Although anyone who is averse to reading will want to steer clear of this one, because not only is the game exceptionally text-heavy, it is also very light in the gameplay department. This isn’t necessarily a detractor, as the writing itself is quite strong. That’s one defining trait of Hotel Dusk : its slow pace. There’s rarely a dull moment to be found, and every conversation moves the plot-line forward, even if it may be in a minuscule way. It’s up to the player to sort it out for themselves as the story progresses, and as each question is answered, it seems that three more are asked. The mystery is given to the player in small pieces: a fact here, a tidbit there. There’s a lot to digest when it comes to the details of the game’s story, from the interwoven backstories of its characters, to the overarching mystery at hand. Each character has a distinct personality that shines through the game’s excellent writing. The game isn’t merely a mystery, but a character drama as well. The characters in Hotel Dusk have actual depth, which serves the game’s story-heavy nature quite well. Throughout each of the game’s 10 chapters, many new interlinked mysteries arise, with the story revealing itself to be much more than a surface-level mystery of where Kyle’s friend has disappeared to. Throughout Kyle’s time at the Dusk, he meets a wide assortment of different characters, each seemingly interconnected to each other. The game places the player in control of Kyle Hyde, an ex-cop who has found himself at the titular Hotel Dusk, staying in the titular Room 215, searching for an old friend who also used to serve on the force. The design feels comfortable and slick to this day. There are even a few puzzles that involve the closing of the DS itself, utilizing the clamshell open-and-shut design of the system. ![]() It also makes heavy use of the system’s touch screen, never requiring button input at any point, unless the player would prefer to use that control scheme. The DS is held sideways, like a book, befitting of the visual novel-styled gameplay. It is a game that is truly made for the DS, with its hardware in mind. Hotel Dusk is a visual novel/adventure game developed by Cing, released for the DS in 2007, a year after the DS Lite had been released. Now that it has been over a decade since the game hit the shelves of stores worldwide, it’s time to look back at what makes this hard-boiled detective noir so special in the first place. It has been 11 years since the release of Hotel Dusk: Room 215, and since then it has become one of the few examples of a great slow-burn, text-heavy adventure game that can be found on the system. While not many games truly took advantage of this fact, Cing saw a perfect opportunity to craft a mystery of their own. The portability, the dual screens, and touch screen all are perfectly suited for a great narrative adventure. At first glance, the Nintendo DS seems to be made for visual novel-styled games.
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