I saw it that day. I don’t remember what day, or what hour. I just know I saw it one day. I felt intrigued by this game’s cover, which showed sketchy characters on a black and white background. An impression of a film noir waiting to happen. A sense of mystery emanating from these characters. I decided to buy it, hoping it would be worth the price.
Hotel Dusk: Room
215 is a type of game called a “Visual novel”. For all intents and purposes, it
tells a story, and prioritizes that over gameplay. Said gameplay consists of
moving around, speaking to people, getting answers to questions, picking up
items for later use, completing puzzles and mini-games once in a while, figuring out what to do next, and solving the overaching mystery of the game. Anyone who has played through
an Ace Attorney game knows what it’s like. However, unlike Ace Attorney, Hotel
Dusk: Room 215 is grounded into reality, and its characters are anything but flamboyant or cartoonish. Andf these characters interact within a complex story that
sucks you in with ease. So complex, in fact, that I might be forced to skip a
few details here and there. Also, spoilers; but if you’re a regular around
here, you already know I spoil a lot. Follow me on this quest, as my deductive
skills are used to solve the grand mystery hidden within Hotel Dusk and its
Room 215.
First off, this
game tries very much to play like a book. This is why the Nintendo DS is held
sideways, and all the actions are done on the touch screen on the right.
This game opens on
Kyle Hyde talking with a colleague of his, raising his weapon, and shooting.
I’m lost. Thankfully, the actual book inside the game’s box offers some
information; Hyde’s partner and friend, Brian Bradley – Accidental
alliteration? – betrayed his team during an undercover operation. He sold out
his allies, so Kyle shot him. They never found the body. He never retrieved the
buddy. Kyle left the force, hell-bent on finding his partner. Or rather, he
joined a sales firm named Red Crown. His new boss, a gruff man who answers to
the short name Ed, also has a side-business in finding secrets about people,
and making them pay so that he keeps his mouth shut. Something shady, I tell
you. This story begins three years later, on December 28th, 1979. I
wasn’t even born at the time. And there’s no way a Nintendo DS game could be
this old.
Kyle gets called by
Ed and learns he has to deliver a package to some place called Hotel Dusk.
There’s just something about that name that makes Kyle think he might find
answers here... On his way, he sees a teenage girl in white walking down the road. A lost angel in this dark world. This
is strange. Here is the hotel, so Kyle parks his old car and enters the place.
I think I never saw
a dustier hotel. For a moment, I felt the need to come out again and check the
large neon sign to make sure Kyle had not accidentally stopped at Hotel Dust.
But no, this is the right hotel. Besides, Kyle appears incapable of opening the
door to leave the place. The first chapter begins, with a caption “5:00-5:30”.
I conclude that all chapters in this game are contained in a certain period of
time. Probably to help with continuity, seeing as most players will spend longer
than the said period of time on each chapter.
Remember to check every single thing everywhere. |
So, we head to the
front desk and ring the bell. A gruff man shows up; his name is Dunning Smith.
By the way, when characters are discussing, we get animated pictures of them. I
do believe, if my limited knowledge doesn’t trump me, that these are sketch
drawings. And they appear to squiggle, like certain animated television series
do.
This is what appears when you are asking questions to other characters. |
As Kyle gets to the
lobby, he hears noise and turns around to see an elderly woman, wearing an
eyepatch, make her way into Hotel Dusk, asking for Room 215. There is no way to get to
trade with the lady, so Kyle leaves. He tries to go upstairs, but a child is
sitting there. She won’t move until you help her solve a puzzle – seriously?
That’s a slightly pathetic excuse for a mini-game... though I have seen much
worse. She’s left her room because her dad said she made too much noise. Okay,
hand me that puzzle, I’ll do it for ya. Oh cute, it’s a bunny in a diaper.
After throwing a tantrum because SHE wanted to do it, the girl laughs again,
picks up her puzzle and runs away. She forgot a puzzle piece. Oh well, here we
are now on the second floor. Getting to Room 215, Kyle encounters a
young adult on the way, but the guy quickly leaves. I never felt so untrusted since my
last visit in Montreal. We finally get to Room 215.
Hm, looks neat. If
I get a 1½ apartment someday, I hope it is as decent as this. And the phone
rings. Cannot a detec-I mean, salesman, get a moment of break? Oh, it’s Rachel,
the secretary at Red Crown. Quite the intelligent woman. And gorgeous too, but
that’s just a bonus. After the call, Kyle attempts to open his suitcase, but
breaks the key. Using a straightened paperclip doesn’t work, either. Suddenly,
knocks at the door. It’s the bellhop bringing Kyle’s packages. And Kyle
immediately recognizes him as a lowly crook he used to know. Name’s Louis (“Louie”) Le Nono... Er, I mean DeNonno. Used to pickpocket, but it appears he’s
found a decent job. Well, as decent as Hotel Dust can offer. Our hero winds up
telling him how he quit the force to become a salesman. Normally we wouldn’t bother
with that guy, but seeing a familiar face is reassuring. Louie drops off the
packages and leaves.
However, Kyle
realizes the box doesn’t contain his stuff, so he needs to talk to
Dunning. On the way, he sees Melissa again and learns, among others, that she’s
here with her father, that they’re going to see her mother, that her father is
a surgeon, that her mother works at an art museum and is named Grace... whoa, whoa, slow down, your exposition will get a speeding ticket. However, Melissa's father takes her back in
their hotel room. Kyle heads to the front desk and sees the teenage girl he
passed on the way to the hotel. He tries to speak to her, but she’s mute.
