Unheard - Voices of Crime

Sooooo good. Such a surprisingly interesting storyline and fun gameplay. Decently challenging puzzles. Enjoyed very much.

great game!

-a bit short.
+nice to puzzle all the stories together.

Fun little logic puzzle game with a cool art style. It should be noted that this game isn't accessible to anyone with hearing disabilities (the focus is on audio clues, with no subtitles), and headphones are recommended.

I liked the concept of the main game--in an auditory logic puzzle, you can only listen and follow characters' movements as the events unfurl. Your role as "detective" is to figure out who the various people are and what (really) happened. This can be tedious, because characters don't always conveniently say their names (and sometimes they lie about who they are). You definitely have to have some patience for this sort of thing, but that's not a big deal for those of us who like logic puzzles. I thought it worked well that you could only hear conversations in the room you were "in," which meant you had to move around and piece together the events through multiple play-throughs (being able to fast-forward and pause was super helpful).

I also liked the way there is a bit of a mystery about what was "really" going on--I'd have loved to have even more of that, if this dev makes more in this series. The way we start to question our reality/what we're really doing is a nice twist that makes the gameplay more interesting & layered The free DLC wasn't really my cup of tea--the puzzles were more laborious (like a "nightmare mode"), requiring listening to the same recording multiple times. I felt like I needed to take detailed notes to do it successfully, but I I'm lazy. The DLC is only for people with more time and patience than I have, but hey, if that's your thing, good for you.

Took some time to figure some of the cases, but damn it was good! Only complaint is that it's too short lol. And the story too! What does it mean??

Great game! You should give a try if you liked Golden Idol series and Obra Dinn...
Maybe a bit too short.

Its such a great concept! One i keep coming back to to experience as i am getting older time and time again! Would recommend this 100%

It's the best detective game I've ever played. The mysteries are perfect and it made me feel completely immersed in the game

10/10 one of those unique games played
english dub 6/10 though

fun short game

IM Nr 68

Excellent game to play alone or with a group.

Oh man can't get over the corny VA along with the corny writing. '1 kilo of drugs'. What kind of drugs? The drugs kind?

Very corny voice acting and stories that I really couldn't care less about.
Not worth your time.

g

I wish they would localize the other DLC into english. Oh well. Maybe they will make another game sometime?

I love puzzle games. But, for me, this game was not worth the money, even on sale. Its greatest feature is its puzzle design, which exceeds expectations. However, I found it too simple and too short, and I disliked the audio-based mechanic.

This game requires you to sit around and listen to a lot of audio at a sluggish pace, much of which is irrelevant. To make it worse, that audio is so horrifically over-acted that prevents any immersion. Also, it seems like 95% of the voices are done by one, maybe two voice actors, further detracting from the experience.

In sum: good puzzles, poor execution, with a price that doesn't reflect its serious flaws.

SOOOOO GOOD

The game is extremely good. I would love it to be much longer than it is.

Very nice game, definitely requires pen and paper and some good headphones. The mysteries are very ingenious and tough to crack but so worth it to get through. Definitely recommend it.

An interesting premise: solve crimes using only your sense of hearing. As implemented, it's almost entirely just listening to series of conversations that ultimately spell out everything you need to know.

liked the game up untill the final non dlc level, it was good if a bit tedious at times, but... i cant handle the awful mental health depiction, having a person with presumably DID scream to themselves, not flying with me, refunding this game (if i can) and yeah no, this is not worth it

also put subtitles in your game please

one of the most unique detective games I've played in a while

Really fun, but incredibly short. Would've really loved more

本来要给差评的，多亏发现了免费DLC。说实话精华全在DLC，本体只能算是个教学模式，除了最后一关乏善可陈。

游戏很有新意，配音作为灵魂也确实做得不错。DLC剧情也还比较烧脑。整体游玩时间接近10小时。

要说缺点就是每集后面的剧情梳理不能跳过，本体那些关节真的没啥好梳理的。再就是脏话地方话多了点，很多美术和声音效果特意走恐怖路线，但是剧情本身并不吓人，有点刻意，用力过猛。

整体来说对于喜欢推理的玩家还是可以考虑的，最好打折入手，主玩DLC。

The first case actually almost made me stop and not continue playing, but I'm glad I stayed through. The concept is interesting and new, so I like that. But I get how it can be... a bit boring. Because all you do is re-listen to the audios multiple times, moving around and figure out the answers. Which can be appealing to most people (seeing as this game is very well received) but I guess I'm the minor case. Also, I didn't actually play for six hours. I think I can clear this game by 2-3 hrs but I left the game on while doing something else, so that's why it's 6 hrs. I'm sure the actual focused gameplay takes less time.

