Ghosts of Miami

Ghosts of Miami came out back in 2017 and barely has any reviews, so hopefully mine sheds a light on the game. I loved the 80s setting, the art, and the different characters. I also liked what the game was trying to do as a detective visual novel, even if the execution felt uneven. Some parts were handled really well, while others felt underdeveloped. I honestly think the romance could’ve been left out completely. The detective side also wasn’t quite what I expected. The clues you collect don’t seem to matter nearly as much as the choices you make right at the end of each case. There were also times when the game showed me places I could supposedly visit but wouldn’t actually let me choose them, so some of the freedom feels more like the illusion of choice. The dialogue can be like that too. Toward the end, things also get confusing without much guidance on how you’re supposed to figure everything out. And the soundtrack? Awful. I eventually just muted it. It’s cheap for the amount of content you get, and I don’t think it’s a bad game. I just kept seeing the potential for something better than what it actually turned into.

A wonderful visual novel game with great funky art, fitting of the 80s setting and vibes. I do enjoy the characters and story was ok. I liked that the story continued through each case and that the results of each case has a slight knock on effect. Though some decisions that went towards a "win" result didn't quite make sense. Has some replayability to it, so will return to it at some point, but after my first playthrough, I feel satisfied enough with it for now.

Overall this is a sweet & short part detective and romance game! I love the chracter designs, the diversity of the love interests and the stylization of the environments, world and music. This game is goregous! The investigation bits are fun but sometimes it feels unclear what areas you 'should' or 'shouldn't go to first, and what answers to give when asking suspects questions. It also feels rather unclear when and how to exactly romance all the characters. My biggest gripe is that there is NO SKIP BUTTON or Saving mechanics (before decision choices). This makes it really tedious to replay to try and get all the achievements or to romance all the characters. I really want to give this game a full accolades but these two missing pieces made me settle for less playthroughs due to 'clicking to skip everything' fatigue. Otherwise i really enjoyed this game! You just need patience to complete everything!

Sure, why not?

I want to give it a positive review. But two stakeouts for gathering information back to back are written in a way that pretends I did not just meet and talk to tbis person just one scene ago lol. The writing is done in a general way so that I guess any scene could come first since you’re choosing which place to stakeout/question someone for info. So you choose one, make acquaintances or enemies with someone. Choose the next place to go. Well, the game didnt write just a tiny bit of extra writing to account for you saw them just a moment ago, so instead it’s VERY awkward to see you, the main character, internalize thoughts and speak to this other person who also clearly doesnt know who you are bc the dec did not just slightly update dialogue for that. It’s so off putting I may not play any more. It was one of the most jarring and negativequality control things I’ve ever experienced in a game.

Fun enough to pick up on sale (Luci is probably my favourite).