Someone else shows up: The hotel’s maid, a certain Rosa. She informs us that
the mute girl’s name is Mila, and that she found out thanks to a bracelet worn
by the teenager. And Kyle realizes Bradley wore a similar bracelet... The
mystery just keeps on thickening, doesn’t it? Maybe Room 215 does grant wishes,
maybe Kyle will get to find out where his pal Bradley has been...
Apparently, Mila
hitched a ride and was dropped at the hotel, and the young man who brought her
also took a room. And what a name, too; Jeff Angel. Sounds like a wannabe stage
magician, but what do I know about magic aside from a few cheap card tricks.
The phone rings, so Rosa answers and finds out someone got Kyle’s missing
package, and will deliver it to his room soon. So Kyle simply heads back to his
room. On the way, he exchanges a few words with Jeff Angel and then with another
guest at the hotel, a certain Iris. And what a Princess too. Though I do wonder
what an upper-class woman like her is doing at Hotel Dust. And this odd phobia
of having someone take a picture of her... Kyle goes in his room, but someone
knocks soon after. It’s the last guest we haven’t seen yet, a Martin Summer. An
author who really wanted to get his notebook back. In exchange, we get the box
we were supposed to get. We also get that we need to find a swimsuit magazine
and a red box.
After which, our
detective feels the need to review the events of the chapter. He does that
after each chapter, checking the facts and trying to make sense of them. Like
any detective would do. These Chapter-End quizzes are rather easy if you paid
attention. They mostly serve to remind the player of the most important details
discovered so far. Glad to know I can count on Hyde’s reports to help me with
this case...
Thus begins Chapter
2. Boy, I sure hope not to take as long to describe every chapter. Not that I
don’t like to write, but I wouldn’t want to spend too many parts discussing
this game. Kyle leaves his room and encounters Rosa, and the ensuing discussion
reveals that there are some shady stories that took place in this hotel before Dunning became
the owner. Then again, she doesn’t have time to chat, as she’s always cleaning
up (Louie is supposed to help but he hardly ever does), and she’s also the
hotel’s cook. It’s a wonder how this woman burns so many calories each day and
still keeps this larger frame. Probably has to eat a lot to have the energy to
do everything. Rosa then leaves in a hurry.
You talking about me, DeNonno? I don't swing that way. |
Advice from a
detective here: Start working on a flowchart. Things are going to get complex.
Louie leaves in a
hurry, so Kyle takes that opportunity to take the swimsuit magazine, and then
some tools out of a locker. He’ll finally be able to open his suitcase. On his
way to 215, Kyle has a chance encounter with the old woman and learns her name
is Helen Parker. I hope she’s not some poor nerd’s elderly mother figure. When
Kyle gets to his room, he uses pliers he found in the locker to cut a piece of metal from a hanger, and then uses it to open his suitcase and finally get the money
he needs to pay for his room. Phew. The hoops you have to get through to
achieve anything in this game...
Hm. Free dinner? My stomach says yes. |
When Kyle leaves
the office, he bumps into Louis. We get another piece of backstory: The LAPD was
investigating an art theft instigated by a crime ring named Nile. We can’t
learn much as the two are interrupted by Rosa, and when Louie leaves to do some
goddamn work for once, Rosa asks Kyle about Louie’s past. Kyle’s a fine guy, so
he keeps his lips shut. Small-time crooks should deserve a chance at a better
future, leave the past behind, turn a new leaf, see what I mean? Talking about
stealing, those things we took in the locker aren’t ours, so if Dunning
realizes we have a crowbar stuffed down our pants, we’re toast. Dunning and
some others have the power to kick you out of the hotel if you stir up too
much... er... trouble.
For some reason, Ed is always framed in shadow, but never enough so that we can't see most of his traits. All that's missing is his eyes. |
While interrogating
Louie, we learn that Louie and Danny wanted to become new people, but they
needed a load of cash. So Danny took a job from Nile; steal a painting. And
Danny got killed by some guy nicknamed J. Nile was doing insurance fraud and J
was their ticket to the green. Danny was leaving the Nile warehouse where a certain angel painting was, but J killed Danny and took the
money from the heist from him. Oh, and J was a cop. You don’t need a degree in
deduction to see where this is going. Not that this kind of degree exists,
anyway. If you didn’t figure it out, J is Brian Bradley.
Note to self: I’d
like if this game stopped showing the flashback to the night Kyle shot Bradley.
I feel like I’ve seen it ten times already, and we’re not one fifth through the
game.
Thankfully, if an
Interrogation goes well, you get extremely important details and a strengthened
bond with the other person. If it goes wrong, you can get yourself hated and
get a nonstandard Game Over. No way to continue the crime-solving if you piss
someone off. Alas, I fear I’ll have to continue this review on Monday. This
makes a lot of information to shuffle through. I’ll try to do at least three
chapters in each part, if possible. I wouldn’t want this to stretch into a five
or six-part review. Too long.
I believe this is my first review ever not to contain a
single exclamation mark, too. Not sure if I should celebrate, I might get too
excited, and write one exclamation mark by accident, thus canceling this feat.
See you Monday.
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