All in all, I wouldn't say this game isn't recommendable, because like I said I can see the appeal to some people. It is something new (at least to me), but it almost bored me for the first case. And the voice acting is a bit too animated, but I'm glad the enunciation are clear and concise. In my case, I don't need subtitles.

All the cases are easy to figure out, so the game a little bit boring because of that. And short. Buy it on a sale if you want to try this game

PLEASE MAKE MOREEE

If anything, I recommend getting this game on sale.


I really wanted to like this. I usually go into games completely blind, as that way I can't really build any expectations, positive or negative - I did the same for this game.
The only things I knew about it were:
- I'd have to solve crimes
- I'd have to do so via audio only
Which, to me, sounded like an amazing concept. I love a good detective/mystery game and this spin on it felt unique to me. Sound is so incredibly important for a good atmosphere, surely a game focused on it would excel at it?
Unfortunately, the game fell short for me on several fronts:
- The voice acting, which is arguably one of, if not THE core element of the game, is subpar if you consider how excellent it should be in order to make this concept work convincingly. A lot of it is very over the top, to the point of every character feeling almost like a caricature. It feels a bit as though each character was assigned one key personality trait (e.g. bitchy, mellow, etc.) and then voiced entirely in its image, without any nuance.
- Some of the sound effects also sounded a bit odd to me - for example, there is a character that has a limp/prosthetic, which is a clever way to introduce a different sounding walk, but the sounds they used for it are so brash that it loses a lot of genuine credibility, at least for me. Lastly, the volume mixing felt a bit off to me, with some things being far too loud, and others too quiet.
- The writing. Part of this will obviously tie more into my personal taste, rather than objectivity, but I found the writing to unfortunately be quite lackluster. The cases themselves partially already fall short due to the nature of its characters not feeling very genuine, but I also disliked the overarching main plot. Again, this might be personal taste, but I just want to solve some crimes, not be part of some weird spooky-dookie mental experimentation shenanigans. Are major crimes not "scary" enough, was it really necessary to introduce an element of conspiracy revolving around the player character themselves? I personally feel like that's one of the most clichéd, lazy cop-outs to mystery games like these, which is such a bummer when the concept itself was initially so unique.
Additionally, I felt like the way this game, in part, approached mental health and the study/treatment of it in very poor taste.
- Overall, I did generally enjoy the gameplay itself, at its core. The idea was still decently executed on a purely technical level, albeit a bit predictable. There is so many ways sounds could be used to indicate or reveal something (such as differing walking sounds!), but I felt the game relied too heavily on phones. If I recall correctly, basically every case had at least one phone, or mention of it.
Furthermore, you have to assign names to each character in the case. I think this was too easy, only the last case became a bit more challenging in this aspect - conveniently, names are constantly said. Ironically, there is a part in the game where you are prompted about the "coincidences" in these cases. Unfortunately, rather than ominous build up, this, again, served the predictability of the "twist" more than anything.
I personally would have loved a case where the player, for example, encounters two characters that simply aren't named, but can be differentiated otherwise, or still be tracked throughout the case. Another thing that slightly bothered me was that a part of how this game approached increasing difficulty, was adding more people and/or just making the cases longer in time. I would have found it more interesting to just make the clues more subtle instead, rather than adding more characters for the sake of convolution, or padding out the runtime.
- You are able to add your own comments at any point throughout the case, a mechanic I am on the fence about. It forces brevity, as there is a limit to how many characters you can type - for better or for worse. I thus tried to formulate my thoughts in a concise manner, but sometimes the space just wasn't enough for me to properly write out a theory without cutting out a crucial word or abbreviating it to near gibberish. Once you've made the comment, it "flies" across your screen, which is a cool effect, but is odd to time, as the animation only STARTS at the timestamp you made the comment, rather than being in the centre of the screen by then.
- I didn't mind the game length, with it being on the shorter side. I am glad not every game is hours upon hours long - my gripe is more with the tone/atmosphere, build-up and difficulty balancing of the game (would an increase in difficulty not also allow for more playtime, anyways?)

Overall, I can absolutely see why someone would enjoy this game and the virtues it has, but more importantly could have. As it is, I, personally, was unfortunately left very disappointed. I picked up the game hoping to solve some chilling crimes with brilliant voice acting, that would stay with me long after the credits rolled. Instead, I unfortunately got a half-baked episode of the looney tunes that makes me mourn all the unused potential this gameplay concept, in theory, could have had.

A unique take on detective genre, pretty interesting and fun but getting a bit tedious for a long listening session. Would be more interesting if there are some clues told by environment sounds and not 100% depending on voices.

Just a snack of a game - took only 5 hours to finish. Interesting. Exactly what its says it is. The first mystery was easy but then the second make you realize you have to do some work.

