LAYTON BROTHERS MYSTERY ROOM

What this Layton mystery game is and who it suits

The game is set in the Mystery Room, a unit deep inside Scotland Yard that takes on unusually difficult cases. You play as Inspector Alfendi Layton, the son of Professor Layton, working with his new assistant, Detective Constable Lucy Baker. The developer, LEVEL-5 Inc., says the Professor Layton series it belongs to has shipped over 15 million units worldwide.

It suits players who like reading a crime, checking the facts and working out who is lying. Fans of the Professor Layton series are the most obvious audience, and the listing presents it as part of that series.

Examining crime scenes and building an evidence list

Each case starts with a scene you examine by zooming in on suspicious objects. Every object you inspect is added to a running list of evidence. You then piece those items together to build the argument for who committed the crime and how.

Finding contradictions and breaking suspects' alibis

Case files contain statements that do not agree with the physical evidence. You match each statement against the evidence to expose the contradiction. Witnesses can be called in to be questioned, and the game asks whether they have something to hide.

Each case ends in a final showdown with the culprit. You find the weak points in their arguments and keep pressing until their lies fall apart and the truth of the crime is revealed.

The nine case files and which ones are free

The free download includes a prologue and Case Files No. 001 and No. 002. File No. 001, The Hand Sandwich, concerns a woman asphyxiated on a seaside hotel balcony with one hand inside her last meal. File No. 002, The Bungled Burglary, concerns a man killed in his apartment, where the murder weapon seems to vanish from a locked room.

The remaining files are sold as in-app purchases. Case File Pack 1 covers Files No. 003 to 006, and Case File Pack 2 covers Files No. 007 to 009.

The storyline running across all nine files

As you expose contradictions and culprits, the game shows glimpses of a significant change in Inspector Layton's personality. The developer says that solving all nine files is what uncovers the truth about his condition.