Time to Beat: 8 Hours
I'm not sure if I originally learned of
Tequila
Works' (and Cavalier
Game Studios') The Sexy Brutale from The
Jimquisition's Games of the Year Awards 2017,
or if it had already caught my attention. Either way, Jim Sterling's
recommendation cemented it on my wishlist.
The Sexy Brutale is an annual
party, hosted at a fabulous mansion constructed by the flamboyant
Marquis Lucas Bondes. The Marquis has invited the guests to
participate in a magnificent masquerade, and therefore all of them
are masked. But at this year's party, someone is murdering the
guests between noon and midnight on Saturday, and the protagonist,
Lafcadio Boone must rescue them one by one. Lafcadio (the
protagonist) awakens to a strange vision, a Bloody Lady, who urges
him to investigate the Staff. It seems they are responsible, and one
guest helpfully informs the player (in an overheard conversation with
another guest), that the Staff are entirely new. Who are the staff?
It is impossible to know since they are masked as playing cards; the
7 of Clubs, the 9 of Spades, the 2 of Diamonds.
Lafcadio Boone must stop the
assassinations by exploring the mansion and discovering a flaw he can
exploit. His most important tool is a magical watch given to him by
the Bloody Lady. Though it is broken, it allows him to start the day
at noon and investigate until 5pm. As the numerous clocks chime
five, time rewinds, and the day begins again at 12pm. A repaired
watch, acquired later in The Sexy Brutale, allows Lafcadio to
continue his investigation until midnight. He can also activate the
pocket watch at grandfather clocks scattered around the mansion. The
next time the player restarts the day Lafcadio will appear at the
activated clock instead of the one assigned at the beginning of the
game.
Restarting the day is a necessary
event, but common items are returned to their original locations
(keys, a phonograph record, and a bucket), while magical items are
never removed. The latter include the Watch, a Lighter, and a
Sapphire Ring. Because Lafcadio remembers the events from each past
Saturday, information, such as passwords, secret doors, and key codes
to locked locations are retained as well.
The question infecting the guests is:
Where is their host, Lucas Bondes? Initially his absence is
noticed, but as calamities occur, the guests no longer have the
opportunity to worry his existence. They must ponder their own
survival, and the player must secure it.
But, the player, as Lafcadio, is only
allowed to rescue one specific guest at a time. Lafcadio is informed
of his next dependent by the Bloody Lady. An image appears on the
screen displaying the guest's name, face (masked) and though the game
doesn't mention this, the location shown in the background is where
they will die. Occasionally, The Sexy Brutale displays
two people simultaneously, indicating their deaths are linked.
Each death is like a puzzle. The solution isn't who killed the
guest, but how to prevent the murder. Lafcadio can't burst in and
catch the culprit in the act. He can never be in the same room as
another person, Staff or Guest. If he is, the other person's mask
detaches from their face, flashes red like the lights on a fire
engine, and flies towards the player. When the mask touches
Lafcadio, he suffers damage. No time passes in the mansion, but the
player can move. The only solution is to flee to an adjacent room.
Time will begin again, and Lafcadio heals swiftly. For this reason,
one never need worry about running into anyone, because it takes at
least a minute for them to kill you, and only requires a few seconds
to escape.
The Sexy Brutale offers the
player a few introductory tools to resolve the murders. Lafcadio can
peak through key holes, or hide in closets. He can overhear
conversations, and use the clues provided to arrive at a solution.
Since the same day can be replayed multiple times, it's easy to
uncover a solution. This is made easier by the limited time
available in the day. When not in dialogue, or reading the
description of objects (which stops the clock), each minute of real
life is equal to one hour in game time.
As the player completes the solution to
prevent a murder, the Bloody Lady interrupts the story immediately,
regardless of the time remaining in the day. Teleported together,
Lafcadio appears in the room the guest would have been murdered in,
and the player sees the result of their work. As the Staff member is
defeated, the guest's mask removes itself, and they seem to have no
recollection their experiences. Lafcadio absorbs the rescued guest's
mask and gains a new power which aids him, and unlocks other areas of
the mansion. The Sexy Brutale contains numerous artificial
gates, like burning doors and invisible ghosts, which the player can
only pass through after acquiring the proper mask. This limitation
aids the player by preventing them from wandering into areas which
are unnecessary for the current puzzle, but it also highlights that
the area for each puzzle is incredibly constricted.
Another feature of the puzzles is their
lack of connection. This is demonstrated by the Bloody Lady, who
interrupts the player if they attempt to rescue someone they'd saved
already. As Saturday begins anew, each guest's situation is reset,
but they can't be re-rescued. If the player completes a solution
again, the Bloody Lady resets the day to noon. Since it serves no
purpose to rescue a guest again, no player should it a second time.
But because puzzles the solutions to
each puzzle are restricted to a small area, and are unconnected to
one another, they are very easy. For example, I completed the first
puzzle while testing out ideas, but with no intention to solve it.
The short time of the day also limits the puzzles. Since a day in
The Sexy Brutale is only 12 minutes long, Lafcadio can only
travel so far, and the puzzle must be simple to solve. These
limitations also have a positive effect. They enable the player to
observe, attempt solutions, and to make mistakes without any
pressure, because in 12 minutes they can try again. There very
little wait between attempts. The Sexy Brutale is both
strengthened and weakened by the limited time in each day.
A few final thoughts on the game-play
before some closing comments on the mystery.
The visual effects are wonderful.
Facial expressions are lovingly crafted, and the rooms are decorated
perfectly. The music is evocative of the mystery, danger, and
grandeur of the mansion. The best effect is the ability of the The
Sexy Brutale to remind the player of the consistency of death.
Every demise is accompanied by a sound or sight which is seen across
the entire mansion. A bell tolling, the lights flickering, the sound
of a gun shot, these are the signs of murder. But The Sexy
Brutale is not without visual flaws. The most frustrating is the
map. While it does include icons for the player to keep track of the
movement of Staff and Guests, it is cluttered with useless visual
effects depicting the furniture and decorations for each room.
Important information is either missing, such as obstacles, like
fiery doors, password doors, and mirrors, or not well indicated, such
as the gambling statues.
In order to finish The Sexy Brutale
one must discover the answer to a number of mysteries. They will not
be spoiled here! But they will be asked. Who is the Bloody Lady?
Who is the Golden Masked Man who sets himself as an opponent? Why are
the Staff murdering the Guests? Is the Golden Masked Man their
leader? Where does the magic come from; the time travel, the giant
spider, the monster fish, the ghosts? Is it a dream? An illusion?
A trap? Does everyone deserve to die (is the murderer acting out a
revenge fantasy like And Then There were None) or are they
innocent? And as midnight approaches why does it appear as if it is
raining red liquid in the mansion?
In conclusion, The Sexy Brutale
is a delightful little game with an intriguing murder mystery. The
initial simplicity is belied by an underlying depth. The characters
are beautiful and well characterized for their short stints on the
screen. The scenery, as well, is wonderful. The game play, is
simple and concise, but frankly, too short and easy. It's possible
to stumble onto a solution suddenly, as most only require one or two
actions. The engaging part of The Sexy Brutale is the
investigation, the waiting, the watching, and the listening, as the
Staff enact their dastardly plot. It wasn't as great as I'd hoped,
but The Sexy Brutale is worthy of an investigation if one is
willing to venture into the murderous mansion.
Recent:
Relevant:
Comments
Post a Comment