Developer: Robust Games
Publisher: Chucklefish
Platform: PC, Switch
Tested on: PC
Loco Motive – Review
When we first read the title Loco Motive, for some reason we assumed that it was going to be another train-based puzzle game in the vein of Station to Station or Railbound. That assumption was woefully incorrect, as Robust Games’ debut title turned out to be a point-and-click title. We were right that it had something to do with trains, but the game’s deceptively simple title works on multiple levels. “Loco” and “motive” are equally applicable as separate words for this spiritual successor to the Monkey Island series as “locomotive” is. But does the game itself live up to having a great title or were we loco for playing it?
Story
It’s a tale as old as time, or at least as old as Agatha Christie’s Poirot stories: the murder mystery. And when Loco Motive opens, it definitely brings all the familiar elements of a whodunnit to the table. Train magnate Lady Unterwald has invited her benefactors to one of her luxury trains, where she will announce some changes to her will. Right before she reveals the details, the train goes into a tunnel and everything is plunged into darkness. When the lights go on again, the rich old little lady is dead. This sounds like a case for the world-class detective Herman Merman… if it wasn’t for the fact that Lady Unterwald’s attorney, Arthur Ackerman, has lost the written copy of the amended will. With this vital clue gone missing and the killer potentially wanting to tie up loose ends, Merman decides this is one case he won’t be taking on. It’s now up to Arthur to take a page from Phoenix Wright’s playbook and become a murder-solving attorney. And what part does the mysterious bounty hunter Diana have to play in this? We won’t spoil anything further, because Loco Motive is best experienced going in as blind as possible. What we can tell you is that this is one of the best-written games we’ve had the pleasure of experiencing this year. Loco Motive never takes itself too seriously, and lampoons the tropes of the murder mystery genre. If you liked Lil’ Guardsman’s humor, you’re going to adore what Loco Motive has to offer.
Graphics
The vast majority of Loco Motive’s visuals comprise highly detailed pixel art, although hand-drawn portraits also pop up in specific dialogue scenes. We’re somewhat ambivalent about this approach, because although we do enjoy the style of the hand-drawn visuals, they feel out of place and inconsistent. That said, Loco Motive’s pixel art looks great. We were amazed at just how expressive the character sprites were, and how smooth and fluid the animations were.
Sound
As if the visuals weren’t enough, Loco Motive is a treat for your ears as well. The game is fully voiced and boasts an impressive cast that includes veterans like Romancing SaGa 2’s Sean Chiplok as protagonist Arthur alongside Baldur’s Gate 3’s Samantha Béart and comedian Alasdair Beckett-King to name a few. The murder mystery vibes are further enhanced by a fantastic soundtrack and some really creative sound effects that play a part in some of the game’s puzzles.
Gameplay
At its core, Loco Motive is a classic point-and-click adventure, albeit an atypical one in that it doesn’t follow a linear structure. You’ll be skipping back and forth across the timeline and switching between different characters as you try and piece together what exactly happened to dear old Lady Unterwald. The framework for the story is a police investigation, with Arthur being interrogated by two cops. He’s the closest thing to a protagonist that Loco Motive has, although you’ll be in control of Diana and Herman at specific points in the game as well. The non-linear approach allows for some clever twists, and you’ll often discover clues with one character that turn out to be essential when you switch back to another one. In terms of pure point-and-click mechanics, Loco Motive doesn’t do anything particularly new, but through clever implementation of familiar elements, it manages to still stand out in a genre that is oversaturated otherwise.
It’s also a remarkably user-friendly game. For one, you can simply hold a button to highlight every interactable object. That may not sound like a big deal, but it turned out to be an essential feature in a game where the pixelated objects blend together so seamlessly. Another tremendously helpful element comes in the form of a literal helpline. Should you get stuck on one of Loco Motive’s puzzles, you can walk to the train’s phone and call a much more skilled detective to get a hint on what to do next. While the vast majority of Loco Motive’s puzzles are actually pretty clever and logical, the game does serve up the occasional obtuse riddle. It’s something that is probably inevitable for the genre, especially in a game where you do need to think outside the box for the sake of comedy.
Unfortunately, our ride on Loco Motive’s crime train wasn’t as smooth as we would have liked, as we did run into a couple of bugs. We recommend getting into the habit of saving often, because there were a few instances where the game froze on us. When we got to the casino, for example, Arthur suddenly got stuck, and we could tell from the character animations that a dialogue scene was supposed to play out but it didn’t. We waited for a couple of minutes, but we ultimately had to restart the game and replay the prior 20 minutes. Here’s hoping that this is something that gets ironed out with an update or two down the line. Bugs aside, we did feel that our time with Loco Motive was over way too soon. It took us roughly three hours to complete the game. We’ll likely be revisiting it after a patch or two, if only to see how some of the other dialogue choices play out, but we’d still call the game on the short side. Don’t hold the runtime against the game’s €17.99 RRP though, because in this case, it’s a clear matter of quality over quantity.
Conclusion
While we do feel like Loco Motive’s train left the station slightly too early, this is one ride we’d definitely recommend getting on down the line. The writing is genuinely funny, the voice cast does a stellar job, and while the gameplay sticks close to the point-and-click formula, it does so in clever ways thanks to its non-linear approach. If Robust Games can squash the bugs on the carriage, then Loco Motive goes from a recommended game to a must-have title.
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