One subgenre I’ve been pleasantly surprised to see pretty well represented on the Switch has been mystery titles. Whether they take the form more of an adventure, an almost puzzle-like approach, or some other sort of blend, we’ve also seen classic literary figures, overly-curious kids, and classic hard-boiled style detectives featured. 

Falling into the latter category, The Last Case of John Morley has a satisfying noir style overall, between the character voiceover and the generally dark settings you’ll be exploring. Considering that dark tone then morphs into having a psychological horror component, it’s also a bit of a wild card tonally, which you could choose to take or leave depending on your tastes. There’s no question that the ambiance in the areas you’ll explore is one of the game’s best features, generally making great use of darkness, shadows, and some generally creepy artwork to set up the darker turns that are in store. I do wish in some spots it wasn’t quite so difficult to make out details, as that can add to some frustrations when you realize you’d missed something right in front of you, but the darkness generally does make sense.

In terms of the puzzles you’ll confront in order to move forward, I’d say it’s a mixed bag. While I applaud the creativity in the implementation in some of them, I could also see where people could be frustrated if they’re unable to pick up on some of the vibes the game is trying to give off, roughly leading you towards the answers but possibly trying to be a bit too clever about it. In other spots I found the way the game would practically lead you from one clue to another tied to flashbacks to be unusual, giving some things away that could have been deduced. But in general this plays out more like an adventure with puzzles than a proper mystery with you collecting clues and then making proper deductions from them. I suppose you could view the final experience then either through a positive lens of it simply being different, taking you by surprise by deviating from the norm, but you could also be simply disappointed with a game that feels like it’s being set up as a mystery, but doesn’t really play out as one.