It's that time once again where I highlight notable examples of the art of the screenshot whilst going on a bit about the game they belong to. So re cently I played a pair of visual novels that caught my eye some time back. The Silver Case was the first game released by famed Japanese developer Grasshopper Manufacture and noted creative force Goichi Suda aka Suda51 . Originally releasing on the original PlayStation in Japan back in the golden year that was 1999, it wouldn't see a Western release and localisation until it's HD re-release in 2016 on PC with other formats following soon after. This would be re-released alongside it's sequel The 25th Ward: The Silver Case and given my generally positive experience of Grasshopper games I tucked them away on my list for future attention. Well that moment has arrived and cometh the hour, cometh the baffling tale of intrigue, deception and inter-departmental warfare.
Just consider for a moment what a huge undertaking it is to actually make a game. Whether it's a AAA effort costing hundreds of thousands of dineros and many lifetimes of productive work hours or even your more humble independent efforts where the costs may not be so great but the penalties for failure are still pretty stark indeed. From concept to execution, it's a massive toil to see something through to completion on the hope and a prayer that it finds both the audience and the success that game makers hope for. Now consider the games that are not like that at all. Consider if you will the concept of... shovelware!