Jenny LeClue: Detectivú Review

Jenny LeClue is dead. Okay, not so much, but someone else is dead and now Jenny LeClue must solve the mystery! Welcome to Jenny LeClue: Detectivú for the Nintendo Switch. Is this a mystery you’ll want to solve? Let’s find out in this review!

Jenny LeClue: Detectivú is an Adventure/mystery game. The main character is a teenage girl, much like Nancy Drew, who finds herself drawn into a mystery when her mom’s boss is found dead and her mom is accused of it. I don’t want to give too many plot spoilers away but there is one more thing you should know…

There is no ending to this game. Jenny LeClue’s story stops with the words TO BE CONTINUED. I tell you this because I had no idea going into the game that it would have a cliffhanger ending and I think people should know. Jenny LeClue doesn’t advertise itself as episode 1 or book 1. On the eshop, everything points toward Jenny LeClue being a full game. Even when you are playing Jenny LeClue, you think the game will end.

To the creator’s credit, this installment of Jenny LeClue does provide a lot of answers to its various mysteries. In fact, the game could have been very easily wrapped up. The “ending” feels like the creators just didn’t know how to wrap things up completely or just wanted to make sure there would be a sequel or DLC for the game. In other words, the “ending” feels like a big cheat.

The ending isn’t the only problem with Jenny LeClue though. Many of the puzzles in the game are too complicated, In fact the game literally says “Why does everything have to be so convoluted?” at one point. And its right. Why does everything have to be so convoluted? Why couldn’t there have been some simple doors to open and a little less puzzles and more mystery solving? There are even some platforming elements to the game that are sometimes fine and other times a bit annoying. And that boat sequence was neat at first and then just got too convoluted. Even with all these problems though, Jenny LeClue is still a good game.

Jenny LeClue does have a lot of good aspects. First of all, its graphics are very good. The characters and a lot of the environments feel like paintings brought to life.

Jenny LeClue, aside from the ending, also has excellent writing. I love the game’s dialogue and most of its story. I think its great that the game has dialogue choices and those choices lead to some interesting side story elements. The game starts with a dialogue timer of sorts but you can turn that off (which I did) and have all the time you need to pick a dialogue choice. Best of all though? Jenny LeClue has voice acting!

The voice acting in the game is really good. I’ve seen video of the PC version that had no spoken dialogue and it just didn’t seem right at all. The voice acting is just perfect for this game and really makes the game even better. In many places, Jenny LeClue feels like an animated movie or classic book brought to life.

There is a lot to like about Jenny LeClue. The game has a charm that will remind readers of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. In fact, there are aspects of the game that I’m not even talking about that were designed to make you think of those classic books. Jenny LeClue is absolutely a mystery and a pretty interesting one, which is one of the reasons that the non-ending is so disappointing.

It also should be noted that the investigation aspects of the game: piecing clues together and looking for evidence on witness is pretty neat! I love the sequences where Jenny feels like a real detective and the game lets you look for clues and figure out how the evidence fits together. Sometimes it can be tricky but the game lets you have all the time you need for clue finding and figuring out the what/who/how of it all.

Jenny LeClue is a good game. If it actually had an ending and there weren’t so many convoluted puzzles, then the game would be absolutely wonderful.

Most players will probably want to wait and play this game when or even if the game has a conclusion. If you decide to go play the game now, knowing that it has a cliffhanger and some tough puzzles, then you’ll find a good game anyway. Jenny LeClue is far from a bad game, but with all of its a good aspects, its shame a non-ending and complicated puzzles kept it from greatness.

Here’s hoping that Jenny LeClue will return sooner rather than later to finish the case! It would be great to know how things turn out.

Jenny LeClue: Detectivú gets a 7.5 out of 10.

Thanks to Future Friends Games for providing a review code for this game. Jenny LeClue: Detectivú is now available on the Nintendo Switch eshop!