Prologue
Los Angeles, 26th December 1979, 11:30 pm. “Bradley is alive”. Kyle Hyde drinks his 7th glass of bourbon. The bar was almost full when he arrived there at 10:00 pm, but right now? He can't tell, after all it's hard to count heads when the whole room is spinning. By how drunk he was, no one would’ve guessed that he is a detective, or was rather. He used to have a high paying job in the LA PD, dealing with all sort of scum that only LA could give birth.
Kyle’s mind is hazy like a dream and he feels sick, but for this brief moment, he's relived to not see the image of his partner Bradley in the docks again. He was shot down in cold blood, and Kyle's the one who pulled the trigger. Of course, he didn’t want to do it, but he found out that his ol’ pal was part of the criminal gang called Nile that the LA PD were hunting for a long time. Kyle confronted Bradley at the docks near the police station. He was mad, and his finger was already at the trigger. The next thing he knew, Bradley was falling down the river.
The cops searched the docks for his corpse but they haven't got any luck. After this incident, Kyle gave away his badge and started working as a salesman. Fast forward several years and Kyle is now returning to his apartment, making his best effort to walk in a straight line and also not paint the blue sidewalk green. He sees the neighboring houses full of twinkle lights and Christmas ornaments, wishing he had today the same naivety and joy for the holidays as a kid. When he arrived at his home, his mind a bit clearer than before, the same thought that haunted him for years after he left the police precinct reappears: “Bradley is alive”. He doesn't have any proofs, but something tells him that Bradley didn't died that day.
Kyle arrives at his apartment. He completely ignores the mess in his room and goes to sleep, as if his bed had some sort of magnetic properties to it. On the top of the nightstand close to the bed lies a photo of him, Bradley and their superior at the LA PD. He looks at photo, before closing his eyes. "i'm gonna find you, Bradley", Kyle thinks, "wherever you are".
Kyle’s mind is hazy like a dream and he feels sick, but for this brief moment, he's relived to not see the image of his partner Bradley in the docks again. He was shot down in cold blood, and Kyle's the one who pulled the trigger. Of course, he didn’t want to do it, but he found out that his ol’ pal was part of the criminal gang called Nile that the LA PD were hunting for a long time. Kyle confronted Bradley at the docks near the police station. He was mad, and his finger was already at the trigger. The next thing he knew, Bradley was falling down the river.
The cops searched the docks for his corpse but they haven't got any luck. After this incident, Kyle gave away his badge and started working as a salesman. Fast forward several years and Kyle is now returning to his apartment, making his best effort to walk in a straight line and also not paint the blue sidewalk green. He sees the neighboring houses full of twinkle lights and Christmas ornaments, wishing he had today the same naivety and joy for the holidays as a kid. When he arrived at his home, his mind a bit clearer than before, the same thought that haunted him for years after he left the police precinct reappears: “Bradley is alive”. He doesn't have any proofs, but something tells him that Bradley didn't died that day.
Kyle arrives at his apartment. He completely ignores the mess in his room and goes to sleep, as if his bed had some sort of magnetic properties to it. On the top of the nightstand close to the bed lies a photo of him, Bradley and their superior at the LA PD. He looks at photo, before closing his eyes. "i'm gonna find you, Bradley", Kyle thinks, "wherever you are".
The Hotel
Hotel Dusk: Room 215 is a interactive mystery novel developed by Cing (now extinct, unfortunately) in 2007 for the Nintendo DS.
The game features Kyle Hyde, an ex-detective that now works as a salesman for a company called Red Crown. He arrives at Hotel Dusk because of his work, but the longer he stays, more he discover the many mysteries surrounding the hotel. “Who are these people staying in the hotel? ”, “Most of them have high status and/or well paying jobs, so why would they want to stay in such an old and beat up place? ” and “What happened in some of the hotel’s rooms that made them completely inaccessible to normal residents? ” are some of the questions hammering Kyle’s head. And as he digs the truth, more he realize that his arrival at the hotel wasn’t an accident.
