Urban Myth Dissolution Center Review – Review

There’s something that’s always been compelling about urban legends, myths, the occult. When I was a child, I really loved learning about classical mythology and reading fairy tales, stories that had been passed down through the generations. As a teen I became a big X-Files fan, which focused more on more modern myths and conspiracy theories. So I’ve always loved that feeling of exploring the stories that we use to explain what’s happening around us, and Urban Myth Dissolution Center hits on something compelling in this vein while also being a really fun take on an adventure game.

You play as Azami, a character who goes to the titular Urban Myth Dissolution Center for help. She’s always seen ghosts, shadows interacting with the rest of the world, and she wants to get rid of them. However, once she meets the mysterious Director of the center, she learns that these visions are actually clairvoyance, which allows her to see shadows of past events. Through this she begins to work with the Center to investigate cases, using her clairvoyance to solve mysteries.

The gameplay feels reminiscent of some of my favorite games, the Ace Attorney series. You will talk to people and look for clues around various locations, including the internet, and piece together what happens, using both your investigation and your clairvoyance to push the story forward. Throughout there are also moments where you need to pick options to fill in the blanks as a deduction, as well as answer questions to make you understand what is really going on. This is really rewarding and fun gameplay, and if you like any other similar visual novel detective games it should be up your alley.

The theming around urban myths, conspiracy theories, and the occult gives this another twist. The game is rarely outright scary (there are a handful of small jump scares but nothing too bad) but instead has a perfect level of tension and creepiness, reminiscent of something like The X-Files. You’re investigating using horror and occult tropes, but this is much more of a detective thriller than being a straight up horror game. It works perfectly.

This also works incredibly well with the presentation. Urban Myth Dissolution Center uses a distinctive pixel art aesthetic that often looks impressive but also maintains the limitations of its style for an intended creepy effect. The majority of the game is shades of blue but occasionally reds will be used, just sparingly enough that it feels jarring and frightening, even from a game with an art style that might not lead to as many scares. The music is also great, and it lead to me really wanting to spend more time in this series.

The highlight, among every excellent element, was the writing. I really got attached to the characters (Jasmine, a colleague at the Center, was my personal favorite) and I found each individual mystery compelling, as well as the overarching story at the core. This is the type of game where I’d play until I was tired and want to start up again as soon as I woke up, just so I could keep learning what was going on. I won’t spoil things here but it’s worth playing through, and there are several moments I audibly gasped or cheered at one of the games many high points. This is only slightly hampered by some awkward translation work that I only noticed near the end, but by that point I was already highly invested. Most of the game is incredibly fun to read through, it’s just a few moments that felt a tiny bit rushed and could easily be fixed quickly.

If any bit of what I’ve said so far is compelling, please stop reading any content about Urban Myth Dissolution Center and go buy and play this game. It’s one of my favorite games of its type, maybe ever, and I am really dying for similar games from this developer. This is a unique, incredibly well made experience that came out of nowhere for me – that might be an urban myth of its own.