Game: Hotel Dusk: Room 215
Developer: Cing
System: Nintendo DS
Year Released: 2007
Available online: no
Purchase Here: https://amzn.to/2SHAFgj
Released in 2007, Hotel Dusk: Room 215, is a point and click adventure game developed by Cing for the Nintendo DS. Hotel Dusk is the 76th highest selling game of 2007 selling over 200k copies in Japan alone. However, despite the high sales for the game the reviews are all over the place. From the top of the scores to the bottom. Some people loved the game, others did not. With the A.V. club going as far as saying “Hotel Dusk slaps you in the forehead with every new piece of evidence, then patronizes you with reading-comprehension quizzes after every chapter.”
*I can’t really put much of the story here without ruining the game completely. This is not a spoiler alert thing, it’s a completely ruin the game situation.* The game takes place at the Hotel Dusk and features Kyle Hyde, a former police officer that is now a door to door sales person/hard to find item transporter. Kyle finds himself in the middle of a mystery and begins to investigate.
Another handheld game that I am not aware of. Looking at the description it is not something that I would play based on the cover or story alone. In order for point and click games to bring me in they need to be funny. The Monkey Island series for example. Time to see if this game pulls me in. Let’s get to the Scores!
Graphics:
Hotel Dusk has a unique art style for a video game. At first I thought I was just watching the intro but then the game started and the style stuck around. The graphics all have the hand drawn look to them. The individual lines show in most of the drawings. The characters are done in a Take on Me music video style, the animated/drawn, black and white style, and everything looks fantastic. I kept waiting for the other foot to drop and the game to show me it’s true colors and then it did but there wasn’t much to show. When exploring the one screen switches to a poorly drawn map with everything labeled and an icon representing your character as you walk around. The other screen remains the first person view and you see what is represented on the map. The map is the worse part and it’s not that bad. Great graphics style, not much to complain about. 
Sound:
The backing track for Hotel Dusk sticks around the entire time. It’s not bad the first few listens but then it starts to repeat again and again and gets old. The dialog noise I’m the game is unnecessary and gets annoying really fast. Not something that is needed for a game that has A LOT of dialog. After the first few conversations I had to lose the volume. The game so far plays the same with or without the sound. So, while one part of the sound isn’t overall, the other is enough to make you kill the sound entirely. 
Difficulty:
The difficulty in the game is mainly dependent on your puzzle solving skills. The better you are at this, the easier the game will be. There are some puzzles that you will solve before the game lets you give the answer and then there will be some that take you a bit longer to figure out. Not too hard, not too easy. Well balanced making sure to keep the game interesting as you go on. 
Entertainment Value:
Hotel Dusk starts off as an interesting game that you think will keep you hooked once you get into it. Then people start talking to you and just go on and on. There is way too much dialog in the game. There are some things that need to be explained through the dialog but they completely over do it most of the time. The people you talk to will just drone on and on until you get to the point that you no longer care what is going on. This is where the game stops being fun. You have figured out the puzzle 5 minutes ago and have to wait until the dialog is done before moving on. Not bad, just please stop talking.
Does it hold up:
If you have never played the game before, it holds up. If you have a bad memory and eventually forget the game, it holds up. If you have a great memory and remember every aspect of the game and played the game before it most likely will not hold up. The story and surprises will be ruined and just won’t be the same the second time around. The game ages well and holds up well but the reply value just doesn’t really work with this type of game.
Overall Score:
Hotel Dusk: Room 215 comes in with an overall score of 3 out of 5.
Not a horrible game. The graphics look incredible and the music backing track is not bad but it all goes downhill from there. The entertainment and hold up categories take a hit because of the dialog and the replay factor. Not a bad game. Not great. Just another game.
Final Thoughts:
Hotel Dusk was not what I expected. The game has a chance to be a great game and something that everyone needs to find a way to play at least once. The negatives about the game are enough that I am not really sure if I would recommend this game for others to play. If you want something different, give Hotel Dusk a shot.
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