TR-49

Inkle mixes archive-surfing and audio drama to create a surprisingly powerful story of obsession and a machine.

Inkle builds a weirdo computer for the ages, then let you use it to solve a beautifully-written mystery. Outstanding.

The UK game developer's latest is a database mystery constructed from an archive of fictional books. Their combined contents threaten to crack the code of reality

If this game lands for you, it will be an immense success!

While its visual presentation is more minimalist, the mystery of the machine in front of you, and the many entries it has hidden within it, are compelling if you have the proper mindset

Clever narrative-driven interactive audio drama adventure on Switch

TR-49 is an engrossing puzzle game. The idea of solving a mystery through hyperlinking is novel, and the simplified implementation of decoding pages by matching code references with the title is thrilling in action, even if it doesn't seem that way on paper. The main story is fine, but the story told within the documents will be more interesting to some, and the presentation is also good. The performance issue drags down things, and if that can be patched out, then TR-49 is a game that earns its place in a puzzle fan's library.

I really enjoyed playing TR-49, but it’s too wrapped up in its characters for me to totally forgive the fact that I came away from it not caring about any of them. Still, the formula at the center of this one is a winner, and if you’ve already played some of the genre’s very best, TR-49 is absolutely still worth a look.

TR-49 is an intricately complex puzzle game, for better and for worse. On the one hand, the overabundance of dialogue that relies on exposition, plus obtuse puzzles that emphasize trial and error rather than the deductive reasoning said to be the game's core, is often really frustrating. On the other hand, the satisfaction you feel when you solve a puzzle all on your own, the multiple endings, and the affordable price make it a game that I'm excited to play again at some point down the line, in spite of my frustrations with it.

Unlike Inkle’s 80 Days there’s not much replayability here but uncovering the mystery is consistently enjoyable, although I could have done with a bit more variety in the visuals, as the entire game is played simply looking at the TR-49 device or your notebook. But the story has a great deal of resonance to our current era, where falsehoods are brazenly peddled by fascist governments, and where speaking the truth is sometimes an act of rebellion. TR-49 is another fine addition to Inkle’s growing roster of narrative adventures.