Posted April 14, 2017
Not showing up yet in the story page, but:
To be the fly in a beautiful ointment
There's very little to dislike about this game and a lot to adore, but I'll blurt out the bad first:
The game has some minor buffering issues. Controller input can be a little wonky, with your character turning around, rather than open a door.
Other than that, I was - initially - somewhat disappointed by the puzzles. Going in expecting this to be a puzzle detective, I barely strained a brain cell for three quarters of it. All the puzzles are obviously telegraphed. Sneak up on the appropriate gaggle of Ne'er-do-wells and they'll handily exposition you the specifications of their circuitous scheme and how to foil it.
No matter how obvious though, the act of foiling these plans (or not!) managed to remain fun throughout. The game has oodles of style and atmosphere and just watching the life in the mansion tick down is a true joy. Uncovering the details of a plot, sneaking about the mansion, spying and applying your interesting and well implemented skills, gives you a very "Thief"-like feeling of being the voyeur and saboteur to this beautiful, intricate world. It's all there for you to outwit, and be privy to the various overlapping intrigues as they run through each other like ornate clockwork. The urge to undo a tied ribbon, lies mostly in how pretty the bow is. The Sexy Brutale is in that, is one hell of a tantalizing knot in artwork, sound and snappy character design.
Eventually, the intelligence of this game is found instead, in how it kept misdirecting my expectations. There were several moments where I thought I had the Sexy Brutale figured out, only for mounting dread to make me doubt, and then fear another theory.
In the end, the game has one hell of a mind-boggling plot twist that makes everything feel like it made sense. I'll only say this: The storepage's tag of "mystery/adventure" suits Sexy Brutale best. Buy this game for the mystery, vague as that may sound, and I can promise you the inquisitive will be well rewarded with one hell of a journey.
To be the fly in a beautiful ointment
There's very little to dislike about this game and a lot to adore, but I'll blurt out the bad first:
The game has some minor buffering issues. Controller input can be a little wonky, with your character turning around, rather than open a door.
Other than that, I was - initially - somewhat disappointed by the puzzles. Going in expecting this to be a puzzle detective, I barely strained a brain cell for three quarters of it. All the puzzles are obviously telegraphed. Sneak up on the appropriate gaggle of Ne'er-do-wells and they'll handily exposition you the specifications of their circuitous scheme and how to foil it.
No matter how obvious though, the act of foiling these plans (or not!) managed to remain fun throughout. The game has oodles of style and atmosphere and just watching the life in the mansion tick down is a true joy. Uncovering the details of a plot, sneaking about the mansion, spying and applying your interesting and well implemented skills, gives you a very "Thief"-like feeling of being the voyeur and saboteur to this beautiful, intricate world. It's all there for you to outwit, and be privy to the various overlapping intrigues as they run through each other like ornate clockwork. The urge to undo a tied ribbon, lies mostly in how pretty the bow is. The Sexy Brutale is in that, is one hell of a tantalizing knot in artwork, sound and snappy character design.
Eventually, the intelligence of this game is found instead, in how it kept misdirecting my expectations. There were several moments where I thought I had the Sexy Brutale figured out, only for mounting dread to make me doubt, and then fear another theory.
In the end, the game has one hell of a mind-boggling plot twist that makes everything feel like it made sense. I'll only say this: The storepage's tag of "mystery/adventure" suits Sexy Brutale best. Buy this game for the mystery, vague as that may sound, and I can promise you the inquisitive will be well rewarded with one hell of a journey.
