Developer: Sprite Hills (Published by Kagura Games)
Genre: Adventure
Store: Steam, GOG, Kagura Games store, DLSite (only in Japanese)
Reviewed version: 1.00
Censored: No, except for the DLSite version
Patch Needed: No, except for the Steam version
OS: Windows
Language: English, Chinese, Japanese
Pixel Town: Akanemachi Mystery is an adventure game where you're put in the shoes of a student named Aya, who decides to investigate the disappearance of her friend Nozomi and some of the town's residents because the police are useless, as usual. However, she soon realizes she got involved in something bigger than expected.
The story is alright and has a few twists, such as turning from a somewhat mundane scenario to one involving supernatural items and entities or some details about the people in Aya's school. Moreover, it ends on a satisfying note, even if the conclusion is nothing to rave about.
Its gameplay reminded me of the mystery games I played in the 90s since all you do in the game is talk to every single person in the town to look for any useful info, search for items you need, do some sidequests, solve the current issue at hand, and go to sleep; rinse and repeat.
That said, it also changes some things a bit to give it a unique flavor. For example, the protagonist only picks the items she needs right now instead of being a kleptomaniac hero that grabs everything that catches her fancy. Moreover, trying to solve something without the necessary items leads to the protagonist getting metaphorically and literally screwed, ending in a game over.
The art's quality ranges from the nicely-drawn sprites used in the maps of the games to detailed pixel art during the H-scenes. Talking about the scenes, they all feature non-con sex and get more and more extreme as you progress in the game. However, you can easily skip them, so just press E when they start if they aren't your thing.
Verdict: Alright
Pixel Town: Akanemachi Mystery turned out to be fun, even if I was expecting a completely different thing when I started it. You should consider checking it out if you're a fan of adventure games, but you might want to wait for a discount first because you can beat it in an hour and a half.