Staffer Retro : A Supernatural Mystery Quest

One of the coolest adventure VNs I've played in a long time. It expertly broadens the scope of the world set up by Staffer Case (something I found lacking in an otherwise tight investigation game), all while centering the interpersonal connections between its main characters. The mysteries are fun too, love the way it breaks the mold; it's not murders we are worrying about here (although they do show up) but questions about communities, about the past. Top this all off with pristine production values and voice acting, and it's bulletproof. Oh, did I mention it has one of the best romances I've seen in anything ever (somehow unintentionally?!?!). Close your eyes and take a step forward, I swear it will change you.

This is going to sound harsh, but I have to be honest: this wasn't the Staffer sequel I waited for. The original Staffer Case was first and foremost a well-crafted murder mystery game that is supported by stellar background world-building. Staffer Retro's formula completely reverses this, and puts story ahead of everything else. If you enjoy adventure visual novels, there is no denying that a lot of work went into the presentation which is absolutely beautiful. But what drew me to Staffers in the first place --- the well-written mysteries, are not quite present here in the sequel. The setup for the mysteries are much weaker here compared to the original game, most of the twists are easily anticipated if you are even just a bit well-versed with the genre. Bloated by unnecessary and often-times tedious dialogue (this is severe in Chapters 4 and 5), there are very little deduction input needed from the player, and it only gets worse in the second half of the game. I sincerely hope the dev team will reconsider sticking closer to the format of the first game, and if they really want to make adventure visual novels; delegate that effort to spin-off titles instead.

Happy Birthday, Verita Retro

I have some mixed feelings about Staffer Retro. It's not a bad game by any means, but it takes a slightly different direction from Staffer Case. In Staffer Case, we investigate crime scenes and murders. Staffer Retro, however, feels more like we are solving puzzles rather than investigating a case. I can understand why, since Staffer Retro doesn't follow the main storyline directly. It is still part of the story, but it focuses on characters who will eventually become part of the main storyline. Because of that, Staffer Retro focuses more on progressing the main story and developing its characters rather than solving murder mysteries. I think this change in focus is ultimately why I wasn't as invested in Retro as much as I wanted to like in Staffer Case. In Staffer Case, the mysteries themselves were what pulled me in. The setup would leave me with missing pieces that I had to put together, and I genuinely enjoyed trying to figure out what had happened before the main character had their lightbulb moment. In Retro, I felt like the information was presented to me much more directly. The cases felt more like puzzles that I had to solve rather than mysteries where I had to reconstru…

so fun, saw some twists coming but not all of them! [spoiler] did not see act 4's ending coming, or verita being the one to write the document vering hid coming! i clocked the vero twist and verita writing the blueprint though! [/spoiler] its always fun when theres things you do see coming because the game set up the clues for you, and even when you dont see something coming! the answer is always there i know a lot of people like games like case of the golden idol, but ive never really enjoyed fill in the blank mystery games. they always felt like you didnt even need to know or follow the story to solve them, but this game isnt like that. its mechanics are very fun, the art and style is awesome. i liked staffer case and staffer reborn too. this game actually grabs my attention and lets me use my brain which i love. a lot of mystery games ive played are kinda boring and have predictable twists. To anyone who's played Master Detective Archives: Rain Code i guessed the big ending in chapter 1 and then again almost as soon as the main guy for the end was introduced. it's not a "whodoneit" type game really (like the staffer case game), but you are solving cool mysteries.…

第三章无敌了。后面是shi我都要给好评了今天