The Last Case of Benedict Fox Definitive Edition Review: A Passable Lovecraftian Trip (PS5)

After a good wait, The Last Case of Benedict Fox has finally graced our PlayStations with the definitive version. Developed by Plot Twist, it was originally released last year on PC and Xbox with mixed reviews. Many praised the game’s art style and puzzles but labelled numerous technical issues. The definitive edition boasts numerous gameplay improvements alongside additional content like new puzzles, areas, and secrets to discover. The game follows Benedict Fox on what could be his last case as a detective. With the help of his Lovecraftian companion, Benedict will delve into madness to discover what happened to his estranged father. 

The Last Case of Benedict Fox Definitive Edition is available for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. 

Story – A Miserable Last Case

The narrative follows Benedict Fox, a detective in the 19th century trying to solve his father’s murder. During the case, Benedict is accompanied by a demon known as The Companion. They provide Benedict with demonic abilities and access to the world of Limbo where most of the game is set. The world of Limbo is constructed from Bendedict’s father’s memories and emotions at the time. Benedict will traverse through them, fighting his demons along the way to solve the case. 

I found the story overall uninteresting, there were moments towards the end when things started to pick up. However, it wasn’t enough to save the overall story and increase my enjoyment. Even the small side activities called riddles didn’t catch my eye. Most of the time I would complete them by accident due to my love of exploration. Parts of the narrative are displayed in items you find in Limbo, detailing character backstories and descriptions of items. They somewhat helped me piece together what was happening but like I said, my interest in the plot had faltered. 

Explore your father’s home and discover how he and his wife lost their lives

Characters – A Lovecraftian Cast 

Benedict Fox practically looked like a character that would be brought to life in a game of Call of Cthulu. Sadly there doesn’t seem to be much life to his character. He’s meant to be a detective but it never feels like you’re playing as one. You could replace him with any other character and no skill would be taken away. Now his demonic companion, on the other hand, I found very entertaining. The design and voice were great and would have loved to of seen more. Throughout the journey Benedict meets a few characters, most of them assist him while others have their own intentions.

You are joined by Harry Houdini (yeah that one) who supplies you with items. If you choose to do one of the side quests, you can get a sweet discount in his store. Later, you’ll save a mysterious woman in Limbo and she sticks around giving you mystical tattoos that grant you demonic abilities. There’s a weaponsmith that is pretty bland but gives you upgrades on weapons and gear. Finally, there’s Inquisitor Thomas who acts as the antagonist that I didn’t care for and it wasn’t a surprise that we’d be fighting him at some point. I would have liked to have known more about the mysterious tattoo artist since she was the most interesting member of the gang. 

I do wish the Tattoo Artist had a bigger role in the story

Gameplay – A Maddening Metroidvania

Regarding the gameplay for The Last Case of Benedict Fox, Plot Twist definitely chose some odd controls. To start off I haven’t played many Metroidvania games, especially ones that have the dodge controls tied to the right stick. It felt very frustrating to use in the early stages of the game, especially against the first boss. The other controls were fine to deal with though the parry ability took me a little bit to get right. Luckily if there is any part of the control scheme you don’t find amusing, you can change them in the settings. I sadly found this out a lot later than I should of. One thing I do really like is the Arena they added that allows you to practice every move, ability, and gadget on enemies. 

Going back to the Metroidvania aspect, the game has you exploring mindlessly through Limbo in search of clues to your case. However, there will be many obstacles that are put in your way. Most of them being different kinds of locked rooms/pathways. These require either items or upgrades to get through. There was a lot of backtracking through Limbo but I loved it and made sure to go through each locked route as soon as I could. What helped me a lot was the markers that I could put on the map. Not everything was highlighted when discovered like enemy camps, shadowy passageways, and glowing tears in the void. 

