14 DAY TRIAL // 
Unheard – Voices of Crime is a game relying on a simple yet intriguing premise, turning the players into a weird combination Daredevil and Hercule Poirot. Is this indie title worthy of your attention, or are you better off searching for clues in other detective games? Read on to find out.
Developed by NEXT Studios and published by 505 Games, Unheard – Voices of Crime is a very atypical indie title, proposing an approach that’s both intriguing and novel. You are tasked with solving five cases, from the posture of a detective that is powerless to stop any of the crimes he is witnessing. You can only witness the events trying to elucidate the mysteries laid out in front of you by following the people involved and eavesdropping on their conversations.
The last two tasks describe the two main gameplay mechanics that await you in this game. Throughout the game’s five levels, players will be thrown in different scenarios where they have to follow the people involved so they can correctly identify them by listening to all their conversations and monologues. By paying attention to what is being said, you should be able to also answer the questions presented to you by a mysterious woman, thus unlocking the next levels.
It sounds simple, because it actually is. All you need to solve the cases in Unheard are patience, attention and a bit of logic. Just by using these tools, anyone will be able to figure out the events and the culprits by rewinding and fast forwarding the levels presented as audio recordings synced with sketches of the buildings and environments. Additionally, the ability to control the recording will be needed so you can explore the rooms in order to witness all the interactions.
The stories are not really connected although the developers tried to tie them together towards the end of the game. The mystery is present, but in all cases, it is mundane and also somewhat predictable. All the twists are akin to what we have seen countless of times in detective novels games. The characters are quite simple and unidimensional, although I can’t say that it affects the overall atmosphere of the game.
Even though it also includes the Lethal script DLC, Unheard – Voices of Crime is a very short game. The audio recordings and levels expand from a couple of minutes to 20 minutes. Even with all the rewinding and following around the different characters looking for clues about their identity and clues about what happened, there’s little chance that anyone will spend more than 3-4 hours tops in this interactive experience.
And it is a damn shame that it is so short because the game is quite enjoyable overall. Despite being simplistic, Unheard – Voices of Crime is actually fascinating and the way the cases are built ensures that you are properly motivated to see them through. The only real letdown is the ending that is as flat as a pancake. The cases do not build up to anything else that some final questions and something that was intended to be a mysterious inuendo but came out as a completely uninteresting moment.
Unheard – Voices of Crime Edition is like a different kind of walking simulator, offering the same kind of experience. While the experience itself is engaging, it is also forgettable. The title does not offer any replay value and once you are done uncovering the mysteries there is nothing to return to and no reason to give it another spin.
More importantly, the game lacks that high stakes, high rewards feeling because you cannot fail the levels and there is no consequence for misidentifying characters. You are just sent back to retry with hints about what you have missed. The difficulty is not too high either, since if you have the patience to follow everyone around it will be easy to figure out who has done what.
Graphics-wise the game is just as simple as its mechanics. The levels are represented as blue schematics in which you will go from corner to corner trying to correctly identify the sound sources. Although it is neither detailed, nor eye catchy, the visual style fits with both the narrative and atmosphere. The low resolution cutscenes on the other hand are a weak point that could have been avoided with a slightly bigger budget.
The audio part is supposed to be outstanding, as the developers recommend using headphones for full immersion. Not to mention that the game's main gameplay mechanic has you use the voices you hear to return to crime scenes, tracking down each individual involved and solving the cases.
But the truth is speakers work just fine, as the game alternates the left and right channels in order to create the illusion of real-life dialogues, so I had no issues with immersion. Although the voice acting is well done, the script and the dialogues tend to be overdramatic more often than not.
The Good
- Simple, yet engaging game mechanics
- Enjoyable atmosphere
- Novel concept
The Bad
- Short with no replay value
- Overdramatic voice acting
- Predictable characters and motivations
Conclusion
The idea of making a game about eavesdropping to solve crimes is not just interesting, but quite enjoyable in this case. Pity that some aspects about the game feel rather unfinished. As it stands right now, it reminds more of a gimmick or an unfinished concept. It’s too short and lacks any elements that could make it memorable.
All in all, Unheard – Voices of Crime can be a pleasant distraction on a rainy afternoon, but nothing more. If you're craving for a detective game that focuses on the audio aspect, this will definitely quench your thirst for a little bit.
Review code was provided by the publisher.
