On one loving morning in Leipzig, Germany, a most unfortunate incident occurs right off the harbours of some of the city’s many factories—an automobile has barreled through the gates of a bridge-in-progress, and its driver dies in the process. Yet still considered a “death trap” by many in the year 1899, it seems the driver of this vehicle has met with an unfortunate accident… Or at least, that’s what it may seem. Detective Joseph Kreiser is on the case and, depending on your findings, how you interpret the clues you find evolves the story in developer Homo Narrans Studio’s lovely retro-style point ‘n click adventure ‘Casebook 1899 – The Leipzig Murders’.
In this classic-style of adventure game, players will take on the role of the detective alongside a very friendly prosecutor who stays behind to assist as they take on four cases across the game. And Casebook 1899 offers a fresh perspective on not only setting and style but the available gameplay within each case. No chapter is longer than it needs to be and there’s a small wealth of investigations to make across a variety of areas amongst a cast of characters that range from reasonable to… Somewhat obnoxious.
Of course, the detective doesn’t mind. This all comes with the territory of polis work, and it makes for good story telling when he arrives at the residence of a now vision-impaired Ms. Hannah Faber at the beginning of every chapter to recount his ventures.
One of the things I really enjoyed about Casebook 1899 was the overall delivery of the writing and the presentation of the game. This game offers a beautiful look at a now hundred-plus years old Leipzig, using ambiance and the occasional music track to its advantage to provide this immersive experience as a detective in a city that’s growing as the years come by. This, of course, is helped immensely by a near-fully voice acted scenario in German, which gives many characters the flavour they need to make their lines really shine. Speaking of which, Casebook 1899’s writing balances amusement and tragedy quite well—this is a murder mystery, after all, but that doesn’t stop the occasional remark or insult from amusing us and the characters within the city’s boundaries.
This being a point ‘n click adventure, the gameplay is as simple as clicking every interactable within a scene and deriving clues from it. The detective carries around a notebook and any point-of-interest is written within. Once you’ve gathered enough clues, you can then connect the dots to create new clues and/or bring up these subjects to various characters around the city to potentially learn more and progress the case. Casebook 1899 is not a difficult game and there’s plenty of accessibility built within to help you progress—but this being a point ‘n click, there will inevitably be a brief show-stopping moment until you realise you had to click the same thing you’ve been clicking multiple times except this time with a right click, so to speak. But ultimately, very few concepts are obtuse—the game just won’t hold your hand with what you think is the right solution and this is something I quite love about it.
Oh, and sans a few technical issues, the game runs quite well (just avoid ALT-tabbing more than you need to).
Casebook 1899 takes some of the best things I love about point ‘n click adventure games and delivers it through a fresh, somewhat grounded take on detective work through the lens of a bustling industrial city. Its stories are ultimately yours to tell as the detective as every case will hinge on your deductions and reasoning. Amidst a fantastic presentation and unique storytelling, this game is truly wunderbar. ∎
Casebook 1899 – The Leipzig Murders is available on PC via Steam.
Casebook 1899 - The Leipzig Murders
Played on
Windows 11 PC
PROS
- Lovely pixel art presentation.
- Strong writing with relatable and amusing characters amidst tragic circumstances.
- Interesting cases with unique puzzles and mechanics that shake up gameplay.
CONS
- Without the prosecutor's assistance, sometimes finding interactables can be difficult.
