation.
The Point & Click gameplay too is so well done. I have played games in the past that have made me feel stupid for not following the convoluted paths to progress. Jenny LeClue – Detectivu manages to keep things simple, but without dumbing it down to the point where you feel you are just along for the ride.
Puzzles are well thought out and do require some willingness from you to actually solve them. Each one is unique and doesn’t just feel like a rehash of others within the game. But at the same time if all feels cohesive and helps build the narrative of the game.
Everything starts of fairly small and almost mundane, but then the stakes rise and the story takes a few twists and turns to unveil and much larger mystery. If it were a novel it would be considered ‘a real page turner’. I couldn’t stop playing and had to force myself away at times.
From the very first moment you start Jenny LeClue – Detectivu, through to the final goodbye, you will taking on a charming adventure you never want to end. This isn’t a case of a game for Point & Click fans only, this goes way beyond that and is another contender for my own personal game of the year.
