Misadventures of Laura Silver: Chapter I is an entertaining visual novel developed and published by Studio Attic Salt. Set in 1935 Czechoslovakia, you play as Laura Silver, a paranoid detective tasked with investigating a mysterious water creature known as the Vodnik. This supernatural task is just the start of your detective adventure as more and more mysteries arise, including the sudden murder of one of your colleagues.

THE MYSTERY IS AFOOT

Armed with your list of creatures that need defeating and your partner, an ex-policeman named Cooper, you arrive at the Hotel Pavla to begin your investigation. Once there, you’ll meet most of the characters – or, should I say, future suspects – that you’ll be interviewing. The characters themselves are one of the best parts of the novel. Though a few of them are only seen briefly, they each manage to have their own distinct personalities. From Laura’s logical, yet paranoid approach to life, to the privileged yet sticky-fingered boy king, all of the characters are interesting to get to know and interact with. 

The story is also interesting to pursue. Though there aren’t as many red herrings as you might expect in a mystery novel, there are a few fun twists to discover and threads to unravel. Detective-based stories have been done many times before, but the mix of supernatural elements, particularly with their roots in Slavic mythology, and light puzzle solving all help to make the title feel unique in its own right. As expected, there are also multiple different endings and choices to make, providing some future replay value as well. 

While the mystery itself isn’t too difficult to solve, the tricky choices provided and the interviewing and murder timeline minigames you complete do make you feel as if you’re truly doing the work to solve the murder. These elements are an entertaining and occasionally challenging way to engage you in the narrative, as well as help to prevent the title from feeling “too easy.” 

DETECTIVE-LEVEL DETAILS

For a visual novel, a surprising amount of detail has been put into this title. The game starts with an animated opening scene and a few of the minigames also contain some animation, which is a pleasant way to break up the typical stillness found in the visual novel genre. Speaking of which, the minigames themselves are also a nice addition to change up the pace and add in some more interactable elements, as well as help to make it feel like you have a hand in solving the mystery. On top of that, the visually pleasing artwork adds another layer of enjoyment to the title.

In addition to the level of detail, Misadventures of Laura Silver: Chapter I also has a very polished feel. The art is crisp, the text flows well, and I did not experience any glitches or crashes throughout my playthroughs. There was a slight lag during the question/interview minigames, but it did not detract much from the overall experience. On the downside, the one problem that I did find is that there is no text skip button, which did make replaying for the alternate endings feel slightly grueling.

MORE TO COME

Misadventures of Laura Silver: Chapter I also does a great job of setting itself up for more chapters to come. Sometimes games can focus on future content so much that the current content ends up feeling like more of a “preview” than an actual game, but that is thankfully not the case here. Though there are a few minor cliffhangers, the first chapter feels like a complete work. You can solve the main mystery, complete your assignment, and finish the chapter feeling accomplished. The intriguing hints and various mentions of mysterious characters sprinkled throughout are enough to pique interest for future content without relying on cliffhangers. Additionally, the characters and their quirky personalities also make me want to see them in action again, which is a great way to set up future chapters.