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Review
An anonymous informant leaves a tip about an upcoming crime which will take place at an opera house. You have been brought in to investigate. Furthermore, an appearance of normalcy must be maintained, so simply trying to cancel the show is not an option.
As with Sylvan Gardens, the production values here are top notch, although I think there isn't sound in this one. The art is nice, the interface is well-designed and professional looking, characters are interesting and you get a good mix of choices. There is a simple stat system which can be used to glean additional clues, but the use of RNG for some of these checks adds a bit of luck to the mix.
Sadly, I was unable to solve the mystery on my first attempt, although I had some of the pieces from reading the clues and trying to figure out which names showed up a little more often. The game gives you a hint if you are unable to solve it, and also gives you the entire solution if you really can't solve it, although your (perhaps unimportant) game score will take a hit. That said, even after having the mystery revealed to me, I was still struggling to make sense of the evil plot.
Spoilers follow from here. You were warned.
This was the plot. (Spoiler - click to show)Lord Vulpetti is plotting to rob the audience using the cornetto (or the aria), and he's motivated by his desire for revenge against Angelo.
Now, I have some questions. Spoilers here too. You were warned.
1.(Spoiler - click to show)Why did Lord Vulpetti order the flowers and the taunting message IN PERSON at the florist? Even if the crime was carried out successfully, the not-so-subtle message card could easily be traced back to him. The florist knew him, and his name was on the buyer records. Even a semi-competent criminal should have known to use a proxy or a fake identity to buy those flowers and make the delivery.
2.(Spoiler - click to show)The note on the bouquet ostensibly hints that Lord Vulpetti plans to rob the audience, but this seems like a huge leap of logic to make. Maybe there is evidence elsewhere which I missed, but this doesn't seem like much to go on.
3.(Spoiler - click to show)The lyrics make reference to a horn and a magic note, but it also seems like a huge leap of logic to infer that Lord Vulpetti plans to enchant the cornetto with this. Not to mention, the magic in the horn could be detected by the other characters (evidenced later on) and could easily be traced back to Lord Vulpetti even if the crime was successful.
4.(Spoiler - click to show)If all Lord Vulpetti wanted to do was to humiliate Angelo, why work with thieves to rob the audience? He didn't want money. Putting everyone to sleep would already have achieved that goal. The thieves don't seem to have contributed anything to preparing the plan and would likely have been happy to backstab him if the relationship went south. A mass robbery would only result in more serious investigations and place needlessly greater heat on Lord Vulpetti.
Anyway, after completing the mystery, you have the option to dance with someone and romance them. It feels like something added on later, but I actually liked it. The ending sequences were a nice way to wrap up the investigation. This game still has the charm and sweetness of Sylvan Gardens.
Despite all I've said, I'm still giving four stars, as there were many parts of this game which I liked.
