鲸落

As this is a commercial boxed game, many Chinese reviews exist; you might want to check them out too.

Played at: 梦回 Another Day
5 players (2 female, 3 male)

Hours and even days after playing this case, I was still thinking about it. It left a deep impression at two levels: first, the immediate emotional impact; second, how innovatively it is constructed, and how fascinating it is as a case study.

The important thing to note is that you need WeChat to play this game. A central part of the gameplay is a “group chat” that gets updated as the story unfolds. This innovative approach to evidence-searching and storytelling alone would have made this case worth playing.

But《鲸落》does so much more. Inspired by online alternate reality games, early evidence takes the form of social media profiles and search history. This case also has the 跑团 tag, which apparently refers to the tabletop RPG-esque approach of letting players visit locations to find clues or interact with NPCs — meaning that《鲸落》has a second innovative form of evidence-searching.

Then there’s the content of the case itself. The inferences required are non-trivial without being inaccessible to newish players. Unlike more fanciful cases, the lines of reasoning required stay close to reality — which makes for a change of pace, really.

The storyline is multifaceted, thematically rich, and driven by societal observations, supported by reasonably evocative writing. And everything leads up to a deeply affecting endgame.

While there’s a fine line between being emotionally moving and emotionally manipulative, I think《鲸落》largely manages to walk it (though players with a low tolerance for melodrama may disagree, and even I found some parts a bit overblown).

(Separately, there’s a whole other level at which《鲸落》is fascinating: its business model and apparent namedrops of? collabs with? real-world music artistes.)

Although it only lasted five hours, I felt I’d had a more complete experience than in some longer and more difficult cases.《鲸落》is an experience that I’d recommend to anyone who’s interested in jubensha.

Try if you like: Stories rooted in societal phenomena; emotional immersion; innovative evidence-searching and gameplay; real-world-esque deduction; 万能青年旅店; themes of urban alienation.

Not recommended for: Players who don’t want to be left with lingering feelings after a game ends; players who don’t like emotional aspects; players who prefer something light-hearted.