If you were hoping to see Nintendo reveal an all-new horror franchise or team up with a renowned studio for some Switch exclusive spookiness, you might be disappointed to know that its recent and very cryptic “Emio” tease was not pointing to either of those things.
If, however, you’re someone who’s been waiting over three decades for a fresh entry in the Famicom Detective Club franchise, well – you’re actually in luck. Nintendo has revealed that Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club will launch exclusively for the Switch on August 29th.
The game appears to follow closely in the legacy left by the series’ first two entries, tasking players with assisting the Utsugi Detective Agency in solving a murder mystery through point-and-click adventure style gameplay where scenes can be interacted with via a variety of commands and the mystery slowly unfolds as new clues, discoveries and suspects come into play.
“In Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club, a student has been found dead in a chilling fashion, his head covered with a paper bag with an eerie smiling face drawn on it,” reads the game’s official description. “This unsettling visage bears a striking resemblance to a recurring clue in a string of unsolved murders from 18 years ago,as well as Emio (the Smiling Man), a killer of urban legend who is said to grant his victims “a smile that will last forever.”
Nintendo also released a short video with producer, Yoshio Sakamoto, revealing the inspiration and ideas behind the sequel 35 years in the making, which you can watch below:
Nintendo actually released a duo of remakes of the first two Famicom Detective Club games a few years back on Switch, which we reviewed and scored a 7/10. At the time, James said, “Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir and Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind are both well written adventure games with engaging stories. A striking visual overhaul does a great job of bringing both games into the twenty first century, without a doubt. Though this isn’t enough to do the same for the gameplay, which could have used a bit more streamlining.”
