Review: Urban Myth Dissolution Center Is Sublime
I picked up Urban Myth Dissolution Center because that aesthetic just killed me. The screenshots and trailer Shueisha Games shared were too good. I didn’t expect that I’d not only be hopping into a game that looked incredibly unique and featured a stunning aesthetic, but also featured captivating gameplay and intriguing stories. I’m shocked! This is a game that deserves a huge audience. Azami Fukurai always had the ability to see things. She figured these red, indistinct figures roaming the world happened to be ghosts. It terrified her. When she saw an ad for the Urban Legend Dissolution Center, she visited in search of help. After being tested by Center Director Ayumu Meguriya, who tested her abilities with an investigation into a cursed chair that killed anyone who sat in it, Azami… absolutely decimated that chair. Since it was on loan and very expensive, she now needs to use her gift of Clairvoyance alongside Director Ayumu’s Vision to solve cases the center sends her out on alongside driver and assistant Yasmine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hrq9Vih3DeY&ab_channel=SHUEISHAGAMES If you love Ace Attorney or Touch Detective, then Urban Myth Dissolution Center should show up on your wishlist. It’s an adventure game along those lines and features both a similar sense of humor at times. However, it does deal with dark situations and themes, such as stalking, doxxing, murder, and death, so keep that in mind. Cases run over multiple days and follow a certain pattern. First, on the ride to a spot with Yasmine, Azami will search the internet for clues. This will involve checking social media accounts talking about the case to find out more elements to investigate, as well as use Azami’s Clairvoyance to find search terms to go deeper. For example, you may learn about characters’ pasts and the history behind certain locations. Once you reach the place where the urban myth appeared, you need to investigate the scene. This means talking to everyone there, checking points of interest, and popping the glasses the Director gave Azami to use Clairvoyance to see shadows of the past and urban myth appearances. As you discuss and investigate things, you’ll unlock new things to ask people about. You’ll also need to start making deductions about what’s going on, forming hypotheses. As a day of investigating comes to a close, Director Ayumu tends to call in to figure out the identity of the urban myth, reach conclusions, or help you gather information to solve it if you’re at the end of the case. This final part can be a multi-step process that demands precision. Which is the only failing I actually found with the game, as sometimes it’ll demand you select phrases in a certain order, when another “answer” with say the last two out of three options flipped could be equally correct. But aside from that, the pacing is pretty perfect, and as you go through cases there will be threads that build up an additional storyline around the Urban Myth Dissolution Center itself. Screenshots by Siliconera There are two things that make Urban Myth Dissolution Center so special. The first is the whole concept and execution of it. This is a fantastic adventure game with a unique approach. It feels like it would fall into the “horror” and “supernatural” genres. And it definitely does! But it also subverts that by often offering additional explanations for things. Throughout the first case, I found it starts to become clear what’s actually happening. It meant that I appreciated that it took a center with two individuals who do actually possess otherworldly abilities to sometimes spot things others wouldn’t. Also, this game is gorgeous. The spritework in Urban Myth Dissolution Center is sublime. I adored all the character portraits, which ended up being so detailed even with the minimalistic approach. The lavish designs for the CG and animated story segments are beautiful. They can make the mundane seem otherworldly and off-putting. Not to mention how effective more exaggerated facial expressions and the urban myth anomaly designs are. To then also make the actual investigation scenes more minimalistic, so when you focus in on areas of interest and character portraits they demand more attention, is a stroke of brilliance. Screenshots by Siliconera I genuinely appreciated almost everything about Urban Myth Dissolution Center, with its art direction, gameplay, and story all being quite captivating. The only occasional annoyances stemmed from some nitpicky responses and requirements during investigations and hypothesis-forming segments. If it didn’t have those minor issues, I’d call it a pretty perfect adventure. Urban Myth Dissolution Center will come to the Switch, PS5, and PC on February 13, 2025. The post Review: Urban Myth Dissolution Center Is Sublime appeared first on Siliconera.
I picked up Urban Myth Dissolution Center because that aesthetic just killed me. The screenshots and trailer Shueisha Games shared were too good. I didn’t expect that I’d not only be hopping into a game that looked incredibly unique and featured a stunning aesthetic, but also featured captivating gameplay and intriguing stories. I’m shocked! This is a game that deserves a huge audience.
Azami Fukurai always had the ability to see things. She figured these red, indistinct figures roaming the world happened to be ghosts. It terrified her. When she saw an ad for the Urban Legend Dissolution Center, she visited in search of help. After being tested by Center Director Ayumu Meguriya, who tested her abilities with an investigation into a cursed chair that killed anyone who sat in it, Azami… absolutely decimated that chair. Since it was on loan and very expensive, she now needs to use her gift of Clairvoyance alongside Director Ayumu’s Vision to solve cases the center sends her out on alongside driver and assistant Yasmine.
If you love Ace Attorney or Touch Detective, then Urban Myth Dissolution Center should show up on your wishlist. It’s an adventure game along those lines and features both a similar sense of humor at times. However, it does deal with dark situations and themes, such as stalking, doxxing, murder, and death, so keep that in mind. Cases run over multiple days and follow a certain pattern. First, on the ride to a spot with Yasmine, Azami will search the internet for clues. This will involve checking social media accounts talking about the case to find out more elements to investigate, as well as use Azami’s Clairvoyance to find search terms to go deeper. For example, you may learn about characters’ pasts and the history behind certain locations.
Once you reach the place where the urban myth appeared, you need to investigate the scene. This means talking to everyone there, checking points of interest, and popping the glasses the Director gave Azami to use Clairvoyance to see shadows of the past and urban myth appearances. As you discuss and investigate things, you’ll unlock new things to ask people about. You’ll also need to start making deductions about what’s going on, forming hypotheses. As a day of investigating comes to a close, Director Ayumu tends to call in to figure out the identity of the urban myth, reach conclusions, or help you gather information to solve it if you’re at the end of the case. This final part can be a multi-step process that demands precision. Which is the only failing I actually found with the game, as sometimes it’ll demand you select phrases in a certain order, when another “answer” with say the last two out of three options flipped could be equally correct. But aside from that, the pacing is pretty perfect, and as you go through cases there will be threads that build up an additional storyline around the Urban Myth Dissolution Center itself.
There are two things that make Urban Myth Dissolution Center so special. The first is the whole concept and execution of it. This is a fantastic adventure game with a unique approach. It feels like it would fall into the “horror” and “supernatural” genres. And it definitely does! But it also subverts that by often offering additional explanations for things. Throughout the first case, I found it starts to become clear what’s actually happening. It meant that I appreciated that it took a center with two individuals who do actually possess otherworldly abilities to sometimes spot things others wouldn’t.
Also, this game is gorgeous. The spritework in Urban Myth Dissolution Center is sublime. I adored all the character portraits, which ended up being so detailed even with the minimalistic approach. The lavish designs for the CG and animated story segments are beautiful. They can make the mundane seem otherworldly and off-putting. Not to mention how effective more exaggerated facial expressions and the urban myth anomaly designs are. To then also make the actual investigation scenes more minimalistic, so when you focus in on areas of interest and character portraits they demand more attention, is a stroke of brilliance.
I genuinely appreciated almost everything about Urban Myth Dissolution Center, with its art direction, gameplay, and story all being quite captivating. The only occasional annoyances stemmed from some nitpicky responses and requirements during investigations and hypothesis-forming segments. If it didn’t have those minor issues, I’d call it a pretty perfect adventure.
Urban Myth Dissolution Center will come to the Switch, PS5, and PC on February 13, 2025.
The post Review: Urban Myth Dissolution Center Is Sublime appeared first on Siliconera.