Explore the world of Limbo and its ever changing landscapes

Combat and Enemies – Simple Battles in the Mind

The combat is a mixed bag of plenty of tools to use but not enough of a challenge that justifies them. Armed with a bayonet and a flare gun, you’ll slash enemies and fill monsters with fire. The flare gun can instantly kill most enemies which I liked and you had to attack enemies with the bayonet to refill the ammo. There are plenty of gadgets to use, Smoke Bombs let you pass through enemies, turn yourself into stone and prevent damage with the Stoneplate, and slow down enemies with the Kogai Pin. There’s also the demonic powers courtesy of the companion that are very tentacle-focused. You can grab enemies and throw them about, hang them in the air and give them a good slashing, and simply perform extra jumps. I would have liked a little more variety in the abilities like possibly something in the projectile nature. 

Regarding the enemies you’ll face in Limbo, they come in all shapes and sizes though there aren’t many to fight. Most enemies can be dealt with easily though some stronger ones appear later. One in particular is a spider enemy that can shoot out small flying enemies towards you. These were probably the biggest obstacles to get through, though the slide ability did make it easy to avoid them. Now, regarding the bosses in the game, they are sadly quite disappointing. In total, I faced five bosses and only two of them I had to fight. The other bosses involved running or sneaking away from them to escape the area. I’ve enjoyed scenarios like this in the past like with the Crash Bandicoot games. However, I really just wanted to fight horrific manifestations with all the weapons and gadgets I’ve been collecting. 

I would have loved more boss fights that concentrated on combat and strategy against horrific creatures

Puzzles – Two Worlds, Many Riddles

Luckily Plot Twist took more care to create engaging puzzles to solve than bosses to fight. Most of the puzzles were centred around locked doors/passageways. My favourite ones to solve involved a neat gadget called the Conundrum Device that assists in symbol/numerical puzzles. Solving these puzzles was the only time I felt like a detective, using a guidebook to look at what each symbol means numerically. You won’t be able to solve every puzzle on the first discovery due to needing story upgrades. I also enjoyed the Tarot Card and Piano puzzles that again at first felt tricky but once I dug down and put my detective cap on, I was able to crack them quite easily.

On the downside of puzzles, I did run into a little bit of an annoyance with a particular one. It involved using the four keys to open a chest and another one to open a door. The puzzle requires you to put them in the right place according to the equation hint on the lock. It should be easy but due to an issue with the lighting, It’s not very clear that it’s minuses and not pluses. Took me a lot longer to solve due to this. Luckily there were only two puzzles that required these keys, and Limbo is pretty bright so I never had that issue again. 

Using the Conundrum Device and your trusty guidebook, solve puzzles to explore more of Limbo

Graphics & Audio – A Beautiful Cosmic Nightmare

The world of Limbo is a breathtaking landscape of the human mind. There are two worlds of Limbo to explore based on the memories of Benedict’s Father and Mrs Floyd. Each area is based on a different part of the house but warped by Limbo and influenced by the memories of the deceased. One aspect I love when venturing into these nightmarish realms is that it feels lived in. You can see things happening in the background and the foreground like spiders sneaking around the map or terrifying creatures in the distance. I also really enjoyed the dark corridor sections of the map where you require a flashlight to traverse safely. It gives off great spooky vibes with the constant tentacles and bony arms trying to grab you. Plus, there’s even an appearance of the giant spider boss who is quite frightening in the shadows.

Sadly the audio isn’t as mesmerizing as its art style. It succeeds in pulling me into the 19th century with the old-time radio and tracks from the era. However, when in Limbo, there wasn’t much creativity with the soundtrack. I felt that I was listening to the same theme over and over and If I did change I never really noticed. One thing I did notice was the unfortunate audio bugs that occurred in the later stages of the game. This would mainly occur in the Giant Spider boss and the final boss levels. The audio for the theme and the sound effects would cut out back and forth. This made things really distracting and ruined the atmosphere the boss was trying to provide.

The Last Case of Benedict Fox Definitive Edition was reviewed on PS5 with a key provided by ember-pr.com.