This is honestly one of the best games I've played in a long time. It's short, but it makes your think and question things. It's also so original with a great twist! Absolutely 10 out of 10

A good game! It was fun listening to all the situations happening at the same time and connecting the pieces!

Lovely whodunnit type game, there could be a few quality of life improvements like a faster walkspeed, but other than that the overall detective experience was there, not to mention the ending room which was simply awesome! If you liked the Obra Dinn this will definitely be up your alley. I had a bug-free playthrough with no problems with the audio or music levels. It's on the shorter end but I think it was better short and sweet because the audio clips do get quite lengthy.

really good detective-ish game! fun to play with someone else to discuss ideas and theories, good plot twist. delicious sound design, will def be playing again at some point!

A unique and fun game. The twist in the main game's final level is so good and unexpected and the DLC is a story on its own. Truly a must!

Let me say, even though I had my guesses on how this would end, I still audibly gasped at the end of this game. First of all, this game’s writing is spectacular. The plot/story was just done so well. Plus the voice acting is very well done (which you would hope for in a game mainly reliant on sound). Lastly I’ll mention that the puzzles are quite engaging and I had a lot of fun figuring them out. You genuinely have to pay close attention when playing this game to know what truly happened.

It creepy but cool :)

Very neat game. But when I got to a level that was 16 minutes and had 10+ rooms, I sort of checked out. It's not a game you can put down and pick up again in the middle of a level. I personally have an unreasonable hate for whodunit style games, so not for me, but still a cool concept.

It's mind-boggling how good this game is. I expected a simple murder mystery game with a quirk and I couldn't be more wrong. They tried to do something more ambitious and honestly they knocked it out of the park.

It's really short, I completed the all the base game scenarios in just 5h but it was five hours well spent. The game swallowed me from the start, kept on chewing on me throughout the whole experience and spat me out only when the credits started rolling. All of the scenarios are packed full of detail and each character has their own motivation and goals. At each second there are multiple things happening at the same time which you have to slowly untangle to uncover the truth. The game is constantly throwing curveballs at you to throw you off the track and it can get really difficult at times to know what is important and what is just a noise. I have no complaints in the puzzle and difficulty department, it was really, really good.

The only thing to complain about is the gameplay and QoL stuff. It's not bad overall but it requires some polishing. The commenting feature is utterly useless, the game resets the playhead and your position if you reach the end of a timeline, you can't make any in-game notes and the fast forward feature is too fast to understand what anyone is saying but too slow to actually move forward in a quick manner. In the end it doesn't hinder or annoy you too much but it is noticeable.

I wholeheartedly recommend this game. It delivers everything it promises and doesn't waste your time on stupid stuff. It's a rich 5h of unique experience I wouldn't regret spending even the full price on.

A bit too short, the lethal script DLC is too hard and troublesome to play, though the main game is interesting enough to buy while discounting. A very unique game.

A mystery that shares the vibes of a legal thriller than a traditional detective investigation, in the way we're corroborating witness accounts in "real time."

Keeping track of incidents happening at the same time is really fun, and you get the hang of it relatively quickly.

My only issue is that once you predict the trope early, the entire level just then becomes a slog through the footage to confirm your suspicion. Still pretty satisfying when the game says you're right, though!

good game except that it's too short T T

Ok so, this is the first detective type game I have purchased here on steam. I was looking for something that would be some sort of a challenge or at least thought provoking. I peeped the reviews before buying and most said the game was good but very short, but I was bored and because so many said it was good I bought it with the assumption it would be a one off purchase for a very short game yet good game.

That is exactly what I got. The game is short enough and can be finished in a day but the game itself is a good detective game and exactly what I was looking for. Without spoiling the game here is what you can expect.

- A game where you really feel like a detective and have to try and solve cases that get progressively harder, and you do this by using a progress bar that allows you to fast-forward or rewind an audio clip that plays the audio from the case that you are trying to solve and what happened in real time, the only thing is, there are multiple characters and multiple rooms involved in cases, so sometimes you may need to rewind or fast forward a lot, because different characters may have been in different rooms and discussing different things which could be clues to what really happened in the overall picture. It is very fun and I have not encountered a game like this before, and it was not so obvious to solve certain cases, there are many things you have to pay attention to, to make sure nothing gets by you, just like a real detective. There is also a Free DLC that you can download after you finish the main game called THE LETHAL SCRIPT. This was also really cool and adds to the game also. I have finished the game and there is not much replay value after you are finished but that being said, I have looked to see if there are any other games quite like this one but I have not come across any, which made me realise just how much I enjoyed this game that I want more. So what are you waiting for..DO IT

Gosh! I wish this game was longer! Loved every minute of it ^_^

SO fun. I loved the concept, and it was so well done.

this game is a fun experience if you like mystery and detective games and its just from hearing tales of the place that mystery happened no pictures and videos only from voices you should solve the murder mystery or bombing case or things like that .

