Night Call

-How's your driving record? Clean?
-It's clean. Real clean. Like my conscience.
Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver, 1976
I'm giving you a night call to tell you how I feel
Yes, I'm gonna keep quoting Kavinsky's "Nightcall" throughout this review. Yes, it's low hanging fruit and yes, we'll go all, all, all night long -so deal with it. Or don't, I don't know, really. I like you, but to be honest: you were always a weird one. It's like there's something inside you, it's hard to explain. I guess I'll try explaining the premise of Night Call instead.
I want to drive you through the night, down the hills
Night Call is a graphic novel, noir murder mystery game. You are a taxi driver in Paris who was recently attacked by a serial killer -just after the murderer killed your last client. Having spent some time in the hospital recovering from an almost fatal injury, you return to the hustle. However, there's now a major difference: you are also tasked (strong-armed into it, really) with finding the identity of the serial killer. Chase every possible lead by talking to your contacts/informants, fish out information from clients about the murderer, read the news or listen to the radio about any development on the case. And of course, find a chance to "interrogate" the suspects, as they step into your taxi as clients. You are given a list of persons of interest and 6 days to find the culprit among them.
In total, there are 89 different passengers you can interact with, with most of them reappearing as possible clients until you fully 'know' about them. There is a system in place recording these interactions, the Passidex, which makes entries based upon the exchanges you have with each passenger. Throughout these 6 nights, you gradually learn more about yourself and your past -a dark, tragic tale that adds depth to the protagonist's character and perhaps dictates his actions during the events of the game.
I'm gonna tell you something you don't want to hear
The whodunit part of the game is a bit on the easier side as far as difficulty goes. Throughout the 3 different cases, you will most likely amass a number of clues that will enable you to pinpoint the serial killer, with relative ease. There isn't anything groundbreaking or mind-boggling about the cases (I need to replay Return of the Obra Dinn), just a basic mystery plot. You start each case in the same manner: awakening at the hospital after an attempt on your life (has left you scarred and deformed -not really) and take it from there. Essentialy, you are replaying the same premise 3 times, with different suspects/killer each time.
The repetitive nature of the game requires to be patient or, as I did, take your time to finish each case -perhaps playing with some hefty intervals between cases. If you try to rush or focus too much on the detective aspect of it, you will only do yourself a disservice. Truly, the best way I can suggest experiencing Night Call is being in it for the ride. That's the way I approached the game, preparing a hot cup of coffee and just enjoying small talk with passengers, the rhythmic tapping of rain on the taxi's roof, the night pleasantly dragging on -even when dawn is about to break. Don't rush Night Call's cases to completion, it's a recipe for dissapointment. It gets repetitive but there is beauty in the mundane.
If you are not drawn to Night Call's aesthetic and especially if you don't enjoy immersing yourself in the atmosphere of a slow-paced narrative, don't buy the game. It's as simple as that, you won't like it.
I'm gonna show you where it's dark, but have no fear
Should you choose to try Night Call out, take notice of its suprisingly tasteful ambient music. Listen to the sometimes casual, other times impactful stories of your passengers. I guarantee you that there will be those that will be etched into your mind (Ludwig's random encounters and interactions with him were the most memorable because they were tiptoeing a thin line between these two). There are some wacky, surreal passengers and their encounters are almost always entertaining.
The management of resources was truly inconsequential. I don't believe there is any real danger of running out of money during these 6 nights, except if you set it as your goal or lose yourself to roaming the city without picking any passengers whatsoever. Nonetheless, it adds a nice touch to immersion, the allure of the 'grind' and survival.
All in all, I found Night Call a pretty chill experience. Approach it with this mindset and you will most likely have a good time. I purchased the game on discount, for the price of 3,74€ which admittedly I consider a great deal. Check it out yourself!

I'd definitely recommend this. There's a strong balance between the clue-gathering that keeps things interesting, and the time allowed for your character to explore the city and get to know different passengers. Not to sound sappy but the stories are really well-done and touching too.
I'd love to purchase an expansion with more mysteries, if one ever becomes available.

Very nice experience, perfect for a chill gameplay! I loved hearing each passenger's story and helping them, but also learning bit by bit about the driver and his past!

Possibly one of the most stylish games ever?
Night Call is very French and very Parisian and I absolutely recommend playing it in French if you can (although I'm sure the English translation is good too). It truly captures what France was like around 2016 (after the 2015 terror attacks and before Macron was elected) with an almost uncanny level of precision and vividness. Some of the characters in this are direct parodies of pundits and politicians that actually made me laugh out loud.
Mechanics-wise, there's two games smashed together into one here, which mostly works but you have to be ready to give the game some grace when it's a bit awkward. As a taxi driver who only works night shifts, you pick up people from all walks of life and chat with them while driving them to their destination. Every character has a little story you can unravel over the course of a few trips, depending on your dialogue choices. I've seen games try to do this and and fail to hold my attention because it just felt like a bunch of random stories, but I think Night Call succeeds because of the variety of stories you can encounter.
Some of the stories are humorous, some are completely wacky, some are quite dark - you never quite know what you're going to get. In particular, I really liked that a few of your customers are rude, or bigoted, or just not great people in general (I've never been a taxi driver but I'd guess that's probably true to life). That may sound a bit miserable when you write it down, but it actually felt much more immersive than games where every character is just sooooo happy to help you, The Main Character. While you can certainly talk back to a client if you want, there's no magical dialogue choice that can make you 'win' every interaction: you mostly have to listen. And on the other hand, meeting a nice client (there's a lot of them!) after dealing with bunch of drunk guys felt like an actual relief.
Grafted onto that main mechanic is the detective game. You narrowly survived an attack by a serial killer and a corrupt cop (great character work) is blackmailing you to help her identify them among a few suspects. As you work, you need to try and get more information on the case from clients so you can send it along. This...mostly works, but it's mechanically a bit janky at times. You don't conduct a full investigation: you simply try to guess which suspect is the most likely killer based on the clues that fit them. Every case in the game follows the same basic pattern and switches up motives, weapons and suspects. I enjoyed it, but there is a free-roaming mode that lets you just talk to passengers once you're done with the cases if you'd rather focus on the core strength of the game.
This game is also beautiful and the music is perfect for it. I love knowing I can still come back to it to meet new characters (there are a TON of potential clients) and just experience its atmosphere. I fully recommend it.

Nice character development on the citizen fare of nighttime Paris. Well-written dialogue without any discernible mistakes. Art is fantastic, great style. Enjoyable game. Got a really good feel for the primary character.

A taxi driver’s talk show on the night streets of Paris. In the confined space of a taxi, you, the driver, listen to various talkative passengers with different backgrounds and ideologies, hearing about the issues of modern urban life and sharing their perspectives. This offers a glimpse into a cross-section of contemporary city life.
However, it is a bit unfortunate that the job of a taxi driver seems to have been chosen merely as a pretext to introduce these diverse characters, which results in a somewhat flimsy role for the investigator.

This game has it's own vibe, you'll be immersed into this game and the night life of a cab driver and you won't even realize until you check the time on your phone IRL. And don't even get me started on the soundtracks, next level. 10/10.