The next game I'd love to talk about is Hotel Dusk: Room 215. I first played Hotel Dusk back in 2022, and I think it and its sequel Last Window are two of those games that will always be with me. Their music, art style and story are both not just brilliant, but completely unlike any other game I've played. And come on - you hold the DS sideways! How cool is that?
Gameplay
But first, let me lead with the gameplay. Like I said, the game is designed to be played with the DS held sideways. It creates a really neat feel that is tied very specifically to playing on a DS - like you're playing a book. The gameplay itself is very much like an old-fashioned adventure game; you explore your environment, pointing and clicking at things along the way, and interrogate people along the way. It's simple, but satisfying, and suits the DS well. Moving through the world is mostly fine, but it can be a little bit slow for my tastes, at least on revisit. Same for the text. The sequel, Last Window, fixes these complaints, but that's for another article. It's just something that sticks out to me going back to this one.