Root Letter

Release Date: June 16, 2016

Adventure, thriller, detective, visual novel, singleplayer

6.6

OpenCritic

78%

Steam

Rate It!

An adventure game/visual novel developed by Kadokawa Games. The action of Root Letter takes place in present-day Japan, with players taking control of a thirty-something man who discovers long forgotten letters that he had exchanged fifteen years ago with a penfriend named Aya Fumino. Her last letter contains a murder confession, and states that she has to atone for her sin. After that, she suddenly broke off all contact.

Videos and Screens

6.6

OpenCritic Rating

Game is Recomended by 28% of Critics. There are 27 Critic Reviews.

OpenCritic

GameGrin: 7.5 / 10 by Dom D'Angelillo

A fantastic and mysterious thriller-lite. Though the protagonist has non-existent motives and the ‘choice’ isn’t really choice at all, the supporting cast and story arc make this difficult to put down.

Full Review

God is a Geek: 8.5 / 10 by Mikhail Madnani

Root Letter is a great visual novel with superb production values that’s only held back by some localisation issues but excels in atmosphere and one that will remain with you for a long time.

Full Review

Cubed3: 6 / 10 by Josh Di Falco

While the opening sequences plays out quite forced, with Max awkwardly needing a reason to begin exploring, the game gets a lot better once it gets going. With no real gameplay required, this is, at the end of the day, a visual novel that works well at times, though some head scratching moments disrupts the flow of the game.

Full Review

78%

STEAM Score

All Reviews: Mostly Positive (510)

STEAM

Root Letter for PS4, PC and PSV is an adventure game/visual novel stylized as a detective game, similar to series such as Danganronpa or Ace Attorney. The game was developed by Kadokawa Games, a Japanese Company that is a part of Kadokawa – a large publishing conglomerate, responsible for many movies, anime, music, games, etc. Root Letter is the first installment of detective game series announced by the team, which is comprised of former Konami employees.

Plot

The action of Root Letter takes place in present-day Japan. Our hero, who is in his thirties, discovers long forgotten letters which he exchanged fifteen years ago with a penfriend named Aya Fumino. Her last letter contained a confession stating she killed a man, and has to atone for her sin. Despite the fifteen years that have passed without any answers, the protagonist decides to solve the mystery behind the vague letter, and find Aya. He travels to Matsue, in Shimane prefecture, to find her school buddies who were mentioned in some of the letters hoping that they can lead him to the woman. To his surprise, it turns out that his penfriend had died in a house fire that happened ten years before they have exchanged the first letter.

Depending on our decisions, we can unlock five endings which drastically alter the conclusion of the main plot.

Mechanics

Root Letter for PS4, PC and PSV is similar to classic two-dimensional virtual novels, but players have more opportunities to interact, and influence the course of the gameplay (similarly to, for example, Danganronpa series). The story is divided into chapters, and each one is connected to one of the letters received fifteen years ago. The players can visit different locations in Matsue and its vicinity, talking to individuals mentioned by Fumino, and those who have some knowledge regarding her disappearance/death. Sometimes, we are asked to make a decision which influences the course of the given dialogue. When we find a person concealing certain important facts, we are taken to a minigame in which we apply pressure, and utilize evidence found during our investigation.

Technical Aspects

The authors of Root Letter used real locations found in Matsue and Shimane Prefecture, cooperating with local authorities to realistically portray various tourist attractions of the region. The illustrations and character designs were created by Mino Taro, famous for Love Plus, a dating series for Nintendo DS, and for his work on Exist Archive.

Last updated on December 12, 2016