General Information
Release date: August 29, 2024
No. of players: Single System (1)
Genre: Adventure, Simulation, Other
Publisher: Nintendo
ESRB rating: Mature
Supported play modes: TV mode, Tabletop mode, Handheld mode
Game file size: 5.4 GB
Supported languages: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Traditional Chinese
Official Website: Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club™ for Nintendo Switch – Nintendo Official Site
Overview (from Nintendo eShop page)
“I can give you a smile that will last forever”
Student Eisuke Sasaki has been found dead in a chilling fashion, with a smiley-faced paper bag over his head. This unsettling visage bears a striking resemblance to a recurring clue in a string of unsolved murders from 18 years ago—as well as the urban legend Emio, a.k.a. the Smiling Man, a serial killer said to grant his victims “a permanent smile.”
Does the Smiling Man really exist…or is a new culprit continuing his legacy?
As a member of the Utsugi Detective Agency, you’ve been tasked with investigating the events that led to Eisuke Sasaki’s death. Along the way, scrutinize the clues and testimonies you gather for potential connections to the gruesome events of the past.
Reviews
Aggregators
Open Critic English Reviews:
- Shack News 8/10
- God is a Geek 8.5/10
- Wccftech 8.5/10
- Digital Trends 4/5
- Nintendo Life 7/10
- RPG Site 9/10
- Press Start 8/10
- Digitally Downloaded 4.5/5
- Nintendo News 8.5/10
- Siliconera 8/10
- Checkpoint Gaming 7.5/10
- Wellplayed 6.5/10
This list was generated via manual export from OpenCritic. Last updated: 8/30/2024 9:14am E.T.
by NintendoSwitchMods
12 Comments
Any idea of the length of this one in comparison to the past games in the series? Couldn’t really get an idea of that from the other review threads over the last day or two.
I have almost finished it – it is absolutely fantastic so far. Way, way better at story telling than the first game and a step up from the second, with much better ”gameplay”. It’s quite a bit longer too, probably the same length as the other two combined. About the same number of chapters, they’re just longer. Nails the creepy tone reslly well. Some moments are very tense. Definitely worth the price imo, hope it sells well and they make more.
I’ve been really enjoying it so far! Played it all day yesterday and currently am on Chapter 8. There’s a lot more packed in than the previous two games for sure and the story is very captivating. Visuals and music are excellent, just like the remakes. It has definitely improved upon the vagueness with how to progress from the first two. Clues, important names and information are highlighted in the text to guide you better and the “Think” option functions more as a hint system more in this one than the previous titles. I’m very curious to see how it ends since many of the reviews say the ending is dark, emotional and what earns the games M-rating!
How does this compare to other games in its genre?. I have a feeling the reviews are going to be a bit weighted because many people aren’t fans of it.
Finished it today and not only is Famicom my favourite renewed series on the Switch, this game has one of the best possible ending bonuses to a visual novel
Already said it elsewhere but I am LOVING the game. Some damn good writing all around, and great characters.
Hope Nintendo puts the other games in the series on sale soon so I can give those a try as well.
Currently on chapter 4 and really enjoying the game. It’s one of the best looking visual novel/adventure type games I’ve seen. Hoping Nintendo continues to make more of these in the future
Do you have to play the other ones to play this one? I’m interested in playing these games but I’m a physical collector, so I don’t wanna double pay in case the first two get a physical release.
Kinda off topic. Did anyone get their physical copy shipped?
Ordered my copy on Target, says the order is on backorder.
I can understand some of the reviews calling the gameplay a little obtuse, but I’ve never played the series before (and I don’t really play VNs) and I’m enjoying it a lot. There are some awkward moments for sure that lead to trying options at random, but I feel like it makes sense when processing that info you have.
This game is incredible so far (only played chapters 0-3 so far) them making a demo for this game was an incredible idea because I would never have given this series a shot, but this game has convinced me to buy the whole series. Having a built in hint system (think) that doesn’t feel discouraging or like cheating is brilliant!
Reading all of these comments to live vicariously through you all :,)
I absolutely loved the demo but a sale would be the only way I could afford the game.