A worthy, interesting, but forgettable DS adventure.
The team at Cing decided to give the adventure genre another shot back in 2007 with Hotel Dusk: Room 215. It was a title which caught people's attention mainly with its unique art style. However, just because it looks different, that doesn't automatically mean the game is high quality. It needs to contain a solid, interesting, and twisting story that keeps players interested and a solid gameplay foundation. Thankfully, Hotel Dusk: Room 215 contains of all that and more, but strangely enough, it also brings about some new problems that were practically non-existent in Trace Memory which makes the experience a bit more interesting than the aforementioned game but also a bit more frustrating.
Hotel Dusk has you playing through the eyes of Kyle Hyde. A character that would probably fit more along the lines of "jerk" and "cold hearted" rather than a heroic protagonist. The beginning of the game is a series of confusing events detailing Kyle's previous life and how he came to be an ex-cop who now works as a door-to-door salesman. This all leads up to him being sent to an old out of the way hotel called Hotel Dusk. Everything here seems to be pretty normal but soon enough, Kyle begins to get involved with the cast of characters, all of which hide deep secrets, and he begins to learn that he might find the answers to some of the questions that have been haunting him throughout his life in the hotel as he's more involved with it than he thinks.
The special quality of adventure games is that they focus more on the story than anything else and Hotel Dusk's story definitely stays true to this. It is, without a doubt, the best part of the game. The writing is nearly impeccable (aside from the occasional typo). The way that each character has different styles of speaking really makes it feel like you're interacting with real people with lots of personality. There are also a huge number of plot twists and mysteries to be solved. The events leading up to the climax and ending are in particular very exciting and will keep your eyes glued to the screen.
The gameplay department is unfortunately where this game falls slightly. Hotel Dusk is really lucky that it's part of a genre that doesn't focus much on the gameplay because it uses a lot of old and unpolished gameplay mechanics. First of all, unless it's done in a horror style, adventure games and game overs never mix well. Unlike in RPGs and Action Adventures where it might be fun traversing through repeated areas after you've died because of interesting environments, exciting battles, and awesome music, it simply doesn't work in pure adventures. Reading through the exact same dialogue with no alternating paths (which is present probably because of the DS's limited hardware) is not my definition of fun or enjoyment and I don't find it challenging either that you have to start over from the beginning of the chapter if you forgot to save just because you accidentally offended someone once.
Other than that, the game works alright. Just like the Brain Age games, you hold the DS sideways like a book in order to play which makes it seem more like you're "reading" an interactive novel. You control Kyle's movement on a 2D map on the touch screen while the other screen is used as a 3D world where you can see small details and choose to examine them and get a close-up look if you're given the option. Conversations with characters are rather interesting but whenever you're given a chance to respond, there's usually only two choices (and one of them usually leads to a game over) so there's not much in terms of branching conversation paths. The game plays solidly but just be warned that some gameplay mechanics will frustrate those not accustomed to the genre.
The graphics are one of the more noticeable and attractive parts of this game. On the touch screen, the exploration sequences of the game occur in a simple two-dimensional map where you move Kyle around and are able to see points of interest through small symbols. However, an interesting part of this game is that during the same sequences on the other screen, the game's world is actually represented in a traversable three-dimensional world. Granted, the quality of the graphics in this portion of the game is very low resolution and grainy because of the DS's limited technological capabilities but it's still impressive and one can always zoom into items of interest by choosing to examine them which gives a considerable bump to the graphical quality. Another interesting graphical route that the developers took was the character design. The characters are represented in normal conversations in a pencil sketch style. They are pretty much devoid of colour during these parts and give the game a bit of a film noir style. It was also interesting how during moments of emotional impact or suspense, the characters would actually be given colour which was an interesting effect.
Music in this game just ranks above average. Most of the time, you'll be hearing some boring lounge music when exploring the hotel or some boring tunes playing in casual conversations, but during moments of enlightenment and excitement, the game somehow manages to pull out a random track out of nowhere which fits the situation perfectly and actually manages to set a pretty good mood. The sound effects, in contrast, are surprisingly effective. Hearing a random whistle when roaming the halls is very effective and even creepy but it gives you an even greater urge to explore the hotel. Doors opening and closing, phones ringing and loud noises coming out of nowhere all set an effective creepy atmosphere and after solving all certain mysteries, you can't help but breathe a sigh of relief after finding out where those random noises originated from.
With everything considered, Hotel Dusk: Room 215 is an interesting but flawed adventure. There were frustrating moments where I was wishing I was playing the less engaging but more smooth-paced Trace Memory but Hotel Dusk is definitely a step in the right direction for Cing. It's not a world-saving adventure that will get you riled up (its setting is a hotel after all) but it's a small interesting adventure that will definitely have an impact with both you and all the hotel's guests, even if it's a forgettable one. The game lasts a good fifteen to twenty hours so it's definitely worth a try. Some people will find it to be a bit slow paced and after going through the game once, it's doubtful that you'll return to it again (despite the hidden extras) but it still gets my recommendation.
Good Points:
+The characters are interesting with very well written backstory and dialogue
+The unique visual style looks attractive
+The story as a whole comes together really well
+ Certain moments in the game are really able to catch your interest and keep you playing
+ Sound effects give off an appropriate atmosphere
Bad Points:
-Music isn't anything special
-Game Overs can be frustrating
-No branching conversation paths or alternate scenarios in the game, although there are a few ending variations
-There are a few times when conversations will drag on with the characters repeating established facts in which the game does get boring