You’ve almost certainly heard of Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, and chances are you’ve also heard of Inspector Morse, Sam Spade and Nancy Drew. Or my personal favourite, Inspector Barnaby – Tom, not John – though I’m not going to get picky if it means that more murders are committed in Midsomer soon. I’m looking at you ITV.
But I digress. There’s one thing that all these names have in common. They’re all super sleuths. Outstanding fictional detectives with household names that crime-solved their ways into our hearts with their lovable quirks and magnificently calculating brain-boxes.
And the latest investigator vying to add his name to the list? John Morley, a gritty 1940’s private detective, probing the facts of a case to end all cases in the aptly named video game, The Last Case of John Morley. But will Mr Morley’s name be entered into the fictional sleuth hall of fame?
At the start of the game, we meet John Morley in a hospital bed recovering from a previous case that nearly killed him. Returning to his office, he meets with a new client, an old lady who offers him a big wad of cash to solve a cold case; the murder of her daughter two decades ago. And so off Morley pops to a creepy old manor house to do some investigating.
There’s no mistaking that The Last Case of John Morley has a brilliant and intriguing story to tell. There were a few jump scares that, although heavily signposted, managed to go some way to construct a suspenseful horror atmosphere, and as the narrative unfolds the player will be treated to some enjoyably surprising plot twists. If you’re a fan of a good mystery storyline, you will be more than satisfied with how the plot unfolds. Sadly, the whole tale is – ironically – let down by the video game medium through which it has been told. For me, the game mechanics, low-quality visuals and character work all got in the way of the storytelling.
Let’s begin with the game mechanics. As you guide John Morley through a variety of different rooms, you’ll be prompted to select certain highlighted items of evidence that will be followed by a sentence or two of dialogue from Morley. The problem arises when the game stops you from progressing until you have selected every single item of evidence available in the room, right down to the last splatter of blood. You may think this a good thing. Surely, this means you’re unlikely to miss out on any evidence relevant to solving the case? Not quite.
Despite appearances, The Last Case of John Morley isn’t actually a detective game. It’s more of an interactive walk-through of a mystery story. There are none of the typical game mechanics that you’d expect to find in a detective game – organising and linking evidence, deciphering clues, choosing where to go or who to interrogate next – instead, John Morley does everything for you. You’re just along for the ride. And to point and click. As you can imagine, this quickly becomes overly restrictive, time-consuming and worst of all, boring.
Then there’s the clunky visuals. These are particularly grating in the sections where you talk to characters face-to-face. Interrogating witnesses is equal parts terrifying and painful to watch. Their wide eyes stare, unblinking, through the screen, their faces blank and unmoving except for their bottom lip that bobs up and down like a puppet in an attempt to match the words being said. How can you tell if a character is lying if they always have the same vacant look on their face? If you want the player to connect with the emotions of the story, facial expressions need to be the priority.
Perhaps you’re hoping that the voice-over work might save the day. Inject a bit of energy and atmosphere into proceedings. Unfortunately, it doesn’t. The voiceover work is some of the worst I’ve heard. I felt I could have produced a less-wooden performance from my satnav. This is such a shame because the dialogue in the script is actually really great! The performances sap any atmosphere out of proceedings and will leave you wondering whether AI actors would actually be so bad after all. And the worst part? You can’t even skip ahead. There’s no reading the subtitles then hitting “next” to minimise your suffering. Plus, you have to ask every question available to you. You have to listen to it all. Every. Last. Wooden. Word.
All in all, The Last Case of John Morley has a storyline that you’ll want to inhale in one sitting. If you could read it in a book. Not play it as a video game.
