Hotel Dusk: Room 215

Hotel Dusk: Room 215 is a point-and-click published in Japan as Wish Room: Tenshi no Kioku ( Japanese ウィッシュルーム天使の記憶 , Wisshu Rūmu: Tenshi no Kioku , dt. "Room of wishes: memories of an angel") -Adventure for the Nintendo DS .

The location of the game is the eponymous Hotel Dusk , a small and run-down hotel near Los Angeles in the United States. The protagonist of the game is Kyle Hyde, an ex-cop with the New York Police Department , who is looking for his former colleague Brian Bradley. During his stay, Hyde finds out a lot about the hotel's past and gets answers to his questions.

In 2010 the sequel Last Window: The Secret of Cape West was released .

action

Kyle Hyde lost his job as a cop in 1976 , three years before the game began. Hyde and then partner Brian Bradley investigated a crime syndicate named Nile , during which Kyle shoots his partner, who then falls into the Hudson River and disappears. Hyde is fired. Three years later, in 1979 , Kyle Hyde works as a representative for Red Crown. This company also carries out rather dubious commissioned work for special customers: In this case, a stranger wants a magazine and a red case to be removed from the Hotel Dusk. Hyde should take over this task. During the course of the evening and night at the hotel, Hyde discovers that there is a connection between the guests that will even lead him to Bradley. So he finds out that Bradley has apparently made common cause with Nile, and that almost all of the hotel's guests have a syndicate connection. The hotel's owner, Dunning Smith, confides in Kyle that his daughter has been missing for years. He was also in contact with Nile. By the end of the game, Hyde finds out all the connections and even manages to find reasons for Bradley's breach of trust.

Characters

Kyle Hyde: The protagonist, 33 years old. Is looking for his ex-partner Brian Bradley. Lives in room 215, the room of wishes.
Brian Bradley: The reason for Hyde's search. Lost since his fall in the Hudson River.
Mila Evans: A mute girl surrounded by a mysterious aura, 19 years old. She cannot speak until shortly before the end of the game and suffers from amnesia .
Dunning Smith: The owner of the Hotel Dusk , 49 years old. A stubborn man who cares no more for police officers than he does for unnecessary trouble.
Ed Vincent: Head of the Red Crown company, 55 years old. He's the only one who knows about Hyde's search for Bradley. Former Los Angeles Police Officer.
Rachel: Ed's 27 year old secretary. Witty and amiable.
Louis "Louie" DeNonno: former pickpocket from New York, 25 years old. Help Hyde wherever he can.
Pink Fox: Cook, 40 years old. She cleans the hotel and the laundry. Very kind hearted.
Melissa Woodward: Little girl, 8 years old. Her father is Kevin Woodward and her mother Grace has left the family.
Kevin Woodward: Doctor, 35 years old. He doesn't know why his wife disappeared. Committed a malpractice several years ago . He lives with his daughter in room 219.
Jeff Angel: Student, 19 years old. Actually, his name is Jeff Damon and he ran away from home.
iris: 28 years old. She is Grace's sister, but doesn't know Kevin or Melissa. Kevin does n't know his sister-in-law either.
Helen Parker: Former sorceress, 70 years old. Looking for her son Alan.
Martin Summer: famous writer, 50 years old. Wrote the famous novel The Secret Word . Former friend of Alan Parker, from whom he stole the idea and script for The Secret Word .

Game principle and technology

The player steers Kyle Hyde through the hotel via touchscreen and has to solve many puzzles. Hold the Nintendo DS vertically like a book. On the left screen, the surroundings are shown from Hyde's point of view, on the right on the touchscreen there is a floor plan of the room, where a red circle marks Hyde's position. This circle is drawn across the room with a stylus to move Hyde. During the game you get in touch with the different guests of the hotel and talk to them so that they share their story with Hyde. To get answers, the game suggests questions and answers from which you have to choose one. If you ask the wrong question or if you are too rude, the interlocutors will get angry and refuse further discussions. In the worst case, Hyde will be kicked out of the hotel and you have to start over.

The game is divided into different chapters, usually a period of one hour corresponds to one chapter, but the game does not run in real time . At the end of a chapter there is a short summary of the events, similar to that from Another Code , which was also developed by CING .

To keep important information, you can take notes in a notebook using the touchscreen. The aforementioned summaries can also be read again in this book. The touchscreen, the microphone and the fact that the DS can be closed must be used for the puzzles.

The game represents the characters using pencil drawings, which also show the state of mind. If Kyle misbehaves during a conversation, a red shadow will run over the person. The stylistic device of rotoscopy was used to depict the figures , while the backgrounds consist of unfinished ink drawings and occasional 3D objects.

Production notes

The game is particularly aimed at older players. Kyle Hyde speaks rude and consumes alcohol en masse. There are also polemical comments about the Cold War .

reception

Hotel Dusk: Room 215 received mostly positive reviews. The Metacritic review database aggregates 57 reviews to a mean of 78.

The trade magazine Adventure Gamers placed Hotel Dusk: Room 215 in 2011 in its list of Top 100 All-Time Adventure Games at position 65.

Web links

Hotel Dusk: Room 215 at MobyGames (English)
What A !? , private fansite

Individual evidence

↑ Gamespot.com: Hotel Dusk: Room 215 Review. Retrieved June 20, 2020 .
↑ ^a ^b Metacritic.com: Hotel Dusk: Room 215.Retrieved June 20, 2020 .
↑ AdventureGamers.com: Top 100 All-Time Adventure Games. Retrieved July 10, 2016 .

[Gamespot-1] Gamespot.com: Hotel Dusk: Room 215 Review. Retrieved June 20, 2020 .

[MC-2] Metacritic.com: Hotel Dusk: Room 215.Retrieved June 20, 2020 .

[3] AdventureGamers.com: Top 100 All-Time Adventure Games. Retrieved July 10, 2016 .