During the latest Indie World, Memorable Games and Humble Games announced On Your Tail, an upcoming story-driven 3D life sim for the Nintendo Switch and a title I’ve had the pleasure of actually sitting down to play. It’s a big game with some cool ideas so let’s get right into my thoughts.
Set in the charming seaside village of Borgo Marina, On Your Tail follows the adventures of intrepid Diana in her pursuit of the perfect summer vacation. Within that pursuit, players are able to take part in a variety of different activities, befriend several of the local inhabitants and take part in a big mystery story involving a series of bizarre robberies. All done with this fairly gorgeous art style that really captures the holiday aesthetic and makes the characters very likeable and memorable.
On Your Tail is a game very clearly inspired by a plethora of titles that came before it. The free, open-world, to explore with a crazy amount of side activities to partake in reminded me a lot of games like Shenmue and Yakuza but without any of the combat. In fact, the vibe is similar to other summer vacation focused titles like Sony’s Boku no Natsuyasumi series, or the more recently released Shin chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation game on Nintendo Switch, but with a more adult approach. In my time playing this game I was able to race marbles at the beach, skip stones, go fishing in the sea and grab a coffee with the locals. Each activity provided a different kind of experience and successfully gave off the holiday vibe. It was comfy.
Grabbing coffee also had the added benefit of deepening my bond with one of the locals. He showed me around the beach and introduced me to his scary-looking brother, a character that Diana was previously too scared to approach on her own. The way On Your Tail treats these interactions reminds me of the social link system in the Persona series but with more gameplay depth. It’s not just a cutscene, I can invite the NPCs to hang out or go on dates with me, where they will follow me around town and react to whatever I do. If I play marbles, then they will play as well. If Diana has company, then events that she was previously too shy or scared to do on her own might become available. You can even bring these characters with you to help investigate the crimes that have been taking place around town, where they might offer their own insight that provides additional clues to the case.
And let’s talk about the investigation side of this, what appears to be the games main story. While Diana is here on vacation, she can’t help but get involved in local affairs and this leads to a detective-style investigation game, but with a board game twist. These sections seem to draw from the classics of the genre like Ace Attorney and Professor Layton (especially the latter in terms of general vibes). In my playtime, I investigated the crime scene by comparing its current situation to what the area looked like before the crime, and then attempted to piece together how exactly the crime took place.
The way your findings are presented in this game is also pretty fun. It’s not like other games of the genre where the player just presents evidence or clicks the correct answer from a list. For every piece of testimony or evidence you collect, the player receives a card. When it’s time to uncover the truth, the player is presented a diorama of the crime scene, with little board game like pieces to designate who all the characters involved are. Then, you play your cards in the correct order that you think the crime happened in and it will be reenacted in the order you presented, even if that order turns out to be wrong. If it is wrong, it’s up to you to figure out where the flaw in your logic is and why, potentially removing cards from the playing field that are actually irrelevant or red herrings. It’s a fun system and a more gamified take on the traditional problem-solving sections of detective titles.
Speaking of the cards, they appear all over this game and they are gorgeous. Pretty much every action and event you take part in, every item you find and every character you meet presents the player with a card, and the player is encouraged to collect them all. Each card has a unique piece of 2D art on it and I think they all look great. I love collecting things and games of this genre always require something to collect, whether it be the bugs of Boku no Natsuyasumi or gacha figures in Shenmue, and I think the cards compliment the 3D visuals quite nicely. I also like how these cards have an actual gameplay benefit as well, also being your items and evidence. They are an integral part of the game and it makes me want to collect them all.
I was ultimately very impressed with On Your Tail. Memorable Games clearly understand what makes these summer vacation titles fun and it’s always great to see more of these come from studios outside of Japan. I’m so used to the Japanese countryside or somewhere in Tokyo that having a game set on the Italian seaside is a lovely change of pace.
I’m also quite impressed with how in-depth this game seems to go, not just with the abundance of side content but with how its social link system works. It’s not just a few specific characters you can bond with, but seemingly anyone who lives in the town. They all have a story and role they can play, and it’s up to the player to be a social butterfly and become everyone’s friend, or just narrow it down to a handful of favourites.
Lastly, for those who prefer to have an end goal in mind, something to really drive motivation to play, the games story is a mystery that has the potential to become really interesting. All I got to see was a simple robbery but what was stolen and why are mysteries all on their own, and it dropped hints at a much bigger narrative going on behind the scenes of this quaint seaside village.
Currently, On Your Tail is set for a 2024 release and is a timed Nintendo Switch console exclusive. It’s a game I highly recommend you keep an eye on. I only got to play a small portion of it but if the promises it showed me pay-off then we might have already seen one of 2024’s best games.
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