Mindcop Review

Detective games have always thrived on providing a good mix of mystery, reasoning, and narratives, but Mindcop does something rather different to the genre. This indie detective adventure, developed by Andre Gareis and published by Dear Villagers, dares to spoil the traditional gameplay with some innovative time-based mechanics set against a noir backdrop.

Most mystery games allow no limits on the time available to pursue every lead and dig up every clue. Every step you take, be it questioning a witness or analyzing a piece of evidence, wastes time, which is the most essential asset in this kind of work. This means that you always think about the consequences of each action; thus, winning gives you a sense of possession, and losing is a just punishment for your carelessness.

Mindcop is set in a sinister town full of secrets that challenge you to decide which ones to explore and whose truths to seek. With a fast-ticking time bomb and an interesting story to piece together, this game's lithosphere is dynamic and thrilling yet quintessentially detective at the same time. Let's dig in.

As soon as I heard about Mindcop, I became fascinated. A game where you have to murder the person who forgets to explain why the other suspects are innocent? Now, that grabs my interest. The idea came as a breath of fresh air, especially given the current gaming scene, which is saturated with action role-playing games and vast open-world adventures.

Your character in Mindcop has the ability to dive into people's minds with the purpose of discovering hidden truths that lie within their minds. Upon encountering a particular character, one may question 'the character' on case matters, the character's connection with Marilyn Crater Camp, and the like. Following the key questions, it is possible to introduce proof or ask about someone else's account, but as with item interactions, each action takes time.

Following that, you unlock the option to explore characters' minds, triggered by a quirky and surreal scene where you metaphorically peel away the layers of the target with your eyes before entering a unique mini-game. The first part of this dive is a match-3 puzzle. A brain-shaped square appears in the center, which you can rotate clockwise or counterclockwise to rearrange its faces. Bullets enter from the sides and top of the screen, sticking wherever they land.

By rotating the brain, you can influence where the bullets hit, aiming to fill specific positions. It's like a Sudoku puzzle, but with bullets instead of numbers, trying to align three of the same color horizontally, vertically, or diagonally to earn points and extra time. The goal is to accumulate enough time for the mindcop icon at the bottom to reach the finish line.

Sometimes, a few matches are enough, but other times, you'll need to plan strategically—creating combos or having bullets land in the same spot multiple times to increase their value. Before starting, you can see the estimated difficulty of the puzzle, which indicates if it might be too challenging with your current setup.

In these cases, diving into other characters' minds becomes important, as each success rewards you with bullet upgrades, increasing the time rewards for each color. Failing the puzzle wastes time, but succeeding opens three doors, each offering different insights about the character.

One reveals the truth, another a lie, and the third something ambiguous. Even the lies and ambiguous events contribute to the puzzle despite their unreliable nature. The final door provides a glimpse into the character's formative memories, though it may include some wishful thinking.

When I started Mindcop, I was quite anxious due to the time constraint. I am the kind of gamer who enjoys the cathedral-like structure of the game and tends to look into every nook and cranny; therefore, concentrating on the goal without squandering time added a stress level that was not welcomed.

However, with the progression of time and gameplay, I began to enjoy this aspect of the game. Every small thing that I did made an impact, and this required me to think ahead. There is no margin for errors or going back — you will have to rely on your guts and do it.

Along with questioning and mind-surfing, you have the option to arrest any character at any time or attempt to obtain a warrant to search someone's house, even without solid evidence. While it's possible to do so, only one suspect can be arrested at a time. As a consequence, the specific character and their relatives are likely to withdraw their assistance.

With so many systems in place, Mindcop gets quite complex at times, requiring you to sift through various clues in order to find out who the murderer is. The limited-time gives you an additional challenge, making you plan every single move carefully. Bad decisions can compound the overall situation, and by the fifth and final day of the case, you may be ambiguous and lost.

Even when you are certain that you have the correct perspective on the events, there is always a risk of revisiting and reviewing your judgments. You are free to go to places again after having been, and this can result in missing certain aspects like the mannerisms of lying characters. Moreover, there is only an autosave option available, so you have to stick to the story irrespective of your alternative choices.

Nevertheless, Mindcop is not free from its own shortcomings. I would say the overall execution of the game is impressive on every available platform; however, I experienced some bugs while playing the game. The main drawbacks were especially during the Mind Surf sequences, where the game crashed more than once when I was playing around with the "remember" feature to reconstruct the clues.

Again, these bugs were not overly detrimental to the continuity of the game. However, they were annoying, especially when they came during an investigative period of the game. Thank God the publishers care for these glitches and are already working on the patches.

Another minor issue I had was the learning curve. The Mind Surf puzzles, while interesting, tend to be a challenge. If you are not the type who likes puzzles, you may get frustrated rather than delighted with this section of the game.

For me, I enjoyed overcoming the challenges in Mindcop, but it is easy to see how it would put off the more casual gamers. There are also time limits which, while adding to the thrill of the game, may be seen by some as constraints, especially for those who would like to take their time.

After playing Mindcop, one of the things that remained in the player's mind was the outstanding hand-drawn visuals that have a distinctive feel to them. Naturally, this is a detective novel, and the colors employed, though screamingly loud at best, serve the overall sublime noir theme.

Each character is granted their own individual design as well as animations that serve to express their traits. The places, too, are stunning; from the calm boulevards of Marilyn Crater Camp to the surreal visions encountered within Mind Surf. Attention was given to every location, and more often than not, I had to stop for a while, just to enjoy the graphical art.

Yet another strong aspect to note is the sound design. The ambient soundtrack is hardly noticeable, yet it heightens the tension and emotion without intruding. In the more action-heavy sequences, the background music gets laudably louder and engrosses the audience further into the narrative.

However, during the more tranquil moments, there are soft, chilling tracks that typify the enigma of the game. Voice acting deserves commendation as well; each character is so lifelike, thanks to the rich and engaging performances of the actors.

It's nice to see that Mindcop has taken a new direction in a genre that is usually filled with clichés. The construction of the game includes an investigation, many puzzles, and some activities that are a lot of fun. Everything is complemented by the engaging story, which has plenty of surprises in it that did not allow me to relax till the very end. The characters are well thought out, and every conversation matters. It's rare for a game to achieve such an equilibrium between good narration and an interesting playing process.

Detective games are often confined to a few old and sacked approaches; Mindcop is all the more remarkable since it rejuvenates the players within the genre with different elements such as mystery, solving, and, most importantly, gameplay.

The game's fascinating time-based dynamics depict that each step, even the smallest one, matters in enabling and encouraging excessive pragmatics and extreme creativity. It's interesting to note the ability to delve into characters' thoughts, which heightens the importance of each interaction, as well as each character in general, in the investigation process.

Mindcop has its share of minor bugs and complications in the learning curve, although the overall feeling very much justifies the cost. The stunning hand-drawn visuals, the appropriately eerie sound effects, and the enthralling voice-over work help create a noir world in which you can easily be immersed.

Any player who enjoys detective stories enriched with puzzle games will need to experience Mindcop. It develops an interesting plot and gameplay at the same time, and this is the reason why you will not be bored for the entire time.