I love me a bit of the Professor Layton games, especially the original trilogy. Now the other titles have their own merits still and for the most part are just as fun but they are lacking somewhat.
This spin-off was initially released on the 3DS and as a game for your phone for IOS and android I believe, before dropping like a year later as a deluxe edition on the switch. Now I think the deluxe edition is more for show than anything. Without looking too much into it I think some puzzles were changed and the ordering swapped over, you can get all the daily extra puzzles and clothing DLC from the get go. It may be a bit more than that but that’s the meat on the bones of it I’d guess.
Now unfortunately the puzzle master who did the six main line games before for the original trilogy and prequel trilogy sadly passed away. It does show somewhat in the puzzles this time round. A lot of them a fairly similar or just a harder version of the previous one so the variety has dipped and if you play it for long enough chunks you kinda just get used to the pattern you are looking for. I won’t say I breezed through it some of them did properly stump me, and made me use some of the precious hint coins you find on your travels.
For this spin-off game rather than you being Professor Hershel Layton and his trusty companion Luke you play as his adoptive daughter Katrielle, who has started her own detective agency in London.
One of the biggest draws for the early games was the story that interlinked over titles along with its unique and distinct look. The kinda Victorian, steam punkesque setting. The weird ambience and music, all the strange designed characters you get to know as you travel back and forth from differing locations. Now a lot of this carries over and you can tell it’s set in the same world, but it all just seems dialled down.
Even on the switch with the clearer and brighter HD, and the added rumble from the joy cons to add to it even more then the DS or 3DS could. It just lacks. Now the game runs smoothly, the animation and voice acting are top notch but the weirdness isn’t quiet there and the new characters don’t feel as fresh or fleshed out as much as they could.
The story is told over twelve chapters which revolve around solving a case per chapter. Taking around an hour and a half per one I’d say so if you just want to complete the game without doing any optional puzzles you’d be looking at around 17-18 hours. But if you want to do everything revisiting the chapters opens up more puzzles. As well as utilising the touchscreen to tap at everything to find hint coins, fashion coins, hidden collectibles as well as hidden puzzles.
I think collectively with daily puzzles there’s something like 550 puzzles to work though, as well as three mini games you can do at any time. One is finding the perfect four course meal for some supporting characters. You have the mini maze game for Sherl where you have to get to the exit in a required amount of moves. And lastly the shop game where you have to direct customer to purchase everything in your inventory.
Each puzzle still awards you picarats the higher the amount the harder the puzzle in theory. With the daily puzzles awarding you points to unlock bonus behind the scenes stuff from the entire backlog of the series. You unlock furniture points so you can decorate Layton’s office as you’d like as well, and can even get new outfits for Katrielle and Sherl.
So there is a lot to be done and keep you occupied as long as you like quick thinking riddles or brain teasers. So going in as a new fan I’d doubt you’d be too disappointed but going in as a long standing fan it is a bit underwhelming. The story isn’t the strongest even if the games had already started losing it’s initial more grounded roots and the supporting cast isn’t as interesting either. You have Sherl a talking dog with amnesia who is the best new addition, Ernest Greeves, Emiliana Perfetti and inspector Hastings which round out the main characters.
Overall I think there is a lot of enjoyment to be had and the game story is neither tasking nor does it overstay it’s welcome. Each chapter being relatively bite sized really allows for ease of play along with re-playability for at least two rounds of each chapter. Along with the bonus content that can be earned through the extra puzzles at your disposal.
I’d rate this game a respectable Tasty 6/10, an easy going puzzle driven story that’s only lacking due to the hefty weight of it’s main titles legacy bearing down on it. If given the chance a sequel could easily improve on a lot of small things amounting to a much better experience overall.
Released on Nintendo Switch, November 8th 2018
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