True Detective Review: Simple Interface, Complex Story

There is a type of detective in detective novels called "chair detective". Unlike ordinary investigators, these types of detectives do not need to work tirelessly in various scenes. They only need to understand the basic clues of the case and can perform superb reasoning to find the culprit by following the clues.

In the domestic detective game "True Detective", players have to personally play a "chair detective". Although the game content is mostly presented in textual form, the cases within the game are not simple. If you have confidence in your reasoning ability, you can give this work a try.

True exploration system

The story of "True Detective" revolves around the so-called "inference network". In order to improve the efficiency of talent selection, the "Chicheng" police invited "Black Robe Technology Company" to develop a crime solving simulation system, which is called the "True Detective System". As one of the testers, the player needs to understand the case with the help of police officer Jia Huasheng, unravel the details, and ultimately discover the truth of the case.

The interface of the "True Exploration System" consists of two parts, namely the search area on the left and the display area on the right. At the beginning of solving the case, the system will automatically assign "case description" clues. Players can drag the clue on the left to the box on the right to view the detailed information of the clue.

The core of the game "True Detective" is to explore various "clues". The logic of system interaction is also very simple. Players search for keywords based on existing materials, and the correct keywords will trigger new clues. In this cycle, as a detective, players can gradually understand the process of the case.

It is worth mentioning that "Zhen Tan" is a pure text game, so all kinds of clues will be presented in text form. Although players sometimes need to retrieve so-called "surveillance footage," the content of the footage is also presented in language and does not show corresponding images. Although pure text can help players quickly identify key information, it ultimately lacks expressiveness.

However, developers have also made some optimizations to the form of clues. Various textual materials can be roughly divided into core clues, associative clues, and secondary clues, each with a different background color. The core clues are closely related to the main storyline of the case; Lenovo clues can provide additional points; Secondary clues often point to various additional puzzles. By taking a rough look at the color of the clues, one can quickly discern the importance of the material.

However, the process of solving the case will not be smooth sailing as a result. One of the challenges of playing "True Detective" is to coordinate various clues and organize them into a complete "logical chain". During actual gameplay, players often find dozens of clues in one go, but with too many clues, it is actually difficult to sort them out.

For example, when I am investigating "Clue One" of Event A, I can quickly identify key information and find the corresponding "Clue Two", but the content of "Clue Two" directly points to Event B. The clues become more and more complete, and the story behind the case will become more and more complex. This also leads to me often forgetting the existence of other events after inferring the cause of a certain event.

Therefore, I suggest that gamers of "True Exploration" equip their computers with some paper and pen, and when they discover key information, they can directly write it on paper. Friends with strong abilities can build mind maps. Because the system only has simple tagging functions and case puzzles are relatively complex, it is easy to lose some key details if you rely solely on your own memory to organize clues.

The crowded clues of make one's scalp tingle

If there is really no clue, players can also use the in-game "help seeking" function. After deducting a certain amount of points, the system will guide the player to take the next action, and sometimes even directly display the answer. However, "seeking help" does not demonstrate the derivation process of the answer, and continuing to play will still make you feel confused. So before initiating a request for help, it's better to think more first.

uncover a conspiracy

After discussing the game mechanics, let's talk about the plot of True Detective. To draw a direct conclusion, I think the script of "True Detective" is quite exciting, which is also the biggest highlight of the work.

The story of "True Detective" consists of five seemingly independent cases. At the beginning of the game, players will be ordered to investigate a "headless corpse case". In my opinion, the process of this case is not complicated, and the culprit is also easy to identify.

But when solving the case, I can clearly feel that some clues and information may have other meanings. In the process of solving the second case, my intuition was confirmed: doesn't the information in this clue correspond to the event of the previous case?

Certain events can echo each other

Afterwards, I discovered another interesting point. After obtaining certain clues about case B, I can still redirect to the previous case A for further investigation, thus discovering the deep relationship between case A and case B.

So, that's why I used words like "seemingly" in the previous text. Although the five cases in "True Detective" are different, they are actually interconnected and intertwined in the same huge conspiracy network.

To ensure your gaming experience, I cannot provide further explanation for the conspiracy. But for some clues and details, they can still be shared.

At the moment the player enters the "real detective system", they themselves are caught up in the conspiracy behind the case. As the process progresses, players will gradually come into contact with the person who "manipulates everything behind the scenes.".

The five murder cases in the game were committed by different individuals, and most of the criminals were influenced by the behind the scenes manipulators. At the same time, the ultimate boss also sent the player a "challenge book", also known as the "Sphinx".

The "Sphinx" in the second case of is a password question

"Sphinx" is actually a puzzle related to the case that players will encounter multiple times. The content of "Sphinx" includes passwords, magic squares, word puzzles, and more. If players can successfully solve them, they can obtain key clues to the case, greatly advancing the process of solving the case.

Unfortunately, my brain is not working well, and the later "Sphinx" puzzles were solved through "system assistance". In other words, "Sphinx" is somewhat difficult, and friends who are not good at "brain burning" may find it difficult to solve.

While the player is solving the problem, the real culprit behind the case is also closely monitoring the player's every move. When the player solves a specific "Sphinx", their computer will also be "invaded" by the mastermind behind it, and a "pop-up warning" will appear on the computer screen. It's best not to get too involved when playing "Detective", otherwise you will be startled by the sudden "warning".

The provocation of the mastermind behind

In addition, the main storyline cases in "True Detective" also have many confusing aspects. The identity of the deceased needs to be determined; There is a coincidence in the incident process; The relationships between characters may be more complex than imagined... Distinguishing who the killer is is not an easy task. Moreover, the last few cases often have 30-40 clues, and the "logical chain" needs to be slowly sorted out by oneself. Don't be disturbed by extra information.

In terms of difficulty, I think the overall challenge of "True Exploration" is relatively high. But because of this, reasoning enthusiasts can spend some time enjoying themselves. If you solve all the puzzles without reading the guide, then I will truly admire you.

By the way, remember to take a look at your computer desktop again after completing the game. The developer left you with a little surprise. Don't be surprised to see that program appear on your computer.

epilogue

As a domestically produced text reasoning game, the content of "Zhen Tan" is worthy of praise. The game is priced at less than 40 yuan, and friends who are interested in reasoning can give it a try. But at the same time, I still hope that developers can optimize the interface of this game and add some auxiliary features, so that the experience can become more user-friendly.

Welfare period:

In this article, you will have the opportunity to obtain a redemption code for the Steam game "True Detective".