Chronique des Silencieux is a game that will have you playing as a rookie private investigator.
Story-rich detective puzzle games are hard to come by. After Alan Wake 2, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, Agatha Christie – Murder on the Orient Express, Sherlock Holmes The Awakened, and This Bed We Made, from last year, there weren’t many titles that stood out in this genre. And it’s particularly challenging for indie developers to bring something unique unless the game has enough charm to keep players sticking to its end. Indie developers have it especially tough to deliver original content; without engaging gameplay, players are less likely to see a game through to its conclusion.
This is where Chronique des Silencieux steps in. It’s a game set in the 1970s in Southern France, developed and published by Pierre Feuille Studio. Chronique des Silencieux is a social deduction game that will have you thinking on your feet while following leads to uncovering the secret of a stubborn older man.
Starting Chronique des Silencieux, you will be shown a letter addressed to your character, Eugene, and the letter is from his mom. Within this letter, the character’s mom goes on to talk about wanting an eternity to watch your character grow, stumble, get married, and so on. Coming to the end of the letter, it comes to light that Eugene and his father had quite the falling out, leading both son and father to ignore each other in the end.
At the end of the letter, you learn a bit about the family history, from Eugene’s grandfather to his uncle, and as the letter comes to a close, his mom goes on to say and hint at her passing by stating she will always be somewhere, out there, to love him. Within a PS part of the letter, she also tells you she left you a recorder to make happy use of it.
After reading the letter, you will watch a train roll into the station, revealing your character and a mysterious man whose eyes follow you around. The first mission’s name is ‘The Man Behind Uncle’. On the bottom right of your screen, you will see a tab that looks like a stitched bookmark with an arrow on it. This will be your journal, in which you will find most of your leads, the tape recorder, and any documents you might find throughout Chronique des Silencieux.
Alongside finding and comparing vital information within the journal, you will also be able to view conversations between your character and the NPCs as you ask questions while following leads. However, before you are able to spoof your way through the game, you must first talk to the mysterious man. You ask where you might find your uncle, describing the address you both normally put on your letters back and forth to each other while also claiming that he works in an antique store.
Once you have gone through this, the kind stranger gives you directions to follow while keeping the instructions pretty simple. Once you leave the station, there are clues on how to track where to go or move around, such as following embers and running to escape the rain. Once you have taken the directions to find your uncle’s last known address, you will have to run in the rain while remembering the directions given to you by the stranger.
Following the instructions, you are instructed to head straight to the bus stop. Once there, you are instructed to take line 8 through to Mériadeck, and then you will find a big square and are instructed to go across it diagonally. Looking for the road next to the bar, Basque, and then going straight on to Pays de Galles.
Having followed the directions and made it to the door you are looking for, making your way inside, you are shown your character in the wet state that he is in from the rain. From there, you’ll have to make your way around the new building. You’ll see what looks to be an apartment building on the inside, with the first door having a question mark on it.
Making your way over to it, you peek through the keyhole while trying to see who is within the first room but not seeing anyone. You will have to knock on the door by clicking it with your Right mouse button. After knocking, you will watch a woman approach the door.
Once the woman is outside, she asks your character what it is you are doing in the building. Stuttering a bit, your character goes on to explain how he is looking for his uncle. Not believing you, she tells you that this is her property and that there is nothing to see here… Or nobody. Going on to explain again that your uncle lives there, the angry-looking woman interrupts you, saying he used to live in the building.
Asking if you are family, your character responds with a simple yes. The lady then goes on to tell you of your uncle’s strange departure only a few days prior, taking off without a single word. Looking unconvinced of your intention, the lady further tells you that you have no further business here and tells you to leave. After this interaction, you are given free rein to move around and explore. By heading to the first staircase that leads up into the building, you are shown a cutscene.
A younger woman catches you trying to head upstairs; as the cutscene goes on, the character interactions are voiced in French, with the translation of what’s being said displayed at the bottom of the screen. Within this scene, your character is given a little bit of a fright as the woman approaches and asks what he is looking for here. Your character once again goes on to explain that he’s looking for his uncle; knowing his uncle, the lady calls Eugene’s uncle by name to confirm who this uncle is.
Being backed up against a door by the younger woman, she opens the door behind you, causing you to fall into what looks like a classroom with the instructor finishing his sentence to the class and indicating that the room you fell into was a Russian literature class. You end up landing on the ground, and the students surround you with surprise at hearing you’re a relative of Flavio.
Going through the motions, the class provided hints at what they were learning and what seemed to be happening around the place. However, instead of an apartment building, it turns out to be a school, with the first woman you meet being your uncle’s boss or, rather, the night school’s headmistress, Madame Solange, as she has come to be known. Witnessing how shocked you are, the students of what looks to be an all-girl school begged the headmistress to help you out.
Being taken back to what looks to be Madame Solange’s office/bedroom, you whip out your mother’s trusty recorder and begin to ask questions, which are given to you in the form of pictures with relevant names underneath them. These will be the basis of your questions. The side of your screen will contain images of people and/or places with names underneath them; once you click on these images, your character will ask about them and receive answers from the NPCs you interact with.
Making your way through the different questions available will unlock new questions, leading to new information on what’s going on. However, you’ll have to be on your toes, as you will not be told who is telling the truth. This will be left up to your investigations and findings throughout Chronique des Silencieux.
The graphics of Chronique des Silencieux are beautifully simple and inviting, taking on the looks of a detailed storybook. Each environment is beautifully put together, with objects and furnishings, pulling together the environments instead of cluttering the levels, and each item is purposely placed, indicating the purpose of an environment, from being in a room that looks like an office/bedroom, to the classroom or even around the town.
The game’s objective is to follow leads, piece together clues, detect lies, and question witnesses to discover the secrets of what happened to Eugene’s uncle and the mysteries of a stubborn older man while using all the tools at your disposal to further the story. From your journal to your tape recorder, you need to interview witnesses, making your way through Chronique des Silencieux; you will also be given documents ranging from simple information to important leads that will guide you to the truth.
Chronique des Silencieux will also have you thinking outside the box with puzzles and challenges to progress further. Some challenges and puzzles will be easier than others, and with each challenge getting more interesting than the last, each challenge will require specific items to get through to the next stage, allowing players to pin together the right information. Every little bit of information helps in the long run, but Chronique des Silencieux won’t just spell it out for you, as it is your job to figure out the truth and expose those who are lying or keeping quiet.
Most important mechanics will be found in your journal, combing through prior conversations with NPCs and reviewing documents found in the game or handed to you by NPCs. Leave no NPC unquestioned, as any character may have some sort of lead. Keep in mind that there will be NPCs that will refuse to answer or give information on topics unrelated to the game’s primary objective.
Chronique des Silencieux’s music is mysterious yet mystical, letting players feel like there is more to find. This keeps Chronique des Silencieux interesting, as the music is not repetitive, making the players want to explore and uncover secrets. It has a sort of Hogwarts vibe to the music.
Chronique des Silencieux’s mechanics, from movement to the use of vital tools, are easy to grasp, as the game does a brilliant job of explaining, with some mechanics in the game being self-explanatory; however, getting around is a little more challenging with information gathered you can find out where to go next. However, if you do not pay attention and do not review conversations, finding your way around can be a challenge as most of the time, streets do not have names, which can lead you to run around searching for the right directions.
Ultimately, Chronique des Silencieux is a fun yet challenging, story-rich point-and-click isometric game, with 10 to 12 hours of playtime, dripping with story, interestingly unique characters, and beautiful designs, which is well worth playing. Uncovering the story’s mystery is fun and fulfilling and keeps players interested in the next step to uncovering the truth.
