[Murder By Numbers] Spoiler-free review!

Music: 7/10
Graphics: 10/10
Characters: 10/10
Gameplay: 3/10
Overarching storyline: 6/10
Should you get Pixel Puzzle Makeout League instead of this game: yes

If you don't see as many ridiculous X meets Y posts as I do, Murder by Numbers is a murder mystery private investigator game where you solve picross puzzles. Pixel Puzzle Makeout League is a dating sim with that.
listen, it just absolutely drove me insane that this 2020 switch game had
- no touchscreen
- no auto mode
- absolutely no QOL in the puzzles

and one time IT CRASHED. AN EXTREMELY SIMPLE PHYSICAL SWITCH GAME CRASHED ON ME

so if it matters to you literally at all that your video games actually physically feel nice to play and different from sitting at a keyboard, do NOT get this game

by far the draw of this game is Hato Moa's charming character designs (I had much less investment in Masakazu Sugimori's music) and the zany US/modern humor with which they are executed
as for the actual... story...? it was for the most part pretty entertaining as long as you didn't expect the deepest stuff in the world, but RIGHT towards the end

there was a big idiot ball moment that I just can't forgive that generally made the entire fourth-and-final case feel worthless. also you could probably give some of the character points back to the story points.

god, not to mention the completion in the puzzles like I have no idea how I got just A-rank on case 3 (I got S-rank on the others), I really tried to systematically sweep before moving on but lol. you unlock extra cut scenes at S-rank, it's either that or nothing

i already have this on my wishlist, but somehow "murder mystery picross" never quite got through and i'm wondering why i haven't bought it yet based on that

it's kinda short