Junji Ito meets Phoenix Wright in this stylish supernatural mystery game

Urban Myth Dissolution Center is a truly intriguing game where you play as a young clairvoyant woman named Azami Fukurai. Seeking to get a better understanding of this ability (and later trapped in a contract due to an unfortunate incident with a cursed chair), you find yourself employed by the mysterious Urban Myth Dissolution Center.

Under the tutelage of the center’s eccentric yet highly talented director, Ayumu Meguriya, you set out to solve various cases revolving around myths and supernatural occurrences. From rental problems to cursed relics, each case has its own unique narrative that draws on recognizable urban legends, from Bloody Mary to Hanako of the Toilet.

Urban Myth Dissolution Center is a fine mix of a visual novel game and point-and-click game. It sees you travel between locations related to cases, questioning witnesses, inspecting locations, and putting together hypotheses based on the clues you’ve uncovered.

As you investigate, you gather threads of information in your journal, uncovering fresh leads as you progress. Of course, you also have to make use of Azami’s unique power, which you hone by putting on a pair of spirit glasses. Through these, you can see shadowy figures and glimpse into past events in each location, but it’s up to you to determine whether these figures were humans or spirits and what their actions mean to your case.

Between locations, you get the opportunity to perform social media research. I really love this system, as it allows you to scroll through realistic posts related to the case and get a better understanding of the world around you, browsing comments and looking up relevant terms, then discussing them with your frosty yet lovable co-worker Jasmine.

As you uncover more details about the case, you get frequent opportunities to recap the information you’ve uncovered. These segments generally rely on multiple choice questions or on you filling out blanks in a hypothesis. Once you’ve gathered enough information, you can team up with the director to perform a ‘dissolution,’ where you must use all of the clues to form a conclusion and crack the case.

The process is simple yet enjoyable, as you slowly peel back the layers of each mystery and begin piecing everything together. I also appreciate that no case is perfectly straightforward – sometimes you face hoaxes, lies, misinformation, and misleading situations, all of which add a sense of ‘realism’ to your job as an investigator.

The writing is solid throughout, with interesting takes on familiar legends and dialog that makes each character stand out. However, I will admit that Urban Myth Dissolution Center is very much a slow burn and is far from ‘scary’ – so don’t go in expecting any substantial frights. Sometimes cases can also feel a little drawn out, but I still found myself engaged throughout.

This sense of engagement is likely due in no small part to the game’s striking aesthetic. It’s beautifully simplistic, with unique 1-bit sidescrolling gameplay, stunning pixelated scenes, and emotive character portraits. On top of this, the choice to render the game with such a simple palette that contrasts muted shades against a vibrant, contrasting red is incredibly effective, especially during the ‘gory’ horror scenes.

Unfortunately, Urban Myth Dissolution Center features no voice acting, instead opting for an oldschool typing sound effect when characters speak. However, the subtle sound effects and retro OST are quite impactful, even with the short music loops.

I genuinely feel like the best Urban Myth Dissolution Center experience is on a handheld. For this review I’ve been playing it on my Nintendo Switch, but it’s also Steam Deck compatible, meaning you can play it on all the best handheld consoles. Its simplistic design makes its performance incredibly smooth, and it supports full touchscreen controls, from cycling through dialog and opening menus to walking.

Overall, Urban Myth Dissolution Center is a simplistic yet striking episodic mystery adventure with a stylish aesthetic and unique point of view. It successfully blends the digital world with the supernatural, transforming familiar urban legends into fresh new frights. While it can be a little slow at times, it still manages to grip you with its uniqueness, and its moreish mysteries are perfect for some bedtime sleuthing.

If you’re looking for something a bit more spooky, we’ve got plenty of recommendations in our guides to the best indie horror games and the best horror games overall. We’ve also got a list of the best mystery games if you’d prefer to continue investigating instead – just be careful not to sit on any cursed chairs!