Emio review: how it feels to play Nintendo’s first 18+ title for the Switch

Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club is a historic release for two reasons. The crime adventure is the first game co-developed by Nintendo to receive an 18+ age rating.

It’s also the first new game in the Famicom Detective Club series for over 30 years. The two original games were released on the NES in 1988 and 1989 – in 2021, they were re-released as Switch remakes.

This beautifully staged adventure tells a thrilling story centring on a serial killer and urban legends. In truth, the gaming experience is more comparable to an interactive novel than a «traditional» game. In other words, you read a lot and don’t play much actively.

If you decide to pick up this unique gaming experience and have a little patience, you’ll be rewarded with an exciting and sometimes disturbing crime thriller. A pleasant surprise from Nintendo.

Serial murders and urban legends

Utsugi detective agency is commissioned by the police to help solve a mysterious murder. I take on the role of a nameless, aspiring, young detective and throw myself into the investigation.

A pupil was found dead in a remote area of the woods, strangled with an unknown object. One particularly disturbing detail: the pupil’s head is covered by an old paper bag with a smiling face painted on it.

The crime scene is reminiscent of a series of murders that terrified the region 18 years earlier. Back then, three schoolgirls were found dead within a few months, the same smiling paper bag over their heads. Strangled too. The perpetrator was never caught. Is there a connection between the old murder cases and the current death of a student?

In my search for answers, I soon come across an urban legend told by locals. The legend of Emio, the smiling man. It tells of a man with a paper bag over his head moving around at night like a ghost. He looks for crying girls to «comfort», to give their tortured souls «eternal smiles» – in other words, he kills them and puts the smiling bag over their heads.

Does the legend have its origins in the serial murders? Or was the killer inspired by the legend? The story of the smiling man mixes facts with supernatural fiction, making my life as an investigator difficult.

Not for the faint of heart

During my investigations, I look into the three cases in parallel. I search for the murderer of the strangled schoolboy, try to solve the series of killings from 18 years ago and separate useful facts from occult fiction surrounding the legend of Emio.

The story, around twelve hours long, takes a while to pick up speed. The uneven pace of the narrative might put some crime thriller fans off in the first third of the game. I often get the feeling the game spends a little too much time on banal details, side characters and subplots in its narrative. Instead, more exciting passages and information are sometimes rattled off too quickly.

If you can fight your way through some tough passages and show patience, you’ll be rewarded more and more as the game progresses. It’s incredibly satisfying to see how all the little details from the three investigations suddenly come together and make sense. The brilliant, surprising and disturbing finale is particularly impressive.

A warning at this point for the faint of heart: the story of the smiling man is pretty heavy stuff, especially towards the end of the game.

Emio deals with serious topics – including domestic violence, child abuse, suicidal thoughts and self-harm – and isn’t afraid to present this content in a visually explicit way. Compared to the previous games, the latest instalment goes several steps further – Emio has truly earned its 18+ rating.

Questioning, investigating and reflecting

If I had to assign Emio to a genre, I’d place the game somewhere between an interactive visual novel and a point-and-click adventure.

In my investigations, I spend most of my time talking with other characters. The interactivity in these conversations is pretty limited. I can ask characters about predefined points of interest, reflect on what they have said with an inner monologue or inspect the characters and search for clues. From time to time, I can also hold an item in front of my conversation partners – for example, a sketch of a missing person.

The game usually requires me to carry out any actions available in a conversation in a very specific sequence. For example, after receiving a hint in dialogue, I often have to «think» for a while before further options are unlocked. I also have to select some questions several times so that the characters finally come up with new information.

It isn’t always clear which sequence of actions I have to perform. I follow the trial-and-error principle and keep pushing through all the options available to me in hope that one of them will move the story forward. Pretty old-fashioned, as game loops go.

Newcomers to the series can expect to get stuck a few times since the game doesn’t clearly communicate what it expects of you. I was already familiar with this strange logic from the two remakes, and fortunately didn’t have any major moments of frustration while playing Emio.

In addition to the conversations, I can also search my surroundings for clues from time to time or review the current state of the investigation while «combining». Here the game tests my knowledge with multiple-choice questions and other forms of quizzes. These knowledge checks have no effect on the further course of the game – just like my behaviour in conversations. Emio tells a linear story without branching paths or alternative endings.

An eerily beautiful realisation

Visually, Emio is stunning. Like the two remakes, the new story also shines with wonderful anime-style characters. The characters are depicted in a fascinating pseudo-3D look. At first glance, they look 2D – but then they move, appearing three-dimensional. Together with the atmospheric backgrounds, which mostly impress with subtle animations, the result is a very harmonious and unique overall picture.

The soundtrack is also a success. Background songs have catchy tunes, ensuring a good mood during the light-hearted game passages. Other times, they create an oppressive atmosphere in darker sections. The dub is only available in Japanese. Nevertheless, the entire cast delivers a convincing performance and the dialogue is, without exception, excellently written.

Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club will be available for the Switch from 29th August. A demo is available in the Nintendo eShop. The game was provided to me by Nintendo for testing purposes.