Hey y’all. Here is a read for this review if you don’t have the time to read it! I hope you enjoy it!
The written review follows below –
Mystery stories have always grabbed my interest. Watching the investigation unfold right in front of me has always made me feel like the P.I. right alongside the detective solving the case, unfolding the mystery. Jenny LeClue is this, almost to a T. Combined with simple adventure game mechanics of interacting with objects in the environment, Jenny LeClue sets out to tell an intriguing story about a death in a usually quiet town
Before the actual story begins, you are introduced to Arthur Finkelstein, author of the “Jenny LeClue” short stories. For the duration of the game, he serves as a narrator, building this new adventure for Jenny to solve. Arthur has traditionally written stories about Jenny’s adventure in a jovial manner, where things always had a happy ending, and right when he sits down to write this new story, he gets a call from his publisher and is told to “spice things up” in Jenny’s life because the overall sales are down. Within moments, Arthur sits down at his desk and begins writing something extremely ambitious for Jenny to solve.
When the game drops you in the shoes of Jenny, something magical happens. You are introduced to a sassy, incredibly intelligent, and funny teenager. Within moments, she comes alive and the whole world around her does as well. Everyone in the town of Arthurton is charming, and has a compelling backstory which made me want to know more about them. I wish they did more with the background characters instead of having a one-time interaction with them. However, the recurring cast of characters you interact with all grow alongside you as you solve the greatest case Jenny LeClue has been tasked with solving, the murder of Dean Leslie Straussberry.
She is incredibly eager to solve this murder, fortwo reasons. One, it will be her first actual case with genuine stakes and two, she is trying to solve this case to clear her mother’s name. From this, Jenny’s life would be radically altered, and so would Arthurton.
The overarching mystery of Jenny LeClue had me on the edge of my seat, there were so many compelling threads to follow, and the ways they are linked make for something truly special. The murder of Leslie Strausberry shakes the town to its core, and with Jenny’s mum being arrested for it, it allows for Jenny to uncover the disturbing truths about Arthurton and really understand the forces at play inside the town.
This case takes Jenny to familiar places, as well as spaces she wouldn’t have gone to before because she was scared of them. While this isn’t her first adventure in the town, her comments about some spaces makes it feel familiar to her unlike others. She also makes new friends, and this shows so much growth in her as a character. When Jenny is first shown off to us, she is a bit egotistical trying to be the smartest person in the room, all while being incredibly charming. Near the end there was a genuine moment between her and her newfound friend Suzie Glatz which made me well up with tears. She acknowledged the fact that she made a friend and that this person was always there to help them, through thick and thin, even when Jenny disregarded the help being offered. It’s a moment which felt genuine and was one of the highlights of the time spent.
During the time when you are exploring the areas, you sometimes stumble into a conversation or call for help from Suzie. In these instances, you are given a choice of two things to say which change how they play out, but sometimes they make no difference because they take you to the same conclusion no matter what you choose, which feels off. Whenever Jenny was talking to Suzie over the walkie-talkie I would always make Jenny warm up to Suzie, and this would in turn make moments between the two feel even more special.
There is so much that I adore about this game, and it’s honestly something that I fell in love with over the ten to twelve hours I spent with it. Every moment felt good, whether it was the moment to moment gameplay of exploring environments or having the jolly and earnest conversations with the residents of Arthurton. However all journeys must come to an end, and Jenny LeClue’s ending is frustrating with no definitive ending, and just ending on a cliffhanger right when the narrative was getting interesting and more complex from where it started. It’s ending left me confused and even somewhat upset. Everything which was being built up, was just over. I wanted to know how this mystery ended, because the story and characters made me so incredibly invested in what was happening in their world.
Closing Thoughts
Jenny LeClue is a game which had its hooks in me almost immediately. Everything about the world and characters made for a truly remarkable experience in Arthurton. This tied with a murder mystery with a young and eager detective trying to uncover the truth had me on the edge of my seat. The pacing made helped make the storytelling truly fantastic, but the sudden and abrupt ending left a sour taste in my mouth.
This game was reviewed on a PC with a review code provided by a PR representative.
