I expected that this game would be a good Ace Attorney-like and it certainly is that in spades. There's plenty of detecting and lawyer-ing to satiate any AA fan.

However, the writers went above and beyond just a simple pastiche. Contained within this cartoony point-and-click adventure game is what I perceive to be some very well researched historical fiction based on Qing Dynasty China. The story touches on some deep themes here - in particular, the trauma imparted on the Chinese by things like the Opium Wars, the Unequal Treaties created by the Western powers, and in general many of the events that make up what Chinese historiography refers to as The Century of Humiliation. Here in the anglosphere, it's easy to see China as The Villain due to the way it's portrayed in the news media (and I'm not saying always unjustifiably so). But it's good to see the other side - how the Chinese view themselves in relation to the West.

The English localization is a little stilted, but it's not bad- it was good enough to get the point across. Highly recommended to fans of the Ace Attorney series, detective fiction, historical fiction, or those who want to see a Chinese perspective on the relationship between China and Western nations.

Enjoyed the playthrough, beautiful soundtrack and overall visuals. The historical tidbits were especially interesting, hope to see a sequel!

Murders on the Yangtze River definitely managed to tickle the ace attorney itch I had, and I'm also excited to see more. There are some things I liked about the game, and some things I don't, but it's a bit minor.

So, there are a total of 6/7 chapters. Majority of the cases are technically their own standing and don't need influence of other cases (apart from 1), but there's an overarching narrative regarding the protagonist. In the role of a detective, your job is to deduce what happened regarding the end of the crime scene. Who did it, how did it happen, the usual. It's more... grounded than compared to say, an ace attorney game, because in that you're a lawyer investigating, when it's the detective's job. Having said that however, I think it rather odd that the detective is also acting on majority parts as a lawyer, but I mean, I liked it in Ace Attorney, and it's fine in general. It is the point of an investigation game. The game is a 2D side scroller, so a lot of the key items can be found by going left and right slowly, or quickly too. There's also a bit more leeway regarding investigations, and I really like the small details, such as the highlighting of an item be a calligraphy brush being drawn. There's the option of customization for the characters, which I give props to, although a bit weird for the unlock system because the likelihood of running through the game again for a visual novel is pretty slim, unless you're a completionist. Maybe it's just because I don't play games to try and complete them, but even then, I don't think a regular person would do it. Just me stating my thoughts though. I still think the costume unlock is a really cool idea, and should be utilized within Ace Attorney and this and future games. I also think it's impressive, the concept of the different minigame or investigation sections, such as running and hiding, or inspecting items.

Now, the negatives. Whoever designed the 100% completion for one of the achievements is a masochist. There is an achievement which requires you to get every ending. Normally, you'd think this is fine, because how hard can different endings be gotten? Until you realize that different endings for them means bad ending, aka endings that you fail. There is a total of 29 "endings" you can achieve. Look, maybe it's just me, but... I don't wanna save before I get an ending and go through the dialogue again. Then there's the localisation. I give props where props is due, I think they did their best translating the Chinese to English. It's not great, but it's understandable. And sometimes, you can tell something's... off. The English translation for the dialogue is... weird, and not a great translation. My biggest issue with this is when they use different voice actors for the English and Chinese parts. For me, it's distracting that all of a sudden the voice changes entirely. Hilarious, but very distracting.

So, if you like Ace Attorney, and am looking for another Ace Attorney like game, I highly recommend Murders on the Yangtze River.