New game: "Midnight Saturn" playthrough!

New game!

Prolific game developer Cosmic Void delivered a new title once again! In his signature style, Midnight Saturn looks, sounds and feels very similar to his previous detective puzzler, Neon Hearts City, but I'm happy to see it's very much its own thing. I have to admit, I was a little bit afraid it would be too much of a clone... 

Yeah, I'd hang out here...

This time you play as Simm, a PI put on a murder case by the victim's sister. She wants you to find her niece Lucy, the victim's daughter, certain she has to know something more about her father's murder. And of course, as is often the case in Cosmic Void games, there's a medium named Zora who can communicate with the dead. Just bring her something of their belongings, and she can make them speak and deliver cryptic clues as to what to do next.

Yep. Map. Thanks.

You travel all across town to a handful of locations, with very helpful people in each one. Simm seems to know them all already, and addresses them by their first name. And I hadn't been playing for fifteen minutes or three different women had already hit on him, as well.  You also visit the nearby forest and lake. The lake is home to crocodiles, but interesting items may be found in the bellies of these creatures, so it's your job to find a way for them to, well, spill their guts, I guess...

These crocs will wish they never met me...

Midnight Saturn if fully voiced, and done so excellently. The performances make the detective noir writing shine, which is getting better and better in these Cosmic Void games. Rowdy York once more takes on the lead, though, which makes it difficult to distinguish this detective from the one in Neon Hearts City. Perhaps it would have been better to have completely gone with the same character, and create a franchise?

Meet Zo and Ra. They go by Zora.

I finished the game in two hours and fifteen minutes, which gives Midnight Saturn a similar length as Neon Hearts City. There were a couple of "break the code" puzzles, but they were far easier to figure out than similar puzzles in previous Cosmic Void games, so they were fun diversions. Only one inventory puzzle I had to solve by using everything on everything. The problem was that when I picked up the item to use in question, it looked far too big to fit in the place where I was supposed to put it, so that sent me astray for a while.

A "pick the right color" code...

I had fun playing this game. It was easy yet interesting, perfect if you have just a couple of hours to spare, or to take a breather between more bulky games. Cosmic Void writes cool sci-fi stories. This one wasn't all too sci-fi-ish, with not that many (an)droids or technological gadgets. There are aliens, of course, and the typical paranormal stuff with the psychic. I do keep hoping for a longer experience, but these short games are very much his signature style, so I'm very curious to see what else he has up his sleeve.

You can find Midnight Saturn on Steam and on itch.io!