In this third entry in the series, Frog Detective goes to Cowboy County to help Lobster Cop with a new case. Like its predecessors, it’s a simple adventure game where you’ll talk to characters, learn their requests, and then solve other characters’ requests to get what you need to help them. It’s an easy, straightforward formula without too much challenge, but it works.
Oh, and this time you get a scooter to get around town faster.
The humor is quite goofy as always, but there’s actually a bit more of a narrative thread this time. For as silly as these games are, I actually got excited to see how things would progress. This is the longest Frog Detective game so far, taking me an hour and a half to complete.
It’s a fun, lighthearted adventure game with plenty of humor, although it lacks the extreme absurdity of the first game. Still, if you enjoyed the first two, you’ll likely enjoy this one as well. Now, its store description calls it “the third and final game in the Frog Detective series.” That made me a bit disappointed at first, because I’d like to see this series continue. I’d love another Frog Detective game, or even a spin-off.
However, Frog Detective 3: Corruption at Cowboy County brings together loose ends from the previous two games and resolves things in way that feels fitting for a finale. If this is the end of the Frog Detective series, it’s a satisfying one.
It’s time for our first review of Celebrating All Things Mysterious 2024, and the first game we’ll be looking at is Fatal Twelve.
Fatal Twelve is a visual novel available for Switch, PS4, and PC.
It follows a teenage girl named Rinka who is transported in her dreams to a place called the Court of Fate. There, she learns that she and eleven others died on the same day. Now the twelve of them have a chance to change their fate – by eliminating the others until only one remains.
To eliminate another participant, you must know their name, cause of death, and regret. This, along with other rules of the Court of Fate, brings them into conflict with each other.
While Fatal Twelve is described as a mystery game, and there are certainly elements of mystery in it, I’d say it’s more of a character-driven thriller. It’s often less about investigations and more about reacting to the lengths participants will go to in order to get information about another. It’s filled with plenty of tense, suspenseful moments, and by the time I was on the path to my first ending, I was thoroughly invested.
There are several endings based on your choices throughout the game, although it doesn’t branch as much as you might expect for a game with this premise. That’s probably because the main focus here is really the characters.
Fatal Twelve’s greatest strength is how it shows the stories of the characters in this twisted game of fate. While Rinka is the main character, a few other characters get viewpoint sections as well, and others develop as they interact with them. It does a great job of showing that even characters who might seem deadly and ruthless are as human as anyone.
While there are some romantic elements, especially due to one of the other girls being in love with Rinka, and that’s an important part of the story, it’s not so prevalent that I’d call this a romance game. It’s just one more aspect of the characters’ humanity.
Overall, Fatal Twelve was an enjoyable game with an intriguing premise. I’m still not sure if I should call it a mystery, but it’s unusual take on a death game premise makes it a good choice to kick off this year’s event nevertheless.
May is here, and that means a return of Celebrating All Things Mysterious, our new annual event where we celebrate mysteries.
However, this year it’s going to be a little different.
Much like with the shortened Celebrating All Things Romantic event earlier this year, this event comes at a time when I’m drowning in games to play. Not only that, but February’s contest resulted in a tie for first place in which both winners picked a game for me to review.
As a result, I’m still finishing up those games on top of everything else, and solid mystery games tend to run on the longer side. So! Instead of a new mystery game review with each post like in the past, this year’s Celebrating All Things Mysterious event will feature one mystery game review each week.
This more relaxed pace should make it easier to balance this year’s event while letting me take the time to savor these games as they deserve.
With that important change out of the way, let’s get into the event details!
Promotions
Drops of Death, the murder mystery romance game where any of the love interests can be the killer (it’s randomized at the start of each playthrough) is currently planned for an October 2025 release date! A new trailer will premiere tomorrow, so be sure to check that out!
Meanwhile, don’t forget that two of my pulp fiction stories star The Domino Lady, the masked vigilante from classic pulp fiction. In “The Domino Lady Takes the Case,” part of Domino Lady Volume 3, the Domino Lady embarks on a murder investigation after suspecting the truth of the case is being covered up. Then in “The Domino Lady Deceived,” found in Domino Lady Volume 4, a thwarted heist brings her into conflict with a thief wily and determined enough to be her match.
Contest
And yes, even though new posts will only be weekly, you can still comment on any Celebrating All Things Mysterious post to participate in this month’s contest!
Contest Rules
No purchase is necessary.
Only comments made between May 1, 2024 at 12:00 PM EST and May 31, 2024 at 11:59 PM EST will be counted.
Each non-spam, non-anonymous comment on any Celebrating All Things Mysterious blog post, including replies to other comments, earns you 1 point.
You must use an email address or website URL (or include another way of contacting you) in your comment so I can contact you if you win.
The top 3 point earners will win prizes.
The person with the most points will get their first pick of the prizes. The person with the second most points will pick second, and the person with the third most points will pick third.
In the event of a tie, tied winners will be contacted at the same time. A tie for third place will allow for more than 3 winners. If tied winners choose the same prize, duplicate prizes will be possible.
The winner will be contacted by June 3, 2024.
Prizes
Domino Lady Volume 3 (ebook)
Domino Lady Volume 4 (ebook)
Phoenix Wright Trilogy (gift sent through Steam)
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles (gift sent through Steam)
Apollo Justice Trilogy (gift sent through Steam)
$35 Nintendo eShop gift card to use for either Famicom Detective Club game
$15 sent through PayPal
You pick a game for me to review!
…and possibly more prizes to be added throughout May!
If you choose the review option, your chosen game must be something I either own or is easily obtainable, which you can discuss with me beforehand. It must be a single game, not a collection (although the chosen game can be part of a collection). I will start playing it in June.
An event like this is an easy way for me to encourage myself to play some of the mystery games I’ve gathered over the years. So let’s find some great new mystery games and discuss them in Celebrating All Things Mysterious 2024!
In 2022, we discussed The Haunted Island, a Frog Detective Game, a silly little adventure game about a frog detective solving a mystery.
