MatchWest 7

Sort of like a cross between Cluedo and Groundhog Day, The Sexy Brutale is a puzzle game in which you use time travel mechanics to save people Sort of like a cross between Cluedo and Groundhog Day, The Sexy Brutale is a puzzle game in which you use time travel mechanics to save people from gruesome deaths – about ten in total. It’s set in a swanky casino which you’re invited to attend a masked ball by a mysterious host and it immediately that not all is as it seems. Each guest is lured into various areas where they’re killed off without remorse. It’s up to you to use the power of a trusty pocket watch to work out how they’re going to die. And then to stop them from doing so.



The trick to it all is that you can’t be seen by any of the guests. The masks they wear – or have been purposefully designated – contains a hidden power that attacks you should you enter the same room as them. In order to avoid this, you have to find ways to work around it. You can hide in wardrobes, peek through doors, and watch them on surveillance cameras. But the trick is that you only have 12 hours to do so.



As such it's imperative to play through each death. Travelling back in time to an earlier part of the day allows you to gain knowledge of their actions, including who they interact with and where they’re going to die. It might sound complicated but in practice it works seamlessly. It requires the player to figure out ways around the mansion that don’t involve confronting them directly and to make sure the guards don’t find a successful way to bump guests off.



In many ways, it’s quite similar to a point and click adventure. You acquire items throughout your trips around the hotel, which you can use to interact with other things. The only thing you need to remember is that certain things will only be found, or work, at certain parts of the day. Rewinding time means you lose each item. It opens up the rescue as a process that comes together as you repeat each day.



Pleasingly, the story is well-designed. Aside from an exposition dump in the last 30 minutes, the game sticks to the tried and tested formula of playing out each death as a chapter like in a tragic storybook. Characters themselves are minimal yet always quite interesting. However, it’s your relationship with the casino’s owner where the game shows its narrative strength. To mention it in any depth at all would be to spoil it but rest assured it’s a strange tale of regret, death, and remorse.



While there were times when I found myself stumped – I had to look up the answer on at least two occasions - the puzzles are mostly all fair. The art-style is brilliant, as is the jazzy soundtrack, and there’s something extraordinarily satisfying about investigating the casino’s ground. The limit to each day made it feel like there was something to accomplish each time I turned back the clock, and while I unwittingly saved at least two guests by complete accident, the game kept me fully engaged throughout its five-hour duration.



Overall, it’s a smart, delightfully-designed game that shows how a low-production budget needn’t hold a game back from daring to use new ideas. While not a complete masterpiece it's still a very unique experience. … Expand