We tried Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View on PC, the new title of White Paper Games and we are ready to tell you what we think with this review. Below we report the official launch trailer.
Conway’s review: Disappearance at Dahlia View – a cruel fate
Often the reality is cruel and it shows us that beautiful things are destined to be short-lived: sometimes, even too much. In Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View this concept is present, alive and ready to make us doubt everything. In the title of White Paper Games we will play the role of Robert Conway, a retired detective who lives in a seemingly quiet and peaceful community.
When though Charlotte May, the eight-year-old daughter of her neighbor, suddenly disappears, the whole town remains in shock. Despite his promise to give up his life as a detective, Robert he decides to take matters into his own hands and investigate. Our protagonist will then have to discover the truth behind Charlotte May’s disappearance.
After all, Robert is an ex-detective and it’s almost natural to instinctively think that a member of the Dahlia View community may be responsible. Here then begins to to investigate about all his neighbors, he questions them, often he also happens to spy on them from afar and of break into their homes to discover their dark secrets.
However, not everyone agrees with his particular method of investigationmuch less his daughter Catherine, the police officer. The more his daughter tells him not to intrude, the more Robert’s detective instinct pulsates in his veins.
No matter how complicated it gets but Robert made a promise: find Charlotte May. He will then succeed, despite his own physical condition, to find the missing little girl in the quiet community of Dahlia View?
Let’s start by emphasizing that the narrative it is not completely original. Choosing a quiet community to narrate someone’s disappearance or murder is something that it is often used in yellows and in detective. However this title is different and differs thanks to its protagonist, Robert.
We mentioned it a little while ago without going into detail. You must know that Robert is on the wheelchair: therefore play from one so different perspective, which does not allow us to move as we want and forces us to follow precise indications, it’s interesting.
Furthermore, it is not often that you play as someone with a physical disability, so we can say that White Paper Games has introduced a interesting news that allowed us to frame the story from another point of view.
A complicated but well done exploration
White Paper Games made a respectable job with regard to exploration and the moving with a character with a physical disability. Exploring an environment like a character in a wheelchair, with some areas being more difficult to reach than others, was tricky but the developer offered a particular and well done experience.
We have at our disposal ramp, elevators e goods lift which are located in surrounding and easily accessible places, so much of the environmental configuration is well thought out for Robert. However, from a technical point of view, the maneuvers are not always perfect. There have been several occasions when we have been stuck and where the mobility has felt particularly rigid.
The gameplay is enough simple. They go around spying on their neighbors, even investigating their homes for any evidence that might incriminate them. The days are spent interrogating suspects and all the pieces of the puzzle come together, on ours small blackboard of the tests.
As we explore the homes of the suspects, we must also solve puzzles to find the clues we need. Many puzzles are fun and engaging. But sometimes all we have to do is find a key or another object which allows us to move forward.
Despite the simplicity of some puzzles and the difficulties of the movements, Conway is a title really interesting. Within each setting we find numerous details that can help us in our research. Every apartment or place that you explore has been built in the smallest details.
Besides, even the characters we meet, in a certain sense, they shine with their own light. Each of them has their own features, the just look and its own peculiarities. Another interesting element of the title concerns the cameras and the way they guide us in the narration, in every corner of the scene, in the backstories of the characters.
Often, however, the narrative is slightly slow, it is not always possible to maintain high concentration. Sometimes, in addition, some elements will turn out all too predictable, especially if you are an expert in this genre of video games.
No audio or music
Let’s go over the difficulty of the movements and getting stuck behind some objects. However there is an element, or rather, a lack that we cannot overlook: the sound sector. Whenever you spy on neighbors from afar or explore the environment, there is no substrate. There are sound effects but there is no actual soundtrack or melody that accompanies us in our research.
This lack it didn’t allow us to get into the action and we believe that even a simple background melody would have changed the whole atmosphere.
Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View – in conclusione
Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View is a peculiar title that offers a interesting story even if at times it can result slow e heavy. Its strong point is definitely Robert, the protagonist, who manages to make our experience even more immersive and allows us to observe it from a completely different point of view.
However, the lack of a sound sector, the presence of some clichés and the difficulty of some basic movements, did not allow us to savor the experience to the fullest. But if you love silence and don’t mind playing without a soundtrack accompanying you, we believe you will appreciate the title more.
In any case, we believe that the title of White Paper Games is interesting and that it deserves one possibility.
To conclude, we remind you that the title is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC through Epic Games and Steam, Xbox Series X and Series S, Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5.