Emio – The Smiling Man review: if you’re not laughing, you’re crying

The point-and-click murder mystery visual novel pushes the boundaries of how gruesome Nintendo is willing to go

Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club / Nintendo

As releases calm down towards the end of the year, and awards season ramps up, we finally have time to go back and review some of the games we missed. Right at the top of my list of ‘games I should have played this year’ was Emio – The Smiling Man, a point-and-click murder mystery visual novel that pushes the boundaries of how gruesome Nintendo is willing to go. That’s right — a game that’s about a serial killer who specifically targets and strangles young girls has been made by family-friendly Nintendo.

Emio – The Smiling Man is a revival of the old Famicom Detective Club, and when building on a series this old, quality-of-life updates are vital. The gameplay revolves around selecting options from the menu such as ‘Ask/Listen’, ‘Call/Engage’ and ‘Think’ and these are inconsistent in outcome. Sometimes ‘Call/Engage’ means to respond and other times ‘Think’ does. You often have to select the same action over and over, then other times you’ll need to select something else in the middle. It makes things a bit confusing, and it can be frustrating stabbing a finger in the dark at what might be the way forward. It’s not unplayable but it casts a shadow over the excellent storytelling.

Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club / Nintendo

Visual novel fans love a good story that they have at least some control over. Emio’s path is fairly linear, though you’re able to unlock extra dialogue through smart conversation options and learn more context behind each character. This is the true hook of Emio: sussing out those around you to decide whodunnit, and it’s no easy task. Information is drip-fed to you, though you recap everything you learnt at the end of each chapter to ensure that the important parts stuck.

You are given enough clues that you can figure out the killer before the ending, but it’s difficult enough that you feel smart for doing so. My main issue with the story is that I felt funnelled down one path. I was always clicking around almost aimlessly looking for the option the game wanted me to click rather than focusing on what I wanted to investigate and explore further. Optional dialogue is dandy, but giving alternate endings where perhaps the killer escapes or different characters help you take them down would feel more satisfying.

Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club / Nintendo

It’s hard to describe how enticing the story is without introducing spoilers. However, the character writing is strong, with plenty of people to cast your suspicions on. One of the more interesting aspects of how the story plays out is that the main detective work takes place in the family-friendly main story, while the true gore and horror is in an optional post-game story that covers the crimes more closely. The main story still has potentially triggering topics like death, suicide, kidnapping and murder, but this is only described and not seen. By keeping the gore to the post-game, the story is more approachable to a wider variety of players.

As a visual novel connoisseur Emio – The Smiling Man doesn’t go to the top of my list. However, it does gain points for taking risks with how horrifying the story is willing to go, and for the few instances of breaking the fourth wall. The pacing and characters are strong, but the way you interact with the world can be repetitive and ultimately frustrating. It’s one for those who love a mystery and don’t mind occasionally hitting a brick wall.

Score: 7/10

Version tested: Nintendo Switch