Xbox Review | Crime Opera II: The Floodgate Effect

After all the trouble, trauma and turmoil that occurred during the first instalment of the Crime Opera Series, Crime Opera: The Butterfly Effect, we can now continue the story of the Gallo family and see exactly how the family members’ lives have changed 11 years on since that tragic night took place. In Crime Opera II: The Floodgate Effect, family bonds are put to the test as Xander causes problems for all those close to him, including those in the syndicate, making every choice the characters make crucial to either the uprise or downfall that may befall them. Crime Opera II: The Floodgate Effect has been developed by Crime Opera Studios, Eastasiasoft Limited and Ratalaika Games SL, while being published by Eastasiasoft Limited to provide us with a thrilling next instalment containing questioning of loyalty and the possibility of deceit throughout. Who knows how your choices will affect the plot; you’ll have to wait and see. I was hoping you could keep reading to hear more of my thoughts!

Things I liked!

• Children’s importance | As I made my way through Crime Opera II: The Floodgate Effect, I became increasingly more aware that this game works with all the children we’ve come to know from the Gallos family as they’ve grown up. It’s all about their lives, where they are today and some intense scenes they face in the current day. I adored this as they do make up the majority of the characters and their presence is noticeably impactful in this instalment. They all have incredibly unique personalities when compared to one another, distinctive traits and some mental illnesses – all of which makes each stand out, no matter their age or presence in the game. The ability to write in each character to the degree of detail and significance so they don’t become lost in the plot is brilliant.

• Well-created visuals | Visuals are the most crucial part to any visual novel – the genre kind of gives that away. As the characters have aged, new characters have made an appearance, and the settings have changed, new visuals have been created for Crime Opera II: The Floodgate Effect – and some updated. The children have all been updated to show the 11-year aging, which all accurately depict how you would picture them looking with no major surprises. The additional characters’ designs are wonderfully drawn, and by adding new characters, allowed me to form new opinions on their personalities. The background scenes are beyond beautiful, giving different scenes more depth. I especially liked the forest scene because of the beauty of nature, which captures the entire screen. Keep up the good work!

• Quality writing | I expected nothing less than fantastic writing when it came to Crime Opera II: The Floodgate Effect, as after reading the first instalment, it’s clear to see that the writer is very talented. The attention to detail and descriptive quality is what makes this series, as well as the pacing when moving between chapters. For specific characters, Amy and Bertie, I believe it was essential for the writing to capture their mental illnesses correctly and SBester came through on such intense subjects. As for the games’ writing overall, it was a pleasure to read through and each chapter kept me guessing what was going to happen next. That’s what we should all look for in kinetic or visual novels – the excitement and suspense of what’s to come.

• Captivating audio | The various audio, which has been created to synergise with specific themes/emotions in the game, can be described as nothing less than immaculate. The ability to tie appropriate music to what I would describe as intense, exciting and disturbing scenes is important as it brings the visual novel to life and makes it easier for readers to visualise the active scene. I felt a magnitude of emotions when playing Crime Opera II: The Floodgate Effect and these were all magnified, if not created, by the high quality audio. I couldn’t imagine playing this with no, or subpar, audio.

Mixed & disliked!

• Overall plot and ending | The way the plot starts, grows and ends in Crime Opera II: The Floodgate Effect is overall positive in my opinion. The game starts passively informative, letting us know where all the children are in the current day, so the reader can connect and be up-to-date with their lives. It then slowly progresses to delve deeper not only into the characters’ lives but the main story plot, which comes together at the same time and brings everything together without going too much off the main path. The chapters merge without too much misdirection so everything flows well. My one gripe with Crime Opera II: The Floodgate Effect was the ending. Without spoiling anything, I will just say that although the ending made sense and connected with the build up throughout, it felt rushed. The ending was quite abrupt and could have been extended to round everything up smoother.

• Recap of Butterfly Effect | A worry of mine when first starting Crime Opera II: The Floodgate Effect was my inability to fully remember what had happened in the first instalment. Much to my relief, there is an option to recap the first game – Hallelujah! This was the very first thing I did before starting the story and if I’m being completely honest, this was a small jolt in the right direction but it still took me a few chapters into the main game for everything to come flooding back. As I look back on this, I realise it could have shown some flashbacks or given a little more detail – maybe it’s just a me thing though as my memory isn’t great at remembering things.

• Readability | Unfortunately, much like the first, I had issues reading the text – a crucial part of visual novels without voiceovers. When the people are actively talking or conversing with someone, the red text shows at the bottom of the screen with a white background, which wasn’t the best combination when considering the font too. When the characters were having thoughts, the red text shows at the top of the screen with no background, and this can also cause readability issues when the background scene is unsuitable. The text also remains on the smaller size; I still think there should be an option to increase the size, and maybe now even the colour of the text itself.

• Choices | One thing that creates replayability and interest within the visual novel genre is multiple choices, made by the person playing. It makes me feel like I’m in control of crucial decisions and that my decisions may affect the overall ending. This was not the case when playing Crime Opera II: The Floodgate Effect. There were minimal choices, which were short-lived and made me return to the true plot, and this felt a little disappointing. There is the option of a kinetic novel that doesn’t involve any choices, but honestly, this wasn’t even an option for me. A little more to the choices I made would have made the world of difference.

How long did I play the review before publishing? 5 Hours 30 Minutes
How long to beat the story? Approximately 5-6 Hours
How many Achievements did I earn before publishing? 13/13 OR 1000/1000G
How long to achieve 1000G | Approximately 5-6 Hours
You’ll love this game if you like these | Crime Opera Series and Intense Visual Novels

Conclusion

Score: 65/100

Crime Opera II: The Floodgate Effect is a successful second instalment in the series that leads on from the original, Crime Opera: The Butterfly Effect. The writing is top tier, the visuals compliment the story, and the audio enhances the overall experience of the visual novel. Although far from perfect, there are still some issues here. The ending was rushed, the readability needs improving, and choices should come with more story if they are to be included. Nonetheless, an enjoyable read overall and I look forward to the next instalment.

VicciVulpix

Hello, I’m Victoria. I’m from the UK and have been playing video games for as long as I can remember; back on DreamCast. I’ve pretty much fallen for Xbox since I was around eight years old and remember BioShock being my first game on the Xbox360. Although I find it thoroughly enjoyable to not only experience gameplay, I also find comfort in getting lost and engrossed in the online worlds that sometimes differ greatly from what we know. Another side of my Xbox passion would be achievement hunting and gamerscore. I thrive when I hear the little sound of one popping up on the screen and I’m always finding ways to work on my backlog when possible. Horror is my favourite genre so if you have any recommendations, don’t be afraid to send them my way!