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Review
Neon Case is a short custom choice-based cyberpunk/murder mystery game. You are Mei Ling, a Hong Kong police officer in the year 2065. A call comes in: a murder at a strip-club/brothel called Neon Lotus. The victim? An android... and therefore a legal shade of grey. Told in first-person P.O.V.
The investigation kicks off when you and fellow officer Kai Wong arrive at the club to interview three persons of interest: the manager, the patron suspected of murder, and the murder victim, Luna. Yes, we hear her side of the story by accessing her memory. Cue the main event: an actual A.I. interaction. According to the game’s description, "the player interrogates the android’s memory through an in-story AI system (a real chatbot interaction)." The player is directed to type questions into a text box to sift through Luna’s memories. I thought this was clever.
Thing is, (Spoiler - click to show)it’s obvious that she was murdered by the patron, making the “investigation” superficial. You also only get to ask a handful of questions before her diagnostics system fizzles out (no matter what, she’ll tell you what you need). This lack of interactivity and depth fails to showcase this chatbot feature in a meaningful way. It does, however, effectively convey Luna’s individualism and how she feared for her life.
You: Who hurt you?
Luna: I-I'm so frightened, (Spoiler - click to show)it was Vincent Bo...
Which leads to a key question: Is this ultimately a matter of murder or destruction of property? I found it difficult to explore this question due to the spareness of backstory on android technology and its legality within the story. NPCs refer to androids as “it,” but not with malice. Just matter-of-fact, “please don’t damage our androids because we paid a lot for them” kind of way. Perhaps they really are programmable property. And yet, the “lethal deactivation” (aka murder) of an android can land a person in prison. Lots of mixed messages going on.
What is clear is that, regardless of mainstream belief, Luna’s death was traumatic. The scraps of memory from her mind show that she was fully aware of the violence inflicted upon her.
(Spoiler - click to show)So, again: Murder or property damage? The player decides. You can be bribed to bury the case (this one is clearly corrupt). You can arrest the patron for murder- this option is literally labeled as “justice for Luna.” Or you can force him to pay the club for the damages and be let off with a warning. Does the third option break the law? No one acts like it. In the vague ambiguity of violence against androids, society seems content to leave it up to interpretation.
But get this: Kai is an android! This is revealed at the end. Besides being a coworker, he is also Mei’s significant other. Talk about missed opportunity for additional perspective. You would think that he’d have something to say about Luna’s personhood, right? Nope. In fact, he half encouraged us to bury the case. Is this an instance of an android looking down on another android? Interesting.
Final thoughts
As a work of cyberpunk science fiction, Neon Case is filled with familiar elements. Rainy nighttime setting, androids, nightclubs, neon signs, glowing advertising, economic disparities, synthetic food, you name it. Cliches, sure, but that can be part of the fun. Even the generic sci-fi artwork adds flair (though I suspect it’s A.I.-generated). There’s no denying that the game has atmosphere.
But don’t expect in-depth gameplay or a suspenseful story. Neon Case is best approached as the experimental game that it is. Its goal is to showcase its implementation of A.I. as a means for investigating a murder mystery. I think the chatbot and its text input fits well with the premise of sifting through an android’s memory banks in search of clues. Unfortunately, it currently feels more like a gimmick and less like the investigative tool that the author was hoping for.
I recommend Neon Case if the chatbot feature interests you and/or you are an inherent fan of cyberpunk ambience. Fans of the video game Detroit: Become Human may also enjoy the themes in the story.
Comments on this review
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Thanks a lot for the review — I really appreciate you taking the time.
I’m curious about the 3/5 score: what do you feel would most improve the experience? More depth in the investigation, more meaningful choices, or something else?
About the chatbot part: I know the conversation is short and can feel limited, but in the story it’s meant to act as evidence for the police — it unlocks the arrest and provides the background for the final moral decision. I was worried that making the interrogation longer or more demanding might turn it into something many players wouldn’t want to push through.
That said, I’d genuinely like to hear where you felt it fell short, so I can improve future pieces.
Hi! Yes. Generally, the deduction of two stars correlates to faults (I hope that's not too harsh) in the gameplay and story, in equal measure. Plus, my overall experience as a whole felt like a three star experience. As for the specifics...
