The Red Pearls of Borneo

The Red Pearls of Borneo is an investigative deduction game that feels a bit like Type Help crossed with Return of the Obra Dinn, but from a certain historical angle. In this story, you’re a psychic investigator looking into the fates of a client’s family members during an especially violent day in Borneo during World War II.

I played the version on itch.io (it's also on Steam), and there was a lot to like. Gameplay was smooth: after I got used to navigating the various menus and lists, it was impressive how easy it was to follow the story in nonlinear fashion and make connections without taking a bunch of external notes, even though I didn't use all the available tools. I thought the music and art added rather than subtracted. Some of the deductions felt very satisfying, and some of the plot twists too.

There were also some things I didn’t love: The dialogue was rough at times, there were many typos, and when I needed a hint, the game just told me what to do. A little more nuance to the hint system would’ve been nice, to make the player feel they’re still doing at least some of the work. Also, the final sequences got a little confusing, both emotionally and logically, I think because there was extra content added to the game later on. I wonder if the original pre-DLC version might’ve had a more balanced final act.

One more thing: There’s really no comfortable way to answer the question at the beginning that asks if you want to see slurs or not. No, I actually don’t want to, but I can’t just forget the option is there (plus even if you say no, they’re just censored out). And it feels like everyone says slurs, even the player character. Maybe it is realistic, but maybe realism is not always the most fun choice!

Ultimately, I’m glad I played this game, and I enjoyed puzzling out what happened to everyone, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it broadly—though WWII history buffs might especially enjoy it.

...Is it blasphemy to say I like The Red Pearls of Borneo more than Type Help? Well, if it is, then darn me to heck, because I like The Red Pearls of Borneo more than Type Help.

As an American and also an idiot, I didn't know, well, anything about British colonial Borneo before starting this game; in my subconscious mind, World War II didn't actually start until the invasion of Pearl Harbor, and everything before that was just, as the Brits would say, a bit o' banter. While I obviously can't speak to this game's historical accuracy, I found the story deeply intriguing, on both the character drama and broader narrative levels.

Gameplay wise, Red Pearls takes the core "who was here at what time?" premise of the author's previous title What Happened to the Crew? (and its spiritual predecessor Type Help, for that matter) and cranks up the user-friendliness until the dial breaks off. Gone are the days of needing a spreadsheet, some scrap paper, and a professional stenographer to take your notes; just open up a menu, click on a bubble, and you can see everyone who hasn't been assigned a place at any given hour. It's glorious, and it makes returning to Type Help or What Happened feel like amateur hour. Notes can be added to everything and anything, and the main character's psychic object affinity means you rarely have to go through the rigamarole of trying every possible combination of characters for a given hour blindly. Having said all that...is this a better system? I'm not sure. Some of the magic is lost for me without the parser interface; Red Pearls lacks the feeling of being an overworked but doggedly determined archivist that made What Happened so immersive despite its heaps of malarkey.

Unfortunately, just like What Happened to the Crew?, Red Pearls comes to a screeching halt at about the halfway mark. At that point, the multilayered puzzles and varied-perspective storytelling completely stops, and the game turns into several hours of clicking "next scene." Technically, the last act is optional...but c'mon. I'm not gonna get that far into a story only to say "well that was a lovely cliffhanger, time to move on with my life!" There's one last swan song of extra-hard puzzles right near the end, but then it turns back into nothing but boring dialog. Again, I did finish the whole game (more than once) so it can't be that bad, I just...wish it was different.

Forget about my (mostly) joking historical ignorance from the second paragraph, I think I need to speak seriously for a moment. Red Pearls, at times, presents an uncomfortably rosy view of British colonialism. It's a rather difficult thing to pinpoint, but between the unceremonious deaths of the only non-white characters, the constant use of anti-Japanese slurs (granted, you can choose to censor them at the start of the game), and the hero-worshiping of British military intelligence...I don't know, it all made me a bit wary. I don't think the game or its creator are deliberately racist, but it'd feel irresponsible for me to not at least bring these issues up.

I hope the length of this review speaks to just how much there is to say about Red Pearls, both good and bad. It's a rare treat to get something so unique with this degree of polish, and at the bargain price of free, I think it's well worth at least getting to the end of the main plot. Bushmonkey is currently working on a sequel to Red Pearls called Green Mist Over Portland, and I can't wait to play it.

A nice iteration on the Type Help who-when-where mystery mansion concept, with an atmospheric / historical setting, well written characters, and a fun plot to discover.