The renowned archaeologist and professor Hershal Layton, has disappeared! With his whereabouts unknown, it’s time for his daughter Katrielle to take centre stage and prove her worth as this game’s lead protagonist. Kat has set up her own Layton Detective Agency on Chancer Lane in the heart of London, England. With her determination to solve any case, no matter how strange it may be, she begins looking for her first case. But has she bitten off more than she can chew, when she discovers the Millionaire’s Conspiracy?

For those who have played the 2017 release of Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaire’s Conspiracy on Nintendo 3DS, Android and iOS, the Deluxe Edition contains an additional forty puzzles and all of the original downloadable outfits unlocked from the very beginning, including fifty new outfits exclusive to this version.

Layton’s Mystery Journey – Katrielle and the Millionaire’s Conspiracy Deluxe Edition
Nintendo Switch
Developed by Level-5
Published by Level-5
Released: 8th November 2019

If you’ve never played the original version, the objective of the game is to complete a series of puzzles across various locations throughout London, collecting clues along the way to crack the cases given to Katrielle and her entourage to solve. Kat is supported by her devoted assistant Ernest Greeves and a peculiar dog named Sherl, who Kat and Ernest are able to understand. This terrific trio will explore the city and, with your help, solve every case that they encounter through careful analysis and scrutiny.

The game opens with a dream sequence looking down on a town wrapped in fog, a young Katrielle runs desperately through the street in chase of her father, the infamous Professor Layton. With a tip of his hat, he disappears into the shroud, as Kat calls out after him. Katrielle awakens from her sleep, and the mood shifts from sadness to excitement as she prepares to open her detective agency, and follow in her father’s footsteps.

As the investigation progresses, you’ll receive key pieces of information that form clues to solving them. Each one requires you to find six clues, and once you have done so, you will be able to complete the case.

The controls for the game are easy to get to grips with. Use the left stick to move the cursor (magnifying glass) around the screen to hunt for clues. If the magnifying glass turns orange, you should press A to examine it, as it may reveal something important to the case. If it turns blue, you can zoom in to look at an area more closely. Directional buttons can help navigate rapidly between points of interest. Pressing Y during Investigation Mode will let you walk between locations within the local area, called Relocation Mode.

While in Relocation Mode, you should travel to places that have an exclamation mark above it, indicating where you should visit next to progress with the case. As the prologue progresses, you will unlock a bag. Pressing the X button will open the bag, where you can find useful notes about your cases, view the daily puzzles, take on previously completed puzzles and save your game. You can also access various minigames here too!

There’s a huge variety of puzzles and brain teasers of varying levels of difficulty. Some puzzles require you to think outside of the box, such as a puzzle that requires you to move matchsticks to create a sum rather than a number, or moving shapes to reveal a letter in the blank space, rather from the shapes themselves.

Completing puzzles earns you Picarats, points that can be used to unlock special bonuses and rewards. The harder the puzzle is, the more Picarats you will earn. Be warned though, if you fail a puzzle, the number of Picarats you’ll receive for completing it will diminish, though this is capped after a certain amount of failures.

One puzzle that stumped me early in the game was “The Hands of Time” puzzle where the game implied I had to touch the clock to show the desired time, but after thinking about it for a while, I realised that the game was trying to make me think outside of the box, as the solution wasn’t as I initially expected it to be.

Thankfully, puzzles can be made easier with in-game hints, which can be exchanged with Hint Coins found throughout your adventures. Hint Coins are limited, but can be found by carefully observing the environments around you. I was able to find many coins hidden within the nooks and crannies of London, even inside lamps and draws. Check every square inch of your environment, you’re bound to be rewarded for it!

When you’re not solving the mysteries of the Millionaire’s Conspiracy, you can try your hand at a selection of minigames. Ideal Meal is a game where you need to select the perfect combination of meals to satisfy certain diners. In Passers Buy, you have to display goods in a shop and sell accessories, working out which route your customers will take around the shop floor, and aim to sell all of your stock. In Hound in the Pound, your objective is to guide Sherl through a dog pound in order to help him escape.

As you progress throughout the game, some of the minor mysteries you have encountered may also have solutions to them. You can discover how they work out in the end through a feature called Case Codas, where you can watch them unfold. New case codas are added at key points through the story, such as when you solve a case.

And last but not least, why not solve your cases in style by browsing the many outfits in Katrielle’s wardrobe, and make sure she looks the part? Not only can you change the clothing of Kat, but you can even dress Sherl up in a wide variety of styles. Additional clothing can be unlocked using in-game currency known as Fashion Farthings, found throughout the game. They can also be picked up through daily bonuses when you login each day.

There are plenty of great things to say about Layton’s Mystery Journey, Katrielle is a great character, and the dialogue throughout the game brought a smile to my face. The music complements the game’s beautiful artwork and traditional London environment. Animated cutscenes and voice acting were a great bonus and massively enjoyed. I also appreciated that the game would give you a quick recap upon returning to the game, it helped me get straight back into things.

I didn’t have any problems knowing where I needed to go next, as the game guided me with messages and highlighted areas that I should consider exploring. This allowed me to focus on having fun, rather than slowing down the pace of the story. Although the real focus of the game for me was the puzzles, and at times I felt those could have been better explained. Or perhaps I’m just really bad at puzzles?

Overall, if you’re a huge puzzle fan I can recommend this game. With an attractive price point of £34.99 RRP, it’s not going to break the bank. With the addition of 365 additional puzzles available over a period of one year, it’s good value for money, and something you’re always going to be coming back to play.

Final Rating – 3.5 out of 5

Darren is a huge Nintendo fan from the days of the Gameboy Color and his copy of Pokémon Blue. Over time, he developed a passion for many Nintendo franchises, including Metroid. His favourite system is the Wii.