I don’t normally play games on Xbox, if you haven’t noticed, I’m much more of a PlayStation person, it’s no secret that’s the best place for exclusive games, but this year is starting to look much brighter for Xbox, as they actually have some exclusives of their own, finally. At the beginning of the year, they had that fun title “High On Life” as well as the Tango Gameworks shadow dropped title “Hi Fi Rush” which shadow dropped and shocked everyone with how awesome it was. So next up we have “The Last Case of Benedict Fox,” which is a 2.5D side scrolling metroidvania game that of course plays very similarly to the recent title “Metroid: Dread,” one of the franchises this genre of games was based on. What caught my eye towards this new title specifically was its subject matter and that it taps into one of my favorite sub-genres in horror, which is cosmic horror, very H.P. Lovecraft inspired. There have been quite a few Lovecraftian games recently and I’m all about it.
The game takes place sometime after World War 1 and mostly in a very large mansion where you play as Benedict Fox, a self-proclaimed detective with the power to go inside the minds of the recently deceased, where he looks for clues on how they died. When doing so, Benedict enters a place called Limbo, which initially reminded me of the black and white indie game of the same title, “Limbo” because some of these areas are also in black and white. Depending on the mind Benedict inhabits, the overall vibe is very different, the trauma the victim had before their death usually factors in on the look. He also has an internal demon inside him that Benedict can talk to, and this demon often gives his own opinions when solving murders. The main story involves a mysterious case of a murdered couple and their missing child, and as the case progresses, it seemingly becomes more and more intertwined with his own past.
When starting the game, I found it cool that developers Plot Twist decided to add some easier functionalities so that people not as experienced in Metroidvanias can give the genre a solid attempt without throwing their controller down five minutes in. There is a very easy difficulty they deem “relaxing” with the option to make your character immortal (which doesn’t include you falling to your death, of course). The game also asks if you enjoy solving puzzles or not to better guide you through the experience. The graphics in “The Last Case of Benedict Fox” are absolutely gorgeous and horrific as they should. You can tell this was a labor of love by the developers. The environments are as moody and creepy as they should be.
The action elements in this are fairly straightforward. The main melee weapon is a knife and you use it with the usual basic and heavy attacks, there’s a gun that you can stop to aim at any direction on the screen, and a really cool defensive shield for parrying. Unfortunately, even though this is fairly basic, the controls themselves don’t feel as clean as I’d like, and there is something off and just doesn’t feel fluid about it. There is some platforming in this game, and the jumping doesn’t feel great or consistent. That being said, I do like the shield that can be used to parry enemy attacks and have them flip back and hit them. Benedict’s internal demon isn’t just a voice inside you but also has abilities such as black tentacles that can quickly come out of you to help you perform double jumps and more.
There are some cool characters you meet along your journey, such as Harry Houdini himself, who is essentially a merchant that sells you very helpful items. There is also a very cool and creepy tattooist (that calls Benedict their beautiful canvas) and will put you under the needle, which helps you learn new abilities. The puzzles in this game are very inventive and often gross by nature. Depending on the difficulty you chose, some are easier to figure out than others. The map will eventually grow into a giant confusing maze that can feel cumbersome. As with most games in the genre, you unlock new abilities that allow you to backtrack through the maps to travel to specific areas you couldn’t reach before.
“The Last Case of Benedict Fox” isn’t a perfect game, but has a lot to offer for the right type of gamer. The game’s beautiful and haunting graphics, intriguing story, and unique gameplay elements make it a standout title in the genre, at least for me. If you’re not familiar with metroidvania games, this could be a good entry point for you, as the game offers an easy difficulty setting and other helpful features for newcomers. And if you’re a fan of the genre, you’ll maybe find its flaws in the gameplay a bit more noticeable. Despite this, I would recommend giving “The Last Case of Benedict Fox” a try, especially if you have Xbox Game Pass (because there’s no harm in trying something out if it’s free). It may not be a perfect game, its amazing look, style, and story will hopefully be enough to sway you to try it out. As for you H.P. Lovecraft fans, like me, we’ve been eating well lately.
8/10
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Related: Nick Navarro Reviews
Gaming since I was given an original Nintendo as a kid. I love great storytelling and unique ingenuity. When both collide in a single game, I'm a happy gamer. Twitter/IG @NickNavarro87
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