“of the Devil: Episode 1” Game Review – Betting Against the House

Will you make the most of the hand you’re given? How far can you maintain the pretense? Find out in of the Devil Episode 1.

I was provided with a review copy of this video game by the developers. The opinions I have shared are my own.

I’ve always had a knack for mysteries. Hidden amidst the uncertainty and contradicting answers lies a kernel of truth that only an astute mind can see. While people come and go dancing around the problem, those with the proper eyes can pierce the veil and truly come to terms with whatever they’re fighting against.

Detective stories have always been the classic bastion of restless minds, eccentric inquirers, and loose cannons. The backdrop of the law, the State, pushing against our supposed heroes makes for a great underdog story.

As Counselor Morgan says, however, the House always wins. The most you can do is play your cards well and fight until they let you go. You aren’t destroying the government with facts and logic, no matter how hard you try.

Coming from the indie studio Nth Circle, of the Devil is a hybrid visual novel combining story-heavy beats with thrilling courtroom and debate procedures, depicting them as various mechanics and minigames.

Genre-savvy readers will undoubtedly be reminded of games like Ace Attorney and Danganronpa. This game, otD for short, combines a mystery with investigative mechanics and argumentative sequences, just like those games. However, Nth Circle’s offering is quick to distinguish itself, enveloping the whole thing in a clever metaphor: betting, and playing cards.

From trying to play Blackjack with the evidence to dealing with arguments using whatever is on your hand, the game mixes the well-known mechanics of the genre with the thrill of raising bets and trying to outsmart adversaries. You can pick between raising the stakes or letting someone breathe, all beautifully woven into a well-defined framework.

Our protagonist, criminal defense attorney Evangeline Morgan, acts as a wonderful conduit for the playful mechanics. She’s swift to pick on other people’s thoughts, and more than able to put on a facade to misdirect or gain the confidence of whoever she is talking to.

Morgan’s disdainful internal monologue and faux cheery tone are quick to make an impression, both on other characters and on the player. While the people inside the story react to a seemingly quirky woman, we get to understand pretty early that our protagonist is a manipulator — and a pretty good one at that.

The Kakegurui influence is undeniable, from the focus on making bets to the chilling cruelty hidden beneath fake cheeriness. It also makes for some killer tension and pacing, as the arguments become more intense, and playing your cards well and avoiding a slip unite Morgan and the player in their thrilling battles. We’ve all tried to bluff our way through a mystery game a time or two, right?

Visuals are a serious standout. A mix of 2D character sprites and 3D scenes makes for great composition with engaging cinematography. The game does its best to feel alive in every scene, with camera movements, animations, and more. It’s a fantastic compromise between drawn art and modeled content and makes for quite a unique result.

Sometimes the liveliness of the visuals can make for a clumsy interaction. A common (but thankfully minor) problem was difficulty clicking on things during investigations, as the swaying camera would make me overshoot.

The problem is also present when picking cards in certain games, as the animations make it easy to click the wrong card while hovering with the mouse. I can’t imagine it being impossible to tweak, however, and I’m sure future updates will improve these scenarios.

Leaving that aside, the visuals come together to form a pretty credible image of a dystopian future. There’s a clear streak of cyberpunk mixed in with the noir influences, but classic science fiction has a pretty big place in of the Devil’s core.

You can see the sci-fi roots in the presence of robots and androids, of course. The real tour de force, however, is on worldbuilding and especially the philosophies at play. A great deal of effort has been spent ideating slang, cultural trends, legal precedents, art movements, a lot.

A big focus on what’s usually called lore could be cynically viewed as a writer being restless and just adding stuff on the margins of the story. One might even call the numerous pages of background and content you unlock as you progress nothing more than fluff.

It all serves a purpose, though. It all builds around the core themes and provides a sense of hostility being a little part of the gigantic societal machine. Clever extrapolation shows us possible conclusions to the debates we’re having today and treats them as nothing more than settled.

It all comes back to the more speculative side of science fiction, keen on exploring the results of certain ideas or the answers to difficult questions. Many games have lore, but few can make it feel more significant than just meta-puzzles or superfluous context. of the Devil confidently manages to immerse you into its world, and for that it deserves praise.

It’s surprising to find such depth in a studio’s first commercial release. However, the group has been active beforehand and participated in visual novel jams. I’m quite fond of their Spooky VN Jam 2024 submission Märchen Line if you’re curious.

By this point, you’ve certainly noted that I’ve become a fan of their work. What can I say? I can’t help but admire a writer who’s able to pull from Isaac Asimov and Adam Smith while riffing on Danganronpa and Kakegurui. I have eclectic taste and they struck a chord, okay?

Morgan never half-asses a job, and it doesn’t seem like Nth Circle does either. You’ll quickly get to know her, along with the world and colorful cast. Every scene seems to have a clear intention or addition to the narrative or themes. The music accentuates the techno-dystopic vibes perfectly, and the illustrations are wonderfully drawn and judiciously positioned on the screen. Nobody was phoning it in.

Some people might take issue with the release model. As you might have guessed, the game releases episodically, and each episode will need to be bought separately. I can’t really fault the development team, however, as they’re doing this solo, and every chapter might as well be a short (around 6 to 8 hours) visual novel on its own.

If you want to give it a try, Chapter 0 is free. There is no gacha or anything, you pay if you want the next chapter and that’s it. You will be making plenty of gambles during the gameplay, however, so be prepared for that.

I could spend hundreds of words focusing on every aspect, character, and detail, but I’ll just cut to the chase:

If you like science fiction, mystery games, visual novels, murder mysteries, carefully crafted worlds, or just watching a good story play out then you should give of the Devil a shot. You might just find a new favorite. Always bet on red.

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You can find of the Devil Episode 1 on Steam.

More of our video game coverage can be found here.

Author: Walker M

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