ダイダロス：ジ・アウェイクニング・オブ・ゴールデンジャズ | Alternate Jake Hunter: DAEDALUS The Awakening of Golden Jazz

Publisher: Arc System Works

Developer: Neilo

Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, PC (Steam)

Category: Adventure

Release Date: May 23, 2019

Official Site: EN

Summary from the Nintendo page:

That was one month ago today.

Someone has murdered Saburo’s grandfather, Kyosuke, while he was living in New York.

Saburo sets off to New York to sort through the belongings and memories his grandfather left behind.

The nostalgia of the cityscape and reunions with old friends is fleeting, however.

He soon discovers that his grandfather’s last word was, ‘Daedalus.’

What does it mean?

Why was my grandfather killed?

“Remember, Saburo: tend the orchard of your mind.”

Kyosuke’s words and teachings on the art of thinking are just distant memories.

And yet, young Jinguji Saburo who is alone in the world, takes up the gauntlet for himself and for his late grandfather!

First things first, this post is for the demo of Alternate Jake Hunter: DAEDALUS The Awakening of Golden Jazz, which I’ll be referring to throughout the post as Daedalus because gosh, the title is a mouthful lol.

Daedalus is released this year with a price of $39.99. I’ve seen its VNDB page and is surprised to know that the length of the game is only about 2-10 hours long. On How Long to Beat website, it is 6 ½ hours — granted that this is from 1 user alone. I thought the full game would be pretty long especially with that price. But now, I’m not sure if it’s worth it?

Then again, this is just the demo so let’s dive in. 😁

Story

Neutral (¯ . ¯٥)

The story in the demo is nothing like the summary above. In this demo, the story opens with Saburo waking up. He soon discovers that his mind is a mess so he tries to sift through his memories. He finds a lighter and a memory is triggered. This would take us back to his childhood days, as the young Saburo visits his grandfather.

Saburo’s grandfather puts his grandson to a task in discovering whether a burglar breaks in their home. It is up to Saburo to investigate things.

…That isn’t much of a story, is it? The 30-minute gameplay is more of a tutorial than telling of a story. Just how the mechanics of the game and maybe a bit of background for both the grandfather and of Saburo.

Characters

Neutral (¯ . ¯٥)

The most noticeable character is Saburo even though you haven’t seen him but mostly because he is the POV character. Although Grandpa is pretty entertaining too.

Gameplay

Positive ♡(｡- ω -)

Daedalus reminds me so much of Ace Attorney and Danganronpa in terms of the point-and-click gameplay. Saburo can investigate the things around him and can also ask questions.

Each piece of evidence will then be added to his tree of knowledge. This tree will grow as he investigates. So that is where the “tend the orchard of your mind” line comes in.

Art

Neutral (¯ . ¯٥)

Well, there really isn’t much to say in terms of the character design as the only character you see most of the time is the grandfather. But what stood out to me is the background. I’m not really sure how it’s called but it’s like a photo of real-life but blurred as you can see from the screenshot above. I actually can’t decide how to feel about that. 🤔

Music

Positive ♡(｡- ω -)

This is a short demo but the music is lovely. It is smooth and rather melancholy at times. But I love it.

Enjoyment (✯◡✯)

It is short and there’s nothing given away in terms of the story. But if there’s one reason for me to consider playing this, it would be the gameplay. I love games where you try to solve something and it is that kind of game. Although perhaps, I’ll wait for a sale if there ever comes a sale.

P.S. You can watch the demo I live-streamed below.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2j71i1C9xw&w=560&h=315]

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