The game features Kyle Hyde, an ex-detective that now works as a salesman for a company called Red Crown. He arrives at Hotel Dusk because of his work, but the longer he stays, more he discover the many mysteries surrounding the hotel. “Who are these people staying in the hotel? ”, “Most of them have high status and/or well paying jobs, so why would they want to stay in such an old and beat up place? ” and “What happened in some of the hotel’s rooms that made them completely inaccessible to normal residents? ” are some of the questions hammering Kyle’s head. And as he digs the truth, more he realize that his arrival at the hotel wasn’t an accident.
Gameplay
As said before, the game is a interactive novel, where you walk in a 3d environment using the ds’s touchscreen, find clues in specific locations and solves puzzles to progress the story. Each chapter focus in a particular resident of the hotel, their backstory and how it connects to the main mystery of the game. You also have a interrogatory section in the end of each chapter, where in order to successfully find out the truth you need to confront the resident using the previous information you’ve gathered about them. More important than all of this, you also got a bowling minigame.
The puzzles of Hotel Dusk are a double-edged sword. On one hand, the developers’s focus on using only the touchscreen of the ds for solving the problems resulted in some of the most unique and creative puzzles i’ve seen. On another hand, most of the puzzles aren’t really intuitive, where the combination of the ds’s 3d and the touchscreen made the solution for the problems vague and cryptic most of the time. The game also doesn’t tell you what to do so it’s easy to get stuck in some parts of the game without a guide.
The puzzles of Hotel Dusk are a double-edged sword. On one hand, the developers’s focus on using only the touchscreen of the ds for solving the problems resulted in some of the most unique and creative puzzles i’ve seen. On another hand, most of the puzzles aren’t really intuitive, where the combination of the ds’s 3d and the touchscreen made the solution for the problems vague and cryptic most of the time. The game also doesn’t tell you what to do so it’s easy to get stuck in some parts of the game without a guide.
Writing
Every one in the hotel holds a secret. Some of them are hiding from something, or someone. Others are trying to make things right. Either way, expect the unexpected while playing this game. Even though the story follows some cliches regarding the noir elements, like the cynical detective and a case related to the local mafia, Hotel Dusk tells its story in a completely new way. This game surprised me a lot with well written the plot and the characters are. Also, Kyle Hyde is hands down one the best protagonists in video games ever. This guy's sarcasm and "0 f#cks given" attitude is off the charts 
Music
Hotel Dusk’s soundtrack is one of the high points of the game. Composed by Satoshi Okubo, The soundtrack is mostly what you would expect from a detective story, mostly noir sounds and melancholic jazz, but arranged in such a way that make them unique . Each song fits a specific moment like a glove, making you easily feel immersed in the story.
Here, listen in for yourself:
Here, listen in for yourself:
Animation
One of the aspects that made Hotel Dusk such an unique experience was it’s animation style. The technique used in the game is called Rotoscope, where the animators draw the motion of the characters using real footage, creating fluid movement. Very few games used this form of animation, the most famous ones are Prince of Persia and Another World. This was a bold move by Cing and it payed off. The characters are very expressive, and combining with the top tier writing, there are certain moments where you feel like you’re watching a movie or TV series rather than playing a game.
Final Thoughts
Despite it's flaws, Hotel Dusk offers a great story full of twists and turns, charismatic characters, music that turns even the simple moments memorable and a fluid animation rarely seen in games. A game worth of your time, even if puzzle games and "interactive novels" are not your cup of tea.
Hotel rating: 4/5
Hotel rating: 4/5
Pros
- + Great story
- + Well written characters
- + Gorgeous animation
- + Good Music
Cons
- - Too much dependence of the Ds's features
- - Some vague or cryptic puzzles
8
Gameplay
9
Graphics
10
Story
8
Sound
5
Replayability
Because is a story focused game, once you've beat the game there's not much else to come back after.
8.5
out of 10
Overall
A hidden gem from the Nintendo Ds that, despite its flaws, deserves more recognition than it got.
