I have a love-hate relationship with crime fiction. On the one hand, I love a good murder mystery that keeps you asking whodunnit until the very end. The grittier and the more adrenaline-fuelled, the better. On the other, I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t have an issue with some of the value systems that underpin the hardboiled detective genre. Needless to say, I leapt at the chance to review A Case of Distrust. I was keen to see whether a hardboiled story written in 2018 could do justice to the classics.

The story takes place in 1924 San Francisco. You’re Phyllis Malone, a tough, smart policewoman-turned-PI whose temper got you kicked off the force. One morning, you’re called upon by Connor Green, a bootlegger with a shady reputation. He has received a threatening letter and wants you to check it out. And so begins A Case of Distrust. You will visit clients, interview suspects, and collect evidence to get to the bottom of the mystery. Liars abound, and you must catch them using the evidence you’ve gathered along the way.

The first thing you’ll notice about the game is its unique art style and atmosphere. The visuals are stylised and simple, and the characters are diverse and representative. There are a variety of musical themes depending on the location, which keeps the atmosphere from getting stale. And, on the topic of music, the audio is one of the most enjoyable parts of the game. The smooth brass, cruisey piano, and sweet, sweet jazz vibraphone that just scream murder mystery are the perfect accompaniment to the game and its setting.

Something’s not quite right about Connor Green.

On the topic of its gameplay, however, this is where A Case of Distrust falls short. As a game that might be better categorised as an interactive novella than a pure puzzler, it was disappointing to find that both the story and the puzzles were quite straightforward. The puzzles, if you could call them that, involve interacting with characters and the environment. With the evidence and statements you collect, you piece together the story and build your case. This sounds excellent on paper, but it just wasn’t all that exciting in practice. Likewise, the story left me wanting more. There were a couple of plot twists, but these weren’t anything exceptional. This might be attributed in part to the story’s lack of character development. I struggled to care much about many of the characters, which made me less invested in the story as a whole. If you’re looking for the Millennium Trilogy of video games, you won’t find it here.

Unfortunately, the game’s controls and user interface were also lacking. I played the game handheld, and while the regular controls were fine (if the cursor movement was a little on the slow side), the touch controls were fickle. I had trouble selecting text options on the screen; tapping or double-tapping would often move the cursor but not actually trigger the selection itself. Another minor grievance was that your notebook opens to the “basics” page every time you examine it. This means that when you’re interviewing the suspects, you’ll end up flicking through the same pages over and over again, just to ask about the next item on your list. Many modern games avoid this issue by opening menus to the same page on which you closed them. Given that referring to your notes and asking characters about them is the game’s principal mechanic, it was surprising to find that there wasn’t an automatic bookmarking system to keep your place.

Your trusty notebook, filled with evidence.

However, the game does have its strong points. If you can say anything about A Case of Distrust, it’s that the game does justice to the literary genre upon which it is based. Tough gangsters, sordid affairs, and shameful secrets abound. As you might expect, you don’t always have to play by the rules. There’s also plenty of booze and sweet talking – after all, this is Prohibition-era San Francisco. Hardboiled fans will also appreciate that the game acknowledges the classics of the genre. For example, your name, Phyllis Malone, is a clear reference to perhaps the most infamous hardboiled detective of all time, Phillip Marlowe. Likewise, slang and references to the culture and politics of the time make this game feel authentic.

Nevertheless, the game diverges from the hardboiled genre in certain key ways. However, this improves the experience. A Case of Distrust balances diverse representation with historical accuracy in a sensitive way, and unlike in the classic novels, characters do not fall prey to easy stereotyping. This was refreshing to see and it certainly made the game more enjoyable.

Despite its flaws, the game is gorgeous.

A Case of Distrust didn’t exceed my expectations, but it does do some things right. While the story and gameplay weren’t what you’d call exceptional, it partially redeems itself in its atmosphere, music, and diverse representation. The game is a good one to breeze through if you’re a die-hard murder mystery fan; it fills a niche that until now has gone unfilled on the Switch. But, if you’re looking for something with groundbreaking mechanics and a suspenseful story, you’re unlikely to find it here.

As always, thanks for reading! If A Case of Distrust has left you feeling underwhelmed, never fear! The Spectrum Retreat promises a gripping story that will make you jump right out of your skin. You might also be interested in Detective Gallo if rooster detectives are your thing. If you’d like to support what we do here at Nindie Nexus, please consider becoming a Patron. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter for the latest Nindie News – you can find me here.