The Silver Case Reviews
As a visual novel in 2017, The Silver Case is a huge disappointment.
In the end what you’re left with is an interesting curio, a relic from a bygone era by a talented developer. Whilst it’s clear to see the game’s ambition and the fact that it’s utterly unique, it’s also encumbered by a bizarre control scheme, some experimental storytelling techniques that don’t pull together well, and some cringe-worthy navel-gazing dialogue that disappears up its own bottom.
The Silver Case is best enjoyed as an intriguing historical document: a statement of intent from a developer that would go on to bigger and better things. Removed from that context, however, it is difficult to recommend. An utterly glacial pace combined with often nonsensical dialogue means the experience is dull at best – and frustrating at worst.
While it's nice to see how far Suda 51 has come, only diehard adventure and Suda 51 fans will be able to appreciate this. The Silver Case hasn't aged well, and feels both clunky and underwhelming. This feels like a first attempt, and compared to many others, it's a novel one. Still, it's hard to appreciate the beauty of a mirror under all the dust, and The Silver Case is definitely a dusty one.
Suda 51's first game finally debuts on Western shores, the game fails to deliver on its best concepts.
An intriguing but often incoherent mystery that’s bogged down by long-winded dialogue and terrible puzzles.
Although with all of this being said, if you are looking for an adventure/point-and-click style detective game, this is definitely one to take into consideration. The main issue I have with The Silver Case is that it shows its age all too well. You can easily tell by looking at and playing the game that it was originally released over 17 years ago. No amount of remastering is going to make this any better, unless the entire game was to be remade from the ground up, which just isn’t feasible at the moment. However, fans of Suda51 should absolutely pick this up and digest it at some point, as it is extremely fun to go back and see where his career with Grasshopper Manufacture all began. Everyone else should probably think hard before jumping in.
A solid HD release of a game that remains not for everyone.
The Silver Case is not an easy game. Its visual-novel story needs to be carefully followed, as it can be confused at certain points. However, the game's atmosphere and Suda51's style can overcome some of its limitations.
Review in Italian | Read full review
A visual novel with a good story, but a bad rythm, no voices, and poor gameplay. Like Deadly Premonition, only the most hardcore gamers may enjoy it.
Review in French | Read full review
The Silver Case is a mix between an awesome plot and a very "old style" control system that provides the player of a retro and very visual experience based on hours and hours of reading.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Fans of Suda51 may find something to love, but The Silver Case is a mess whose flaws far outweigh its strengths.
In the end, The Silver Case is a strange, but interesting title.
The Silver Case isn't a bad game by any means, but it is definitely suited to a specific audience due to its story-heavy nature and difficult puzzles.
Players who like hardboiled detective stories will likely find something of interest here as well, but most of all, for those familiar with the work of Suda51 – especially Killer7 and Flower, Sun, and Rain – The Silver Case will be an essential 'new' Suda51 trip.
The Silver Case is still an enjoyable experience, despite some of its antiquated designs. Delving into the mind of a younger Suda51 can be a bit mental, and it's something that any enthusiast for his works should ensure they don't miss.
The Silver Case is an intriguing package that provides an insight in to the early works of Suda51, one of gaming’s more interesting personalities. The game might’ve aged but its quality still shines through.
All in all, The Silver Case is a long, enjoyable visual novel that is feeling the aches of time – The controls haven’t aged well, nor has some of the dialogue…But if you can fight through it, and battle against the urge to fall asleep during some of the lesser parts of the game and understand what the bloody hell is happening, you’ll possibly find yourself with a new gem courtesy of Suda51…
Despite the cumbersome controls, weird unresolved stories, and confusing interface, The Silver Case provides a really intriguing and unique gaming experience that, once the mechanics are learned, is a joy to behold. Its enticing tale of murder, insanity, and more, really shines through via the interesting characters and beguiling narrative style. This remaster has brought the old cult classic to life and introduced Westerners to a real treat that looked like never coming to realisation. No visual novel library would be complete without The Silver Case in it.
The Silver Case is a pretty interesting game to recommend. It suffers from very bad pacing and an overflow of information with the most tacked game mechanics I’ve seen a while, but at the end of the day it still has the essence of a Suda51 game. With that said, if you’re a diehard fan of his work, you’ll definitely want to check it out and see just how far he’s come over the years. If you’re a fan of visual novels I’d probably recommend familiarizing yourself with his body of work before diving in.