Root Letter (stylized √Letter) is a visual novel adventure video game that is developed and published by Kadokawa Games as the first title in their Kadokawa Game Mystery brand. In the game, the player must figure out what happened to the character of Aya, a girl who mysteriously vanished after receiving a particular letter. The gameplay will be split into two distinct parts; the adventure part, where the player interrogates characters who knew Aya in order to find more information about her, and the simulation parts, where the player relives and plays through prior interactions with Aya.
Root Letter is a very good visual novel on PlayStation 4 and PS Vita that will keep you engaged from start to finish. It's premise and story are great, while its gameplay mechanics (that will remind you of entries in the Ace Attorney series) will make for a fun experience. If you're a visual novel fan, I highly recommend that you buy Root Letter!
While the opening sequences plays out quite forced, with Max awkwardly needing a reason to begin exploring, the game gets a lot better once it gets going. With no real gameplay required, this is, at the end of the day, a visual novel that works well at times, though some head scratching moments disrupts the flow of the game.
Root Letter is not the worst example of the modern visual novel, that suffering from a lingering story, routine, almost zero interaction and stereotyped characters. Of course, if you love Japanese culture, then you will be pleased to experience all facets of local life. But to be honest Root Letter is too similar with Telltale games only without pathos...
A fantastic and mysterious thriller-lite. Though the protagonist has non-existent motives and the ‘choice’ isn’t really choice at all, the supporting cast and story arc make this difficult to put down.
It's a shame that Root Letter has such abysmal writing, because there truly are some fascinating plot threads to unravel throughout this brief journey.
