Root Film is a little lighter for actual gameplay that I’d hoped. Games like the Zero Escape series and Ace Attorney have primed me to be a little more involved than Root Film lets me be. Maybe it’s my fault for expecting any different, as the game very clearly is labelled as a visual novel. But even Root Letter, its predecessor, placed more in the player’s hands. The part where you have the most control is during Max-Mode, the segment where you really get to rub it in the culprit’s face, and even that is a little too simple.

While investigating, your only real role is choosing which location the characters visit next, and choosing which people to talk to. This isn’t a huge problem, but the game isn’t so good at naturally leading you to the next location, meaning a lot of time is wasted visiting every single place and person in an attempt to trigger the story. The character you’re playing as will highlight key phrases and ideas using their synesthesia – a phenomenon that allows them to visually see the words that are being spoken – and memorise them. These memorised statements come in useful during Max-Mode, but only a few of the statements are actually used in these segments, rendering the rest of them useless.

A good half of the game’s runtime is dedicated solely to building the personalities of its cast of characters. Often the crew will stop to talk about a local landmark (including, I presume, real tidbits of Japanese culture), or stop at a cafe for a good meal. It’s a risky move, as an inpatient player might lose interest in the game in the slower moments, but Root Film’s characters are genuinely likeable and none of them felt like they were overstaying their welcome.

This is helped greatly by the absolutely beautiful and tasteful anime art style. There are several unique illustrations of the characters in each chapter, all with beautiful shading and attention to detail. Even the re-used character art keeps itself fresh by being placed in different spots within each scene, which makes the scene look and feel genuine even though the art isn’t animated.