Emio: The Smiling Man - Famicom Detective Club
81 /100
Based on 14 reviews

Emio: The Smiling Man - Famicom Detective Club Reviews

Check out Emio: The Smiling Man - Famicom Detective Club Review Scores from trusted Critics below. With 14 reviews on CriticDB, Emio: The Smiling Man - Famicom Detective Club has a score of:

81

Game Page
8/10

While it doesn't reinvent the wheel, Emio - The Smiling Man succesfully uses drama and horror to great effect, crafting a story that's equal parts gripping and shocking.

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GGRecon
December 5, 2024

Emio - The Smiling man is a chilling detective story that leans a little too heavily into repetitive mechanics, but will reward those who stick with it.

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MonsterVine
September 13, 2024

One thing that helps elevate the game is its presentation. The graphics and animations are beautiful, with many little details that keep it feeling lively. In every aspect, you can see how much attention went into it to make it a high-quality experience. While it’s still a fairly short game, it’s the longest of the series. It also has some nice features, such as an optional recap of the plot when you load a game and an evaluation unlocked at the end that shows how well you did in each chapter and offers insight into your personality based on the...

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Final Weapon
September 12, 2024

Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club is a phenomenal piece of work from Yoshio Sakamoto and Nintendo that sits as one of the best games of 2024. From the haunting story to the wonderful characters, this is a game I'll be thinking about for the rest of the year and beyond. I truly hope that Nintendo continues the Famicom Detective Club series, as it sits as a very special IP within the company's history.

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GamingTrend
September 8, 2024
100/100

Nintendo and MAGES defy all expectations, delivering a grim murder mystery filled with heartbreaking characters and a tragic narrative that stands among the visual novel genre’s best. Hopeful just as much as it is haunting, Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club is a monumental feat of storytelling from Nintendo’s long dormant adventure series.

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But Why Tho
September 6, 2024
75/100

While the experience is marred by its many drudging moments, Emio—The Smiling Man is a highly entertaining, engaging, and well-produced entry that fans will likely enjoy.

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9/10

Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club is a superb detective game and a proper comeback to a beloved Nintendo series. While some gameplay decisions are a bit confusing, they never dampen the excitement. If you're a fan of sleuthing games and intriguing plots, Emio offers that and much more.

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85/100

Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club is a classic visual novel that hooks you right in from the beginning and comes from a very unlikely developer. Despite this, I think the game fits on the Nintendo Switch.

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WCCFtech
August 28, 2024
8.5/10

The Nintendo Switch has seen a lot of deep-cut releases over the past year, but arguably none slice quite as deep as Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club. A series of surprisingly-mature 8-bit visual novels written by Metroid co-creator Yoshio Sakamoto, the Famicom Detective Club games gained a certain amount of notoriety over the decades amongst hardcore Nintendo fans who like to keep up with the company’s unlocalized oddities. It certainly came as a surprise when Nintendo brought remakes of the first two Famicom Detective Club titles, The Missing Heir and The Girl Who Stands Behind, to worldwide...

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Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club might not reinvent the visual novel genre, but it still offers a fantastic mystery elevated by brilliant writing, a memorable cast of characters, some truly excellent visuals, and a phenomenal final chapter.

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6.5/10

Emio – The Smiling Man has a rich, empathetic heart, there’s just not enough of it. Solid character work and a decent setting can’t get around the fact that the game isn’t ever all that thrilling.

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Siliconera
August 28, 2024
8/10

Solve the tragic death of a student, where a creepy clue recalls cold cases from the past and an urban legend about a killer with a disturbing modus operandi.

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“Emio — The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club is a refreshingly mature turn for Nintendo in more ways than one.”

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Eurogamer
August 28, 2024

Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club is a successful homage to the venerable series, which tells an enticing story despite its repetitive nature.

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