The second installment of developer the Case Files FMV detective series is almost here, and we have already worked through the entire case. Is Case Files: Behind Closed Doors worth your time, or should you pass it off to some other detective?
Read on to find out
Developer Think Ten Media Group released their first game in the Case Files series a couple of years ago, and Case Files: The Death of Paulette Williams was well received. The game was playable in VR and we reviewed it using the Oculus/Meta Quest 2 headset. It was a fun game with actors that filled their roles nicely. The game created the framework for future titles in the series and they have now released the second installment, this one not being in VR.
Case Files: Behind Closed Doors Review – The Case
In your next case you are tasked with trying to figure out how the deceased was murdered, using only your wits and powers of observation.The case revolves around the death of Daniel Murphy. His death was staged to look like a suicide, but the coroner has ruled it a homicide due to the crime scene photographs. Keep in mind that you’ll have access to these crime scene photos, and with that, this isn’t a game for young children.
Your partner, Detective Martin Ruiz, will be conducting interviews of all of the witnesses and suspects, and it’s up to you to decide who’s telling the truth, and who’s just trying to cover their butt with lies. You’ll be able to examine not only the crime scene photos, but also text records between all of those involved. At different times, it will be up to you to determine who is telling the truth and who is lying, and you will be asked to support your conclusions based on the evidence laid out on your working desk or based on statements made in the interviews.
Case Files: Behind Closed Doors Review – The Suspects
There are four suspects that the detective will be interviewing, and the actors do an incredible job of playing out their roles during these interviews. The actors were believable and reading them correctly wasn’t always a simple task. The story centers on domestic violence, and with one of the suspects being previously convicted of killing their abusive spouse, there’s an underlying discussion about the morality of extremes some people take to get out of those situations. She did nine years in prison for that homicide, so she paid somewhat for her extreme choices, with no apparent regrets or remorse. It is not our place to judge her though, as we have no way of knowing what she endured, and she has already did her time.
Case Files: Behind Closed Doors Review – Your Job
Your job on this case is simple: Study all of the evidence and then watch the interviews and read the people. Are they telling the truth? Is what they are saying backed by texts or photos? Are their stories all on the same page, or was there a contradiction? There is a white board behind you, in-game, that you can take notes on, but we preferred using a real notepad on our desk. Certain statements jumped out at us right away as falsehoods, but other statements seemed true, until they weren’t.
Case Files: Behind Closed Doors Review – Conclusion
Developer Think Ten Media Group did a great job of laying the foundation for future games with the first Case Files release, and Case Files: Behind Closed Doors fit right into it. The first release was a fairly short game and we were done in a couple hours total. Case Files: Behind Closed Doors has quite a bit more meat on its bones and took us closer to five hours to complete. You can replay the game if you missed some clues or if you want to see a few different endings. At the end of the day, a FMV game is only as good or as believable as the actors involved and how well they do their jobs. In Case Files: Behind Closed Doors the actors do their jobs well, and add a layer of believablity.
Welcome back Detective Ruiz. Now go get us another case to solve!
9
Case Files: Behind Closed Doors review code provided by publisher and reviewed on a HP Victus gaming PC. For more information on scoring, please read What our review scores really mean.
