死者在幻夜中醒来

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
6/7 players (3 female, 4 male)

《死者在幻夜中醒来》has almost become shorthand for a certain style of gameplay… which I unfortunately can’t talk about without getting into spoiler territory. Let’s just say that there’s a lot going on beyond mere murder-solving, though the murder cases themselves are reasonably interesting.

One key thing to note is that this is a hardcore (硬核) marathon of a case, and it’s very easy to run out of steam. Not all of the reasoning required might be to your taste, either; there is a hefty 还原 (story-reconstruction) component.

Your experience will also vary greatly depending on your character — one character in particular may make for a dissatisfying experience (which sadly means that someone will have to draw the short straw in any game).

《死幻》is not particularly accessible, and is certainly not a crowdpleaser. But if you’re interested in getting deeper into the jubensha world, then this trend-setting case is basically required playing — if only so you can understand what reviews mean when they say another case is reminiscent of 《死幻》.

Try if you like: Ambitious cases; attention to detail; unconventional case structures; a real challenge.

Not recommended for: Beginners; players who prefer shorter games; players who prefer classic murder-focused investigation; players who don’t enjoy being ‘tricked’ by cases.