Hotel Dusk: Room 215

For a certainty, a noir detective story/interactive novel probably wasn't the first thing on anyone's mind when they considered all the things they wanted to see on DS. Most of us wanted to see our favorite tried-and-true Nintendo franchises like Mario, Metroid, and Zelda released post haste. And, of course, after developer Cing's Trace Memory was regrettably ignored by and large, who would have expected them to come out swinging again with another game along the same lines? Fear not, for Hotel Dusk proves that the genre is still alive and well.

The story follows then-detective-now-salesman Kyle Hyde, who's got a head full of questions and a chip on his shoulder. Years before the game takes place, Kyle and his partner on the force were investigating a crime syndicate back east. Late in their investigation, Hyde's partner goes missing and is presumed dead. Back to the present, it's New Year's Eve in 1979 and Hyde is in the Southwest U.S. on business. The ex-cop finds himself in the titular locale of the game, Hotel Dusk. He gets himself a room (surprisingly, 215) which is rumored to possess magical properties. During his stay, Kyle meets all the other guests, many of whom are connected to one another, and some of whom are connected to the mystery of some years ago with his partner and the crime ring. Every step he takes will bring Hyde closer to solving his own mystery, as well as the mystery surrounding the hotel.

Simplistic though its gameplay is in theory, Hotel Dusk is clever and unique throughout. Movement through the hotel and interaction with people and objects are all done through the stylus and touch screen, a setup which works perfectly for the point-and-click gameplay. You move throughout the building by placing the stylus on the touch screen map, and an icon that indicates Kyle moves in that direction. The top screen, on the other hand, shows a first-person view of the hotel as Kyle walks through it.

As you'd expect from the type of game, there are a lot of puzzles in Hotel Dusk. Early on, most of them are extremely simple, but they gradually pick up in difficulty, and many of them become familiar logic puzzles, to anyone into that sort of thing. A lot of puzzles in the game involve context-sensitive actions executed with a found item and the stylus, and some are solved by actions like blowing into the microphone or closing and opening the DS. The controls during these puzzles are all very responsive and do exactly what you want them to most of the time. You might occasionally slip with the stylus or grab the wrong item, but other than that, there isn't much room for complaint.

There are a lot of different people in the hotel, and they've all got their own little mysteries. Needless to say, the not-quite-friendly Kyle Hyde spends most of the night digging up dirt on the other occupants and learning about them in order to solve their problems (often quite reluctantly). Most of your interactions with the characters center around conversations in which you have two or three choices to make when talking to them. If you make a correct assessment, they react accordingly and the conversation continues. Make one wrong choice, though, and you could potentially end the segment and give yourself a game over, forcing you to start from your last save or a point close to it. You're treated to a similar segment at the end of each chapter, in which Kyle recounts the events of the chapter to test your memory (granted, missing a question here causes you to repeat the question rather than instant failure).

Each character has their own mannerisms about them, and their personality quirks are reflected in their dialog. Kyle will undoubtedly be a favorite to many for his crass, blunt nature with an undertone of a somewhat reluctant caring nature. Of course, if players don't take much of a liking to him, there are plenty of characters other than Hyde, and though some appear than less, they're all very different.

There are a couple minor problems with pacing in the game. Several times, you'll find yourself wandering from room to room, wondering exactly what you're supposed to be doing. This can go on for a long time, as the game doesn't take you by the hand and lead you where to go; usually, it gives you a vague hint and expects you to know where to go. On some occasions, though, it does seem like the game takes you by the hand a bit too much, and you'll see things like "I should check this room out" happening in a couple rare instances. You'll also run into occasional items that you won't use for a long time, and when you finally do use them, they'll disappear forever when their introduction and how long you had them might have led you to believe they would play a larger role.

Hotel Dusk's graphics are a little mixed. Mostly, the hotel looks pretty good, and the puzzles themselves are particularly well-rendered. Still, some of the textures you see while walking the halls are a bit pixelated and sometimes appear blurry. Objects in motion like doors opening are well-animated and most objects you see like furniture and decorations have a surprising amount of detail, and the majority of them are well modeled.

The characters are all drawn in near-monochromatic 2D, and this adds an interesting stylistic look to the game that fits perfectly with the sort of mystery novel theme of the story. There's a unique motion blur of sorts on the character images that adds an interesting quality to their movements, and even when they stand still they seem to be in motion. The facial expressions are another highlight of the characters, and all of them have a wide variety that runs the emotional gamut. When Hyde says something particularly mean, characters will either fume in irritation or look shocked and hurt, recoiling almost as if they've been hit. If a character who's particularly fond of Hyde runs into him, they'll shout and wave or offer a curt smile. It's a nice touch to have actually animated in little nuances like that with all the characters, rather than just have them appear.

Hotel Dusk's soundtrack has mostly short tracks that you hear fairly often, but each one fortunately sounds rather good overall. It's all got a sort of lounge-jazz style that fits wonderfully with the detective novel story and sounds a lot like the music from older detective shows, and most of the tracks are a treat to listen to.

Sound effects themselves are generally pretty good, and the only real problem with the audio is that there isn't really anything in the way of voices. There's a ton of dialog, so having every line voiced would have been out of the question, but even something like the occasional "Yo, Hyde!" or "Thanks, mister!" sort of like what was used in Wind Waker and Elite Beat Agents would have added a bit.

If you're looking for a fun adventure/puzzle game or just a somewhat different experience on the platform, Hotel Dusk is probably the best thing of its kind on the DS, and it's certainly unlike any other title on the handheld. Despite a few pacing problems here and there, and a lot of back-and-forth that may alienate gamers looking for something more fast-paced, Hotel Dusk is a satisfying game that can be recommended to most older gamers. If the puzzles and relative challenge of the game don't keep you playing, chances are the story will have you interested enough to keep playing and find out what happened to Hyde's lost partner. Not to say that story is all Hotel Dusk has going for it; it's a smart, engaging adventure game with a lot of style and a good story besides. Chances are, you should try this one out-before it goes out of print like a lot of good adventure games seem to.