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Happy Birthday - An interesting, but short, murder mystery game.

(This review might be at least 2 years late by now, but I'll leave it here in case you're still active.)

I'll start my review by saying this: I'm a big sucker for some great murder mystery. The games I really enjoy that fill my need for that are Phoenix Wright series, Danganronpa games, 999: Zero Escape, Corpse Party (To an extent - it's more of a horror game) and the latest game that caught my interest is Enigma: An Illusion Named Family.

The biggest inspiration for the clue gathering - presenting system seems to be from the Phoenix Wright series, since in both games you have to talk and present certain items to witnesses. I feel that this system was done very well in Happy Birthday, although I wish there was a way to see the short description of the item you're about to present.
The story's pacing is also on point. I didn't figure out the killer prematurely, although I already had a few suspects.
The characters were kind of weak and not very memorable: sobbing mess of a father, a drunk and nervous uncle, a nanny that only regrets not doing what she should've done - pretty standard.

Don't get me wrong, it's not that bad to have a cliche'd story as long as you bring your own elements into it, and you certainly did, however, I have some very major complaints about it. Spoilers from this point on.

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1. I was interested in learning the Detective's identity, but was largery dissappointed in the twist that claimed "You are the victim!". I feel rather strongly about detective stories that just make the protagonist either a killer or a victim because of how often it's been done. It just ruins the mystery for me. The final tiwst was also rather confusing: did our actions actually have an impact on the real world, or are these just some afterlife dwellings of some ghosts? What happened to the murderer after the event? Did the player's actions even matter in the end? And that brings me to my second point..
2. Both of the endings had very little substance and variation. Arresting the killer didn't get much of a reaction from the father, not finding the killer didn't make the father furious as well. How could he live knowing that his little girl was murdered and have no idea who the killer was?
3. The Landlady's purpose is not very clear and she just seems like a lingering "ghost" character that has no real impact on the overall story. I really don't think the story would change that much without her being present since she only seems to exist for gameplay purposes.
4. There's no real punishment for picking the wrong killer or evidence in the final segments of the game. It would've been interesting to pin the wrong guy for the crime and end up with a different ending every time, or at least a game over state.


Overall, I enjoyed this game quite a bit and it was a decent mystery that kept me intrigued until the end. If you're still planning on another murder mystery game I suggest you check out the games I've mentioned in the beginning of this review, so you can analyse them for various tropes you could use in your future stories.