#detectivu

We are the titular Jenny LeClue, a young teenage detective genius, and she has a problem; she is getting tired of not having real actual mysteries to solve. Jenny LeClue also has another problem; it is a long-running young teenage detective genius genre mystery novel series, which has slumped in popularity due to formulaic writing and lack of any stakes or progression. The latter problem forces the hand of the author, and in doing so begins to solve the former problem… but in doing so, what new issues will occur? Arthur, the author, is conflicted about the direction the story honestly needs to take for his book series to continue- he loves his characters, his world, and the static comfort of it all. But at this point, now that the brakes are off, even Jenny seems to be fighting against him…

Jenny LeClue is a point and click adventure game, in the mystery genre. Those of you who know me may recognize that I… generally don't like that sort of game. Phoenix Wright is fantastic of course, but things like Monkey Island or Grim Fandango are games that bounce off me like one of those high-tension spring mattresses. So when I say this is one of my favorite games of all time, that's gotta mean something. As Jenny you must search your environment for scraps of post cards, concept art, and of course actual clues to help progress the story, solve the mysteries you encounter, and get to the bottom of the odd things going down in Arthurton.

This game also has a (relatively light) choose-your-own-adventure style to the dialogue, ala games like Mass Effect and the like. Your choosiness will influence the characters and the story somewhat here and there, but is ultimately not the be-all end-all deciding factor of things, which makes it a bit easier to work with. Generally, Jenny is a pretty rude and sassy girl (befitting a child detective sort) so even if you're trying to be nice, it might take a bit before she figures out how. And when you have her be mean… well, she doesn't pull punches.

In this episode, we get all the way to the actual major mystery; the death of a beloved local figure and fan-favorite character. Oh no! We're also introduced to a number of folk who'll be important in the future; Jenny's Mom, the concept of her Dad, her friend Keith, her "local older guy who she hangs out with due to genre conventions" CJ the Conspiracy Jheorist, Dean Strausberry, and of course her cousin Susan Quincy Glatz. The voice work in this game is incredible, perfectly capturing the feel of one of these child detective novels, and I love it.