Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View Critic Reviews

If you like tense mysteries and slow-burning thrillers, Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View really ought to be high on your most-wanted list. Expertly written and fantastically acted, its story is simply the decadent cherry on top of a thoroughly engaging dark investigative adventure.

There's so much ambition here, and it's delivered with such brave pacing, within a world that competes with Dunwall on looks, and some of the best voice acting I've ever encountered. While it occasionally frustrated me, if nothing else, Conway's soothing, mellifluous voice saw me through.

In spite of its issues, Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View is a video game mystery done right. Its main plot is well-written and its characters expertly performed, while its gameplay genuinely makes the player feel like a detective. It's not perfect, but Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View is a successful, small-scale head-scratcher done right.

Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View is a scintillating sleuthing story that just about anyone will find absolutely riveting. A 10 – 20 hour investigation that will keep players on the edge of their seat until the very end, Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View is definitely worthy of any detective game fan’s time. If you’re looking to get lost in a mystery game that will keep your heart rate up, Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View won’t let you down.

Conway feels like a detective thriller that doesn't question the mental abilities of its players.

Conway reincarnates the best adventure games of the 2000s, with simple but very solid gameplay. A story to live in one breath, ready to surprise and blow you away.

Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View is an enjoyable thriller: it makes good use of its sources of inspiration but it doesn't dare enough to be truly unique.

Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View feels like an "on the rails" classic quest game which can be a little off-putting. But if you like the Agatha Christie-style plots and the atmosphere of Hitchcock's Courtyard Windows, then be sure to take a closer look at the work of White Paper Games, because it is really good.

As you search for Charlotte May, you start to learn what kind of neighborhood Dahlia View really is. There are hidden truths lying everywhere in this community. Unfortunately, despite a proven premise, a pretty presentation, and a promising protagonist, there was no substance to fully immerse me in the narrative of Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View. The plot was predictable, the slow pacing was punishing, and the lack of music made it difficult to trudge through.

Conway is a solid detective game that ticks a lot of the right boxes and fulfils standard sleuthing expectations. It leans well into the crotchety-old-protagonist stereotype which more often than not creates an interesting tension between Conway and his ensemble cast of neighbors, as well as with you as a player. It’s not tremendously challenging in terms of hard solves, but it’s more about the journey. You could do worse than spend 10 hours immersed in the small and all too human miseries of Dahlia View.

As a detective story, Conway holds together well enough; as a nosy neighbour simulator, it excels. Just don't be surprised if you feel grubby afterwards.

Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View feels like a paperback mystery novel you might find at the back of the bookstore. It’s not exactly a hidden gem but it does contain the occasional glint of something special. Perfunctory writing drags down the tension and a limited range of puzzles and interactivity struggles to pull it all back together. Worse though, Conway’s brutish ways filled me with unease from the first snap of the camera, rather than filling me with the joy of a good detective story, I just felt like an intruder.