Silver Creek Falls originally caught my eye when I was looking around for newer RPG Maker titles, and I found this one… which promised to be an RPG Maker game, without the fighting. Instead, it offered a game more driven by story, focussing on a town with a series of grisly murders being committed. As the game was free, I decided, why not, and went for something slightly different to what I usually play. So far, this is Chapter 1, with two more chapters to follow – Chapter 2 has been released, and Chapter 3 is on its way.
Story
8/10
The game starts by introducing two detectives which have been sent to an out-of-state town in the southern United States, in order to help the local police force solve a series of crimes and murders which has so far baffled them. From here, the game sends you to three different locations within this town, in order to collect evidence and start piecing together the mystery.
The game also has a great sense of humour, and there are places where I genuinely laughed out loud at the script. Although this chapter of the games ends on a cliff-hanger, it serves as a good hook for second chapter, and it does do a good job of pulling you into the game.
The only thing I wished for was that this first chapter was a bit longer – I would have liked more delving into back stories and that sort of thing, although this may come in the next chapters. This first chapter felt more like a prologue than anything else, but I enjoyed it.
Sound
8/10
There are some parts of the game where the background music is fairly quiet, and it’s a struggle to hear it, but overall, the music is fairly good. A lot of it sets the atmosphere well, and lends to the game well.
There is one part of the game where there is an unskippable voice-acted bit, which runs for a couple of minutes, and I have to say, this part is quite well done, which I’m glad about, owing to the fact it can’t be skipped.
There was this slightly odd sound made whenever your character enters or exits through a door, but I think I can forgive that.
Graphics
8/10
It’s an RPG Maker game, so I didn’t go into this game expecting great things, but I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised at the detail put into character portraits and the like. The slightly darker backgrounds suit the atmosphere of the game pretty well, and certain areas do have a slightly eerie feel to them.
Multiplayer Options
N/A
No multiplayer available in this game.
Challenge
4/10
If I’m being honest, there isn’t much in the way of challenge involved in this game, as it mainly consists of you, as the main character, being sent off to different locations and gathering evidence. The game itself is also very linear, so there isn’t much opportunity to deviate – for example after completing an objective, you’ll be given another, which you then have to find on the map, go to that location, pick up or interact with objects in a set order.
However, as this is essentially a demo run for the other two chapters to the story, which promise to have more of a puzzle element to them, I guess I can let it slide.
Gameplay
8/10
Okay, so this is an RPG Maker game, so much of the gameplay is fairly standard fair, with regards to button controls and such like, and was pretty easy to figure out from that point. Beyond that however, the game played like a point and click adventure, but like an extremely polished one.
I can’t really complain, there are very few, if any glitches, and all the controls work fine. Without the combat aspect present in so many other RPG Maker games, this is a refreshing look at this style of game.
Replay Value
6/10
In order to get all of the Steam achievements, you’ll either have to play through more than once, or use a guide in order to figure out where to find all the bits for one of the goals. I have to say, I’ve found myself coming back to this game for reasons other than that – just to play through it again, so it does a decent job on the reply front.
The game itself isn’t that long either – about half an hour or so from start to finish, so it doesn’t feel like a drag to reply it either.
Overall
Story: 8
Sound: 8
Graphics: 8
Multiplayer: N/A
Challenge: 4
Gameplay: 8
Replay Value: 6
Overall: 7/10
A very nicely done hook for the next instalment in the series. Certainly worth looking into, especially for those who want an RPG Maker game with a difference.
Written by Karen