Forensics: Crime Scene Detective Review (Xbox Series X|S & PC)

Forensics: Crime Scene Detective has the potential to be a brilliant game, as does it have that core element that makes you want to analyze “just one more blood sample” before parting ways with the laboratory. But, what it doesn’t have is the power to provide what it carves out on the sampler. Or at least, the ability to deliver a coherent experience that doesn’t rely on eye-swiveling words like detective to entice its audience. Because let’s face it, even with the word ‘detective’ on the needle, Forensics: Crime Scene Detective isn’t, in fact, a game that accommodates proper investigatory procedures. For that reason alone, it feels as if I’ve been robbed of a great opportunity to don the lab coat and solve some genuinely gripping cases.

If you were to remove the keyword from the title, then you would essentially have a different kind of chore core simulator on your hands. Alas, this isn’t a game in which you solve mysteries and engage in classic whodunnit expeditions. Rather, it’s a game in which you collect samples from various crime scenes, and then analyze them before submitting a report to the appropriate handler. With that, you don’t reprimand the perpetrators, nor do you add your own two cents to the report before condemning a potential suspect. No, you collect all of the pieces of the puzzle, and then you step back to allow the professionals to do their job and claim all the glory. And no, it doesn’t get any fancier than that.

To say that I was disappointed with the first quarter of Forensics wouldn’t be that far from the truth. At first, I wanted to love it. The world was my oyster, and one disturbing crime scene was enough to compel me to put on the coat and start archiving samples. But then, before I could find some form of satisfaction in the work, the journey would end, and I’d be left with little more than a pat on the back and another unrelated case to go to. I was never given any form of closure — only a brief setlist of half-baked case files that had no connection with the overarching storyline whatsoever. I wanted more. I wanted Forensics to pull me deeper into its world and send me on a perilous journey into the underbelly of a criminal organization. Though, it never convinced me that there was more to stick around for outside of the opening chapter.

If Forensics had been openly labeled as a sample-collecting experience, then I wouldn’t have waged a war against it. The fact, however, was that it initially led me to believe that there would be more legwork involved, and that the experience would entail a lot more than mere monkey see, monkey do tasks. Sadly, that’s all that it was: a monotonous volleying process that never really found its rhythm of made an effort to establish context. A handful of cases would slowly appear, and I’d work through them, rarely finding the chance to reap the fruits of my labor.

Don’t get me wrong, there is a firm backbone behind all of these false promises. If, of course, you can turn a blind eye to its vague tutorials and chaotic UI, among other technical issues that can be a bit of a headache to navigate, then there’s nothing preventing you from knuckling in on an intriguing craft. The process might be simple—to chronicle and analyze various samples from different crime scenes—though it does make for a curious experience. It’s just a shame that it doesn’t divulge much more than the bare necessities.

There is something here that dampens the experience, and that’s the lack of transparency in the structure system itself. While the game boasts fourteen unique cases, it doesn’t make it easy to unlock, or even locate them. What’s more, as you have several tutorials and no real variety in the cases that follow on from them, it’s awfully difficult to distinguish the tutorial from the career path. Maybe that’s a small issue. Even still, a waypoint or a clearer path to the next sequence would certainly add a lot of value to this world.

To give credit where it’s due, Forensics does have a good foundation to work with. Unfortunately, it’s just a few samples short of a complete case file. It might cater to a niche audience, what with its fixation on analytical data tracking and what have you. That said, I think I can speak for everyone when I say, positives aside, there just isn’t a lot here that warrants the price of admission.

When all’s said and done, there could be a strong game here. The problem is, there are still numerous revisions that need to be made in order for it to find its place on the market. Given that it lacks the depth, the sizable campaign, and the technical polish to make it greatest facets shine, it falls short of a worthwhile experience. In time, perhaps. At present, though, it’s quite difficult to recommend Forensics: Crime Scene Detective in its current state.

Verdict

Forensics: Crime Scene Detective could be a brilliant game, if not for its deceptive nature and its lack of transparency. While it might have all the pieces of the puzzle to boast a well-rounded lab simulator, its reliance on certain keywords that quite simply have nothing to do with the actual experience is what sadly drags it down. It promises you a classic whodunnit experience, yet in reality, it delivers little more than a contextless chore core simulator that relies a little too heavily on textbook progression and monotonous lab procedures. And that’s a shame, really, as there could have been an excellent game here.

If you’re desperate to get your hands on something that ticks all of the forensically important boxes, then you might find enough here to warrant the purchase. If, however, you’re looking for something that blends both forensics with detective legwork, then you might want to find an alternate scene to drape your coat.