周公游记

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 players (3 female, 3 male)

This is a trailblazer in the identity-assigning or perspective-matching not-quite-genre. It’s notable for being more player-vs-player than cooperative, which enlivens the gameplay — while remaining relatively forgiving to murderer-players, thanks to its multi-round structure.

Despite the multiple cases,《周公游记》didn’t feel exhausting, thanks to how fresh and intriguing each successive scenario was. The overarching mystery was clever and substantial, making good use of the detailed premise.

This is pretty much a case for hardcore 推土机 bulldozers only — but if you’re one of those, then you’ll probably enjoy it. Unlike cases that focus on one genre of case-solving (e.g. locked rooms or architecture), 《周公游记》 has a mix of case types and different sorts of reasoning.

Though there’s a solid character-driven narrative (unlike《集会·魔女屋》, say),《周公游记》may not elicit any emotions more complex than “Case-solving/getting away as the murderer is fun”. But sometimes those are all the emotions you need.

Try if you like: Multiple small cases with an overarching mystery; having to tabulate info; a player-vs-player hardcore case.

Not recommended for: Beginners; players who prefer cooperative hardcore cases; players who value emotional/narrative immersion.