New PC release reveals How to shoot a criminal

Written by Jack Allin — January 20, 2017 at 11:34

It's inevitable that every innovative game will inspire others to follow, attempting to improve and put their own unique spin on the fledgling new formula. Such is the case with Her Story, which has influenced a number of database-centered adventures since its release last year. The latest such game is How to shoot a criminal, an investigative mystery from indie French studio Pandorica that has just released on PC.

How to shoot a criminal puts players in the role Scarlett, a journalist working for a newspaper called The Revenge. The paper is run by an "out-of-control editor" who once believed in truth at all costs but whose ambition has become corrupted as "politics, economics and inner dissension within the newspaper staff [got] in the way." In order to expose the dirty secrets of a paper that is no longer able (or willing) to distinguish right from wrong, players must scour its archives of videos, records, radio programs and reporters' notebooks via the game's internal search engine to find inconsistencies. Only by discovering "definite proof of wrongdoing" will you be able to bring the paper down from within.

As you "search for key words, and the truth behind the different affairs covered by the newspaper" over the course of four days of investigation (and approximately five hours of gameplay), new discoveries are accompanied by one of Scarlett's memories. Through these you'll encounter more than ten different characters central to the mystery, each with their own stories and "intricate relationships". In reliving the newspaper's shady history through more than two hours of full-motion video, the cinematic film noir-styled black and white presentation is intended to evoke the "dark ambiance" of 1930s New York City.

The pursuit of journalistic integrity is already upon us, as How to shoot a criminal is now available on Steam. You can also dig up more about the game on its official website.