Hey Bookworm friends! Today’s post is something a little different because it’s my second Bookish Game Feature. As I’m a big lover of games, I want to sometimes highlight or feature different games that are bookish in some way. In my first bookish game feature, I played a dice-rolling, poem-writing, word game. But this time around I want to chat about an adventure video game called Jenny LeClue – Detectivú.
About Jenny LeClue
Title: Jenny LeClue Detectivú
Release Year: 2019
Genre(s): Adventure, Mystery, Puzzle
Platform Played On: Steam
Also Available On: iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
Published & Developed: Mografi
Play Time: 15.6 Hours
Single Player
Why It’s A Bookish Game
Arthur K. Finklestein is the author of the classic children’s sleuth series “Jenny LeClue“. The game introduces us to Arthur as his publisher calls him with an ultimatum: either make the next Jenny LeClue book darker and gritter or the series gets scrapped! All Jenny wants is to solve a real case but Arthur struggles with the thought of putting his beloved Jenny in any danger. Disheartened, but not ready to give up, Arthur gives Jenny the juiciest case: The murder of the dean of the local College. The prime suspect? Her mother! We get to play as Jenny as she sets off to clear her mother’s name, find the real killer, and uncover Arthurton’s many secrets. It turns out her town is not as safe and cozy as she once thought!
Thoughts
This game is very story-focused as the player moves Jenny through each scene looking for clues. It kind of felt like a more interactive visual novel with puzzles thrown in. There’s a certain element of choice in dialogue, which changes some outcomes but the overall plot stays the same. The dialogue itself is charming and funny, and was greatly helped by excellent voice acting—I laughed often and aloud.
I’m not a seasoned gamer by any means but I’ve been getting more into video games in the past few years and I’ve enjoyed getting to know my taste in games a bit more. One thing I do know is that typically puzzle games and I don’t get along super well. But in this one, I found the difficulty and frequency of the puzzles just right for me. Challenging enough to keep me engaged, but not so challenging that I contemplated giving up. My one piece of no-context advice I’ll leave here in case you play the game: running is a thing 🤐.
The art is so unique and gives off an almost vintage-noir vibe while also being vibrant and cartoony. There’s something about the 2D style that reminds me of paper cut-outs and it was an absolute delight to look at. I enjoyed taking my time to explore every last detail so as not to miss anything! The gallery items and stickers that we can collect along the way are such a motivator to my little crow brain. I loved decorating my very important detective journal with the stickers 😄. It’s also important to note that although the main mystery gets resolved, it still manages to end on a cliffhanger! There’s supposedly going to be a part 2 and you know I’ll be jumping on that if it’s ever released!
Let’s chat in the comments!
Have you played Jenny LeClue? Or, have you played any games you would consider bookish?
It’s an interesting thought. Dunno a game I’d call bookish in that sense, tbh 🤔
However, the game itself sounds interesting and I might give it a look! Haven’t heard of it before but am always on the lookout for smaller after-work games. So it might be perfect!
Ah, well that’s alright, I’m only paying attention to if I think a game is ‘bookish’ or not so I can share them on my book blog without being too off topic, I’m sneaky like that 😂
I do highly recommend the game if you like these types of games! I hope you enjoy it if you try it! What are any smaller after work games that you’ve liked in the past?
I’ll have to watch out and see if I can spot a secondhand copy of this sometime. I’m not sure how I’ll find it so I don’t want to go out & buy it brand new but it could be good. I quite like the hidden object style puzzle games, I’m not sure about others though. It does sound interesting though.
I’ve played a James Patterson one of these years ago. It was enjoyable but a bit easy tbh if I’m remembering rightly which is why I’m smight hesistant. I can’t think of any other bookish video games but I’m sure there are some 🤔
I totally understand not wanting to spend a lot of money on a game you’re not sure how you’ll like. That’s why I tend to buy games when they’re on sale. & I like those hidden object games too! Well if you ever do find a copy of it and try it I’d be curious to know what you thought.
Ah interesting, I suppose I’m not surprised to learn there’s a James Patterson video game or even lots given how many titles he puts out!!
Yes that definitely makes sense to do. Especially as some of them are really pricey when they’re new. Ooh yay. They’re so addictive 😂 I’ll definitely let you know how I get on. And yes that’s true, there could well even be others as he does have one hell of a lot of books and his own ‘presents’ books too.
Yeah they are, and like I know the amount of hard work that goes into making them so I can appreciate that but still, it can be a lot!
Yeah, that man has a whole book factory coming out with his name on them!
Yes that’s a good point about the work that goes into them. It just seems crazy compared to the cost of games ten or so years ago. It is pretty neat that some get added to nowadays though.
😂😂
It sounds interesting! I have played a game called “An Elmwood Trail—Crime Story” on my phone. You can find it on the Google Play Store. I think it is somewhat of a bookish game because its storyline is similar to the book “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” by Holly Jackson. The game is about a girl who goes missing, and we are the detective who finds her because the police hit a dead end and declared the case a runaway. I have completed two episodes and am waiting for the 3rd episode to be released.
Ah, very interesting what an intriguing game and I like mystery games for sure. It sounds intense but also fun, I hope you enjoy the 3rd episode and that it comes out soon! I’ll have to go up more info about the game, thanks for the rec! & I’ve never read A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder!
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