(Spoiler - click to show)Gameplay/Implementation
Building on what I said about the chatbot. I get that the chatbot feature was meant to confirm our/Mei's/Kai's hunch that the patron killed Luna, but I was under the impression that the chatbot interaction would be the focal point of the investigation.
The core interaction is investigative rather than branching: instead of choosing many dialogue options, the player interrogates the android’s memory through an in-story AI system (a real chatbot interaction).
In other words, using the chatbot to establish leads that can be followed up/confirmed elsewhere, such as interviews with other characters. And so, typing out a few obvious questions only for Luna's diagnostic program to disconnect shortly after feels underwhelming. Then again, maybe I'm asking for too much. This is just feedback.
Here is a sample of what my experience was roughly like when I first played the game:
You: Did vincent stab you?
Luna: N-no... please... d-don't make me r-remember... he... *glitch* Vincent... stabbed? I-I can't... hurts... ^_#*O
You: Who had the knife?
Luna: Knife? N-not me... I swear... V-Vincent... his... he brought it... nooo... >$%X
You: Did he stab you?
Luna: Y-yes... Vincent... stabbed me... cut my skin... eye... I tried to... defend... but blockers... *sobbing glitch* p-please stop asking... ^_#*O
Luna: Connection lost...
Again, the chatbot confirms what we already know before it kicks out the player, hence feeling like a sidelined mechanic than the main focus of the gameplay. Unless I misinterpreted something about the game's objective?
Story
I liked the story- it just didn't have much depth or bring something new to the table. Or what I like to call a "functional story" but not one that makes me think or contemplate.
I mentioned how there's wasted opportunity for perspective as far as Kai is concerned. While he does confirm facts about the case (ex. the damage suggests that Luna was being attacked ), he's mostly there to smile, nod, and agree with you. Regardless if the player knows about him being an android, I think he could have provided broader insights on the legality of androids and personhood to aid their decision making. Just enough to for the player to feel the weight of whichever choice they ultimately make.
Kai sighs. "You know how people are. He's a politician - he'll take revenge, he has connections. Maybe it's better to take the fifty grand, bury the case. The place earns a fortune, but we could really use it. Think of the seaside vacation you've been dreaming of.”
"Maybe a compromise solution?” - I wonder. "I don't want to get my hands dirty with a bribe - it's dishonorable. We'll acknowledge property damage and compensation for the premises. Without court proceedings, no escalation.”
Okay, except neither of these passages give any indication as to why the killing of an android could be classified as murder at all, not to mention placing criminal charges on the person responsible and sending them to prison for a decade.
In a nutshell: A, I wished the chatbot interaction led the investigation instead of merely confirming a conclusion (a conclusion that the player can see coming a mile away even before the chatbot is introduced). B, the cool cyberpunk atmosphere isn't enough to bring the story to life and draw the player into the narrative.
Though the game does effectively function as a "demo" of sorts that showcases the potential of chatbot-player interactions in interactive fiction.
Thanks a lot for the detailed explanations — I really appreciate you taking the time to expand on your thoughts.
Just to clarify the original intention: Neon Case wasn’t meant to be a “game” in the traditional sense, and definitely not a full detective game. It was designed more as a short interactive story. The chatbot interrogation was meant primarily as a narrative device to add atmosphere and a sense of presence, rather than a puzzle mechanic or the core gameplay loop.
Part of the reason for keeping the interaction relatively short was exactly what you mentioned earlier — many people today don’t have the patience for long or demanding experiences, especially in a web-based format. I wanted it to be something you can finish in a few minutes, not a deep system you have to wrestle with.
As a small update: I’ve recently switched the AI engine and adjusted the chatbot prompt. The responses are now much faster and generally more coherent, which improves the pacing quite a bit.
And another update: I’ve just released the next story, “Operation Red Shadow”
https://future-logs.com/en/red-shadow/
This one features conversations with three different NPCs, each with a distinct mindset and narrative context. The dialogues can be longer and more substantial, but they’re not meant as keys to solving a puzzle. They’re more of a narrative extension — something that deepens immersion and fleshes out the world and the situation.
Thanks again for the thoughtful feedback. It’s genuinely helpful as I figure out how far to push this format and where it actually works best.
Thank you for elaborating! I saw your newest game. I'll get to it soon. Right now, I working through my "queue" of reviews.
