The Silver Case Reviews
Were one to be completely honest, the gameplay found in The Silver Case would garner it a middling score.
It's somehow hard to recommend The Silver Case to a younger audience, not accustomed with an "old" game: the interface and controls are quite clunky, and the graphics are stylish but not good. However, fans of the visual novel genere will find a lot to love here.
Review in Italian | Read full review
A weird, often impenetrable experience, The Silver Case is ultimately rewarding
The Silver Case is a pretty interesting game to recommend. It suffers from very bad pacing and an overflow of information with the most tacked game mechanics I’ve seen a while, but at the end of the day it still has the essence of a Suda51 game. With that said, if you’re a diehard fan of his work, you’ll definitely want to check it out and see just how far he’s come over the years. If you’re a fan of visual novels I’d probably recommend familiarizing yourself with his body of work before diving in.
As noted, The Silver Case isn’t an experience that everyone will enjoy or want to engage with. I’ve seen people on Steam go so far as to request refunds because of the simple presence of the “solve the puzzle for me” button — it’s fair to say that people like that were never this game’s intended audience. If you’re up for what this game has to offer, though, which is a fascinating story told in a particularly fascinating way, you’ll have a thoroughly enjoyable time. And you’ll be left wanting more.
I suspect The Silver Case still has plenty more to offer beyond the point I’m at — I’ve only cleared the prologue chapter and the first main “case” in the Transmitter scenario — but I’m already thoroughly intrigued. If you’re looking for something very, very different from pretty much anything you’ve played before then The Silver Case is well worth checking out. I will certainly be continuing to do so in my own free time.
While it's nice to see how far Suda 51 has come, only diehard adventure and Suda 51 fans will be able to appreciate this. The Silver Case hasn't aged well, and feels both clunky and underwhelming. This feels like a first attempt, and compared to many others, it's a novel one. Still, it's hard to appreciate the beauty of a mirror under all the dust, and The Silver Case is definitely a dusty one.
Sociological questions about mental illness and crime, unethical romantic relationships, and mysterious world building all combine into a game that demands you to think in ways many others do not.
Despite the cumbersome controls, weird unresolved stories, and confusing interface, The Silver Case provides a really intriguing and unique gaming experience that, once the mechanics are learned, is a joy to behold. Its enticing tale of murder, insanity, and more, really shines through via the interesting characters and beguiling narrative style. This remaster has brought the old cult classic to life and introduced Westerners to a real treat that looked like never coming to realisation. No visual novel library would be complete without The Silver Case in it.
The Silver Case greatest strength lies in keeping the player constantly interested and confused. Many moments of the story will seem absurd, leaving the player wanting to know more. Once the player continues to dwell into the game, mysteries change, new information is discovered and even more absurd things happen, restarting the feeling of complete confusion and interest once again. If you are searching for a highly complex and interesting story, The Silver Case is a great recommendation.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
The Silver Case takes a little time to find its footing, but it finishes more strongly than it begins, and is a real treat for genre fans.
The Silver Case is a rare breed of game that is a breath of fresh air in today's gaming landscape. The gameplay elements are somewhat rigid, but fans of gritty crime dramas or Suda51's distinct style will find a lot to like here.
A nuanced masterpiece.
Goichi Suda's love letter to Noir is so striking and vivid that it's a game I'll not soon forget. By turns shocking, darkly humorous, confounding, and always creative, this was Suda-san's first game as an independent game developer, and through it we see so much of what would become Suda's trademarks; that same transgressive attitude, the same love for classical film and literature genres, and that same intensity in his storytelling (that will ultimately get overlooked by most critics).
I had been looking forward to playing The Silver Case from the moment NIS America announced they'd be bringing the remaster to the PlayStation 4, and I was certainly not disappointed. The game has aged greatly and is certainly an interesting release. The controls are not ideal but get the job done, so if you're up for the challenge, you should definitely take The Silver case for a spin. The extra chapters help to give players some new information that expands on the main game's story and are a very welcomed addition.
As a visual novel in 2017, The Silver Case is a huge disappointment.
Players who like hardboiled detective stories will likely find something of interest here as well, but most of all, for those familiar with the work of Suda51 – especially Killer7 and Flower, Sun, and Rain – The Silver Case will be an essential 'new' Suda51 trip.
Engaging, surreal, and unlike any other game in its genre, The Silver Case is a testament to the fact that Suda51 has been challenging the status quo from the very beginning.
The Silver Case is still an enjoyable experience, despite some of its antiquated designs. Delving into the mind of a younger Suda51 can be a bit mental, and it's something that any enthusiast for his works should ensure they don't miss.
The Silver Case is an intriguing package that provides an insight in to the early works of Suda51, one of gaming’s more interesting personalities. The game might’ve aged but its quality still shines through.