Quick Impressions - Layton Brothers: Mystery Room

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To many fans' surprise Level 5 released a Professor Layton spin-off title on iOS. Titled Layton Brothers: Mystery Room, the series takes place decades after the Professor's final adventure and follows his son Alfendi Layton and assistant Lucy Baker as they work together to solve murder mysteries for the Serious Crime department of Scotland Yard. But what could have been a fun title that would have expanded upon the much loved Layton series instead ended up as less of a murder mystery and more of a guided murder tour.

The game is broken down into chapters, each following the simple formula of examination, deduction, and questioning. After a short introduction to the crime of each chapter Layton challenges Lucy to examine the crime scene, evidence, and statements in order to determine who among the suspects is most likely the killer.

Investigations are done by examining a 3D recreation of the crime scene. Areas of interest can be zoomed in on for greater detail and reveal what might have previously been missed. Once the player has made a guess to the suspect a case is built up against them by sorting through the evidence, and final questioning can begin in order to break down their alibi.



It's in this familiar system that the game begins to fall apart. For one, there is no fail state in the game. Any wrong decision will either be corrected by Layton or send the player back to try again. This system works for the original series of games due to the nature of solving logic puzzles. In a situation such as interrogating a suspect however, it becomes odd to simply fling every bit of evidence you have until one sticks. The system is also slow and repetitive. Upon initial investigation the player is given 5 minutes to examine the crime scene, which has no significance upon gameplay, nor is necessary. The initial investigation is only used to give Layton your “gut instinct” as to who committed the crime. If the player is wrong Layton will simply say the correct suspect and move on. The player is then asked to examine the exact same crime scene again and again and again, being told very specifically which pieces of evidence they should be looking for. Although it is the same crime scene as before the initial 5 minute examination seems to have no benefit beyond knowing in advance where evidence is. And as the investigation system is very cumbersome you may find yourself becoming frustrated when backing out of several menus just to examine a different piece of evidence on the same screen.


(Image edited to avoid spoilers)

The interrogation portion of the game is where it is both at its most exciting and least satisfying. Layton and Lucy work together in order to break apart the suspect's alibi, represented by a heart covered with a stone mask. Dialogue is exchanged with the undertones of the sentences displayed within colored arrows which “fire” at each other. Both sides continue this game as they attempt to make the other fold under their arguments. While this allows for some of the best dialogue in the game the player has almost zero control during. The only control given is contradicting the suspect's statements and without a fail state there is no tension in deciding which evidence or statements should be presented. This hand-holding that the game insists on following removes the sense of accomplishment that the player might feel from solving the mystery as it feels that Layton simply explains how and why each murder happened even with the player's input.



It is a shame that the gameplay is sorely lacking as Layton Brothers proves to be a beautifully drawn game with crisp,interesting character designs and plenty of the banter one would expect from Level 5. It also has a soundtrack done by Yuzo Koshiro, composer of games like Streets of Rage, ActRaiser, and Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin. If you really want to continue the legacy of the Layton family you can't go wrong with the free entry. But if you really have an itch to play a murder mystery game on your iOS device, you may be better off with the recently released Phoenix Wright HD Trilogy.

Layton Brothers: Mystery Room
Released June 27th, 2013
Available on iOS devices
Files 000-002 free
Additional chapters for $2.99 (Files 003-006) and $1.99 (Files 007-009)