Reviving My Review of The 25th Ward: The Silver Case

The Silver 2425, a collection that includes Suda51’s The Silver Case and its sequel The 25th Ward: The Silver Case, is coming to the Switch next year.

The news made me realize that while you can still read my review of The Silver Case, my 25th Ward review (which I reviewed on another site as a freelancer) is gone. Even the Wayback Machine can’t find it.

So in honor of these games coming to the Switch, I’d like to revive my 25th Ward: The Silver Case review and talk about a weird sequel to a weird game.

The Silver Case is a strange, confusing visual novel with adventure game elements that had me intrigued in the story even when I didn’t know what was going on. The 25th Ward is much the same, and I’d say it’s even weirder.

Sometimes it’s a dark, grim noir mystery, while other times it veers into dark humor. That aspect came through much stronger than in The Silver Case. There are times when The 25th Ward is hilarious, but never in a way that really distracts from its disturbing tone.

The gameplay can be tedious, and just like in its predecessor, it feels unnecessary at times. The story is the major focus.

Set six years after The Silver Case, it follows three different stories this time. These three stories slowly come together, and there are connections back to the original game, too. It can be pretty difficult to follow, and the whole thing is strange and surreal, but once again I found myself invested in the story – not to mention waiting to see what wild and bizarre thing it might do next.

The 25th Ward: The Silver Case is not a game for everyone, but if you enjoyed The Silver Case, you’ll probably enjoy its sequel too.

While the Switch version of The Silver 2425 hasn’t been confirmed for an English release yet, the English website mentions it and Suda51 said during the announcement that he’d like to release it in English. Have you played The Silver Case or The 25th Ward? Are you interested in The Silver 2425? Share your thoughts in the comments!