It's been a little bit of a while since I beat this game. This won't be a super lengthy review, but I will touch on a few things so you can understand my rating.

I was initially contemplating giving this game a 3.5, but I find that unfair given how impeccable cases 4 & 5 are. I initially went into this game with an open mind yet was still biased that it wouldn't live up to the expectations set by the fandom. I was very pleasantly surprised!

From the very beginning this game feels like the stakes are raised much higher than its predecessor. The first case is insane, and ties so well into the second case. The first case was a very long tutorial case but was fun the whole time. The second case, I'll admit felt a little longer than it needed to be but I still had a wonderful time. Case 3... listen, I know the majority of people ADORE case 3, but while I can't say I hated it entirely, it really let me down. It starts out FANTASTIC. I genuinely thought it would be my favorite case in the whole game, and then we start jumping timelines. I didn't care about the present day timeline, because while it links to the past case, I wish we would have just played them chronologically. It left me so frustrated, because I was enamored by the flashback gameplay, but that case kept going and going and going and going. It could've been trimmed down IMMENSELY. I understand some cases need the development, but that one didn't. It felt like they overcomplicated the premise, and kept adding unnecessary bits that only took away from the case. I simply didn't care for the setting once the initial charm wore off. It actually made me take a short break from the game. Then I came back and binged the entire of Case 4 in one go. 10/10 case. Which I also quit after, but only because I thought it was that good that I couldn't possibly be satisfied with anything else. After coming back, Case 5 also had me binging as much as possible! I don't think it's quite as good as case 4, but it was both touching and interestingly orchestrated so I had a lovely time.

The soundtrack? Listen to judge Gavelle's track and thank me later.

The story was very well structured, and although there were some reveals that left something to be desired, the overall presentation and narrative was a wonderful time.

Only gripe with this game was primarily case 3. Case 4 is one of the best in the franchise!