14 DAY TRIAL // 
My detective might be unfamiliar with the circus and its unique language, but he can spot when someone is lying. I’m currently interviewing Rolf, who loves animals and doesn’t mind paying other people’s bar tabs, trying to understand why he is lying to protect another of the performers and whether his calm appearance conceals the potential for violence.
I push him as far as possible before leaving the stables, with some answers but also a couple of new questions. I have one action left and I use it to explore the fair location, which yields exactly one interesting observation that’s added to my list of topics. The game then switches to the magician, and she has a different set of priorities as well as some insights the detective lacks.
I get her to start a conversation with Aideen, the fire-breather. She was best friend to dead Hattie and was featured in her knife-throwing act so she should be able to shed more light on social interactions and connections. If all goes well, I will catch her in a lie, then present the contradiction to see how she reacts. New facts will then allow the investigating duo, who do not cross paths, to develop theories and find new evidence.
Death Trick: Double Blind is developed by Misty Mountain Studio, with publishing in the hands of Neon Doctrine. I played the PC version using Steam. It is also offered on the Nintendo Switch. This is a visual novel with detective mechanics and a charming cast.
The action takes place inside the Morgan’s Traveling Circus, a big-tent spectacle that moves from town to town, crewed by a tight-knit set of performers. A murder happens and the police seem unhelpful. Hattie, the magician of the bunch, is dead. Two characters are called to investigate her death, using two very different approaches.
Detective Jones, hailing from San Francisco, is the more familiar of the pair. He’s taken a hit to the head, which results in some short-term amnesia, but he is sharp, questioning the performers to get more details about the incident and see who might be a suspect. Jackie is another magician, and, thanks to clever use of costumes, she gets to be inside the circus, able to get extra information and get into some places the detective cannot.
Death Trick’s cast isn’t big, but everyone is interesting to talk to and hides secrets that might or might not be connected to the murder. There are nine core characters and players will mostly approach them one-on-one. The writing’s quality makes it easy to get through conversations. There’s one big late-game twist that comes out of left field and made me think less of the entire narrative.
Gameplay in Death Trick: Double Blind is all about meaningful conversations. Both characters can initially use five actions before an hour passes, moving from location to location, meeting other characters, and asking them about topics. There’s also an option to examine spaces, both to find small details that can open up new inquiry routes and to better understand the performers and the circus as an institution.
Jones and Jackie get clear objectives and achieving them nets them XP that can boost how many times they can act. This is important, as it allows players to tackle more topics and get the all-important contradictions. These involve finding inconsistencies to then confront characters and extract truthful statements.
Because everyone moves around the circus on a schedule, it’s important to get info from one character and then look around to see who might react to it or add extra details. Double Blind places a clear time limit for both its characters and it’s possible to get there without having a clear theory about the murder while knowing plenty of secrets about all featured characters.
Because everyone is hiding something, it takes time and careful thinking to understand what’s directly connected to Hattie’s murder and what can be safely ignored. Toward the end, Death Trick moves to a more classic deduction-centered sequence that feels a little forced, as players need to point to the killer and bring evidence for their choices.
The time and action limit make it hard to solve the murder mystery on the first playthrough. I was too invested in discovering all I could about the characters and in seeing how they react to topics that were not directly linked to Hattie and her death. Players who don’t hate the big late-game twists should be prepared to go through the narrative once more if they want a full picture of the events.
Death Trick: Double Blind has style, with very nice backgrounds and characters with plenty of personality and some beautiful small animations, all designed to reflect the circus theme and push it into some intriguing directions. But variety is limited, and players will move through the same locations and interact with a small cast as they discover more about the core mystery. The clues and topics interface is clear and easy to use (I suggest leaving the Contradiction visual indicator on) and there are a few nice black-and-white comic book-like flashback moments.
There’s no voice acting, which brings down the immersion a little. The sound design’s more annoying element is the effect associated with text flow, which can be turned off in the options. The soundtrack is jazzy and swingy, enhances the atmosphere, and has some good noir influences.
The Good
- Good premise and setting
- Great characters
- Contradiction concept
The Bad
- Limited gameplay depth
- No voice acting
- A late-game twist
Conclusion
The visual novel structure means gameplay depth and variety are limited. The world and characters are interesting, in terms of both personality and presentation. Death Trick: Double Blind is engaging and fun, as long as players are willing to suspect their disbelief at some crucial moments.
Review key provided by the publisher.
