Emio: The Smiling Man - Famicom Detective Club (2024)

Our analysis

A well-written and intriguing mystery with a strong cast, lovely animation, and the darkest tone of the series, though it never lives up to the pre-release hype suggesting genuine horror. The slow, sludgy opening hours and frustrating investigative mechanics that fail to mark used dialogue options drag the pace down. Series fans who know what to expect will be rewarded once the story sinks its hooks in, but little has been modernized since the 2021 remakes.