IFComp 2023
I'm thrilled to see another Bubble Gumshoe mystery from Damon L Wakes! I enjoyed the imaginative world of “Who Shot Gum E. Bear?” last year, but struggled with the gameplay. I found this year's entry *much* more approachable, with a new mechanical approach to sleuthing that made me feel more like a detective.
The new approach: There's a critical path of more conventional adventure-game puzzles required to escape the factory and end the game, and a parallel egg-hunt for clues to the game's central mystery. Our ending seems to depend on how many of these clues we find along the way, but in the end Bubble Gumshoe does the deduction for us. For me, this was a great compromise: During play I was actively hunting for clues and coming up with my own theories regarding the murder, and in reading the ending I got to compare my theories to Gumshoe's own. (Which meant even where I was wrong, the story got a satisfying conclusion.)
I think knowing the last Bubble Gumshoe game gave me at least one major advantage: Knowing in advance that tasting and smelling things are essential investigative actions. I made my way through most of this game without a hitch, and (checking walkthrough…) got most of the clues as well. Rough spots for me:
- I got stuck not realizing I could recover the screen door once I'd pulled it off the cage - I pictured it all mangled up in the machine. I ended up consulting the walkthrough to get unstuck on this point. - (Extra spoiler: The central mystery) There's an early clue that the culprit is probably blueberry-flavored, but if there was any clue that Mrs. McFreeze might be blueberry-flavored - or even blue in color - I thoroughly missed it. So while the conclusion is logical, this particular piece of evidence only tells the player that an unknown party was present, while Bubble Gumshoe herself has met said party and is able to draw a more specific conclusion in the end. I will say, however, that this works great for gameplay! It's part of the process of ruling out other suspects.
Overall, way improved from last year and one of my favorite entries so far this year! It's got everything I look for: Effective prose, a compact and evocative setting, memorable characters, a story with a few twists, and actions that let me feel like I'm the detective. Recommended!