After playing season three and season two of the Detective Society, I finally decided to dive into the season that started this all - The Disappearance of Claire Makova. For those unfamiliar, Detective Society is a UK-based detective mystery game experience. Over the course of six months you will recuve a box in the mail to unravel and solve through physical puzzle, deduction, and internet exploration. You can also opt for the full season to be sent at once if it is available. Now, let’s dive in!
Story:
The story of this season follows the Detective Society seeking you out as a private company, Dolosus Global is looking to hiring an investigator into the disappearance of the daughter of a diplomat. They have sent you a file to help track down her last moments as her father is desperate to find her and notes that there was a dispute between them prior to the disappearance. As unravel this case you start to realize there is a lot more at play that has great consequences for you, Claire, and the country.
I thought the storyline of this particular game to be pretty well done. The amount of twists and turns kept me interested for each chapter and each contained a mini story that fit into the larger one. There is a task to complete for each game so you can take break between each box without a worry of having to retrace your steps. Each box will come with an introduction letter that reviews the main elements of the last box to help refresh you as well. I think what I enjoy the most about Detective Society stories is how much the stories grow from what seems to be a small issue you’re looking into to them become these far reaching dangers you must stop before its too late. If you love your stories and immersion then this season is a great introduction!
Puzzles:
In terms of puzzles, I would say this series provides a good variety to the experience from math to logic to observations and pattern recognition. They key thing is to start with your introduction letter to understand your main task - usually this will end with you sending an email or a text (via Whatsapp if you are not in the UK). Depending on which box you are working on you will need to find websites, use google maps, and send more emails to help you navigate the evidence left to you. I thoroughly enjoy this investigative element in games as I feel more immersed. The key thing is to make sure you are checking for any URLs left on documents as they will be your biggest help. The puzzles are generally lot linear and are divided into envelopes to help keep you on track as well. I also found there is a lot more math within this series as compared to others.
Customer Service:
For customer service, I received this game from a friend so I did not communicate with the creators but I have in the past with the other two seasons. I found them to be quite responsive and easy to communicate with. Both season two and three arrived in a timely manner. I also found the hint system to be fairly decent in this game. There were a couple times where I wished the hints were broken down a little bit more and maybe an image or two to help picture what they are saying but overall we were able to push through those tricky moments.
Concluding Thoughts:
In the end, I found The Disappearance of Claire Makova to be an excellent introduction to the world of Detective Society. This is a game you can easily divide and break up in larger groups while also allowing solo players to really dig and and explore. You are immersed in an investigative world that steadily grows into something greater and I always enjoyed the diversity of each box. I highly recommend checking this company out and if you want to look at the other season’s here are my reviews for season two and season three!
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