The case for The Silver Case

The Silver Case, a 1999 game for the Playstation 1 at a time when it was also the only Playstation, is now available on Steam. Here’s the Wikipedia description:

The setting is contemporary Japan…. Within a place called the 24 Districts, a series of bizarre murders occurs, prompting the 24 Districts Police Department to send two detectives from their High-degree Murder Division to solve the case. The killings are soon linked to Kamui Uehara, a notorious killer who supposedly died several years before. The gameplay revolves around text-based situations, point-and-click mechanics, and interactive question and answer segments.

So other than being really old and apparently really Japanese (High-degree Murder Division?), what sets it apart from the hundreds of other point-and-click adventure games on Steam? Or even visual novels? I mean, really, what else should I make of “text-based situations”?

The Silver Case is the first game by Goicha Suda, aka Suda51, after he quit working for “The Man” and formed his own studio, Grasshopper Manufacture. Their credits include marvelous oddities like Killer7, No More Heroes, and Sine Mora. Especially Killer7. I’m convinced Killer7 has got to hold up (okay, it probably doesn’t). Their credits also include non-marvelous oddities like Shadows of the Damned and Lollipop Chainsaw. I have no idea where The Silver Case fits into their range of titles, but as a brand and a developer, Suda51 has been nothing if not, uh, distinctive.

You can get The Silver Case here, with the option to pay more for a deluxe version with an art book, comic, and soundtrack.