Detective Di: The Silk Rose Murders

[halfcactus]

Detective Di: The Silk Rose Murders is point-and-click mystery game set in Tang Dynasty China. Currently on sale on the Switch store for $2, and on the Steam store for less. You play the famous historical figure / novel character Di Renjie (also known as Judge Dee in pop culture) during the fledgling days of his career, beginning with the murder of a Korean diplomat in Penglai. You tie up the case neatly and earn the recognition of Emperor Gaozong. But something about its resolution feels unsettling, unfinished, leaving you with cryptic, recurring dreams. A few months later, you are summoned by the newly crowned emperor Wu Zetian to the capital city of Chang'an to solve a string of murders, each signed with a silk rose.

This is a short, tight game with a fairly straightforward plot whose sense of urgency comes with the shadow of regret and a deep anxiety towards the future. I'm personally not so fond of serial-killer storylines, but Chang'an visualized through pixel art was so charming and appealed to my guzhuang drama sensibilities and I didn't have to sit through 40 drawn-out eps to get to the ending (my total playtime as Person Who Is Bad at Puzzles is around 7 hours). I liked how Detective Di's motivations are tied with Wu Zetian's and how the pursuit of justice swings between personal and political. There's a cinematicness to the scene reenactments that I found really effective. The game is quite clear about its direction that the reveals have little in the way of surprise, but it ends in an emotionally cohesive note and overall I just really liked the environments and the historical setting and the feeling that it was a labor of love..

The puzzles were a nice mix of textual, tactile, and visual types, from keys to letters to weiqi boards—my personal favorite is the one where you have to beat the drums. There's also a neat mechanic where you can make improvised tools by "combining" items.

Misc. screencaps

Me: Check out this CONSPIRACY BOARD
liuet: All three of those white stones are illegally on the board