I do recommend this game, but there are a few caveats, and I want to give some potential warnings for a few ableist themes that not a lot of people are talking about. Just in case there is anyone out there that might need to know.
For context, I have only completed the base game, got all endings, and I don't plan on getting the DLC, so take that how ya need to.

I'll start with what I love about it:
I ADORE the puzzle system here. It's a simple formula that feels satisfying to solve and incredibly rewarding when you get it all together. I find myself less interested in the cases themselves, and more so the pathway used to get to the solution. I think more mystery and crime solving games should adopt this format if they can. If the story was written to be as fascinating as the gameplay, I'd be floored. It's simple, easy to make, and flexible to adapt with many scenarios. I especially loved the utilization of sound effects like ringtones and typing sounds so you can tell when a character is sending a message or calling someone, and then finding the recipient just a few rooms away. The third case has to be my favorite for the way it uses this. It makes me wonder if there are other ways a game like this could work with the limitation of sound and simple visuals to tell a good story.

The small criticisms I have that are less important mainly rely on the voice acting for the english translation. There are a few actors who are doing a great job at sounding pretty natural, but a good few voices break my immersion and sound a little too forced. It's not unlistenable, but it's definitely a drawback when sound is the main medium they're using for this game. Everyone sounds more like caricatures of people than... people. It helps a lot to give it the Ace Attorney treatment. When all the characters are exaggerated, you can kinda just accept that the world is exaggerated and suspend disbelief. But it does leave something to be desired when the quality of the voice acting seems to vary by actor. Not horrible, not bad enough to ruin the entire game for me, but it might bother some.

However, for the part that bothered me enough to write this review in the first place, I need to talk about the final case and the twist at the end. To try and summarize my thoughts without spoilers, I'll say that, as a diagnosed Autistic person, it felt uncomfortable. I attribute that almost entirely to the time and place the story was written, though. I'm not trying to claim any mal-intent on the writers part, I personally think it was just written by some people / someone who just might not have known better, and/or was just fascinated by the vibes of the particular trope they went with. But if you're sensitive to albeist tropes and stereotypes, specifically for mental disabilities, or scenes that show some abuse towards disabled people, I wouldn't recommend this one. Or at least, I'd suggest you skip the 5th / final case and leave the ending open-ended for yourself or something. Usually I can handle this subject matter just fine, but the way it was written here was enough to stand out for me and exhaust me of the game. I mean, this case was the first time I looked up a walkthrough just cause I was getting exhausted from the harsh dialogue and having to hear it on repeat. There's room for nuance, but it needed to be mentioned.

Overall a fantastically made game, was really fun to play. It would be a lot better for me, personally, if they executed the twist with a bit more tact, but a very impressive gameplay experience nonetheless. Fairly priced and memorable.

I just finished the game, it's amazing. Gameplay is pretty easy, just follow people around and hear their sides of the story, also hear how they manipulate the info depending who they are talking to. All the problem-solving dynamic got me into the game really fast. Endings are good, I am afraid I need some alone time to think now (and search the web about some "stuff"...and reflect on my life a bit...yeah no spoilers sorry) What I think it's a NEED is to have more languages available (Spanish for audio would be great, also the DLCs need more translations).

The time of Pure logic detective games has come, and I, for one, welcome them in all their forms! They give you all the information necessary, and you aren't bumbling about with an inventory or shrink-wrapped puzzle sequences.

Where in "The Case of the Golden Idol" you have a still scene, Unheard has a very dynamic map with (abstract) people moving about, talking and using telephones. The game lives through the voice acting, and so it's good they do a good job. The sound effects are pretty good too, if there are any - people sitting by themselves in a room could more often grunt or leaf through some papers.

It's fun to listen through a level the first time and then follow up on what happens in other rooms - a form of exploration that you don't get to have often. The timeline with fast-forward and the options to leave notes works pretty well, but... I rarely had reason to mark much on the timeline. It's good to have, but a more static "notes" field would have helped much more to remind yourself of facts. That's especially true for the "Lethal script" DLC.

The solution for levels are often pretty short. There are lots of details in the scripts I would like to have had a chance to officially find as a precursor to the big questions. While I always had a good idea what happened and how, the multiple choice options lend themselves to brute forcing when you are not exactly sure what the questions mean... So some more questions would be also a good way to make clearer, what valid options there are in the end.

Lastly, while the game sounds good, and you'll need to concentrate - there is no real benefit for using headphones... People say names, there is very little "overhearing" with multiple groups of people talking in the same room and there are no sounds you'll have to identify: Basically, the game would work just as well with text on the screen.

If you like logic puzzles, the game is good fun without stretching it for too long.

Chill game. Later levels get difficult.