Detective Archives Rain Code Review (Nintendo Switch OLED)

by Jim Smale · August 14, 2023

For this Detective Archives Rain Code Review, where we go to a place called Kanai Ward, a city of rain, is gripped by innumerable unsolved mysteries, under the complete control of Amaterasu Corporation. Master Detectives from around the world, each possessing unique powers, must rise to the challenge of uncovering the truth. With Shinigami by his side, Yuma joins the investigation as a trainee at the Nocturnal Detective Agency. Travel freely within the fully 3D environment of the city to gather evidence and testimonies.

Detective Archives Rain Code Review Pros:

Beautiful graphics.
14.7GB download size.
Ten save slots.
Action gameplay.
Ongoing tutorial pop-ups.
Fully voiced characters.
Amazing cast of characters.
Can Invert axis and sensitivity sliders.
Text speed slider.
Minimap is optional amd can be set to rotating or fixed.
Fast loading times.
DP is detective points that you earn for examing a crime scene and you level up.
The mystery Labyrinth is where unsolved crimes go and you can then enter the case.
At the end of every mystery/case, there is a hidden truth that leads to the killer’s identity.
Text/interactions can fast forward, auto-scroll, or press a button to advance.
A 3D game world with full 360 camera control.
Solution keys are given for finding clues and used to advance the current case.
Perfect fit for the handheld.
Level up to get SP (skill points) to buy and equip Labyrinth skills using the skill tree. How many and which Labyrinth skills you have at one time is dictated by a memory cost.
Auto saves frequently.
Absolutely bombastic soundtrack.
A playable loop is the section of a Labyrinth where you can freely move around indefinitely until the scene plays out.
You can review and learn from any discovered clues at any time.
Your notebook is where all the information and leveling up is done.
Photo mode in terms of you can pause at any time and remove all on-screen prompts/Hud etc.
You have a sidekick called Shinigami who is a death god contracted to haunt your character Yuma and is only visible to Yuma.
Shinigami can be a help or a hindrance but he will always be there!
Save when you want from the menu.
Is a real visual treat for the eyes.
You can see influences from the Danganronpa series throughout.
Very atmospheric.
Mystery phantoms are manifestations of real-world people who set out to block you in your case and become the enemy within the labyrinth.
The solution blade is your weapon in the labyrinth and is used in combat.
Stamina is your health and dying gives you the choice to quit, restart from the checkpoint, or start the labyrinth again.
Combat situations are called RDM (Reasoning Death Match) and as you fight statements will fly at you, using your clues and knowledge you can fight inflammatory statements, fight a contradiction by choosing the right solution key, amd you can just dodge everything and if you do it at the last minute you get a bigger reward.
You can fast-forward in an RDM.
Basically comes down to choosing the right clue to fight the incoming statement.
At times when in the labyrinth you will get a crossroads with a case-specific question and you have to choose an answer. You get to confirm before proceeding.
A Perfect game for armchair detectives.
Many fantastic-looking locations.
Offers optional side quests/mysteries.
Really rewarding gameplay.

Detective Archives Rain Code Review Cons:

Cannot rebind controls.
Doesn’t support a touchscreen.
A lot to take in.
Very slow starter and has a generally slow pace to it all.
The RDM stuff takes a fair bit of learning.
Playable loop sections can outstay their welcome and just have you running for ages.
The game is not always great at explaining what it wants from you or how you go about solving the cases.
Auto-scrolling in the interactions still requires you to hold a button down.
At times it feels like the RDM can be won by just brute forcing your way through.
Sometimes an encounter will trigger a longer than usual